Teachers and parents alike can agree that a healthy kid is a happy kid so it’s important to teach kids about nutrition from a young age! Nutrition goes beyond just what we eat, it also explains why and how certain foods affect our mental and physical health. As you will read below, there are many ways in which we can talk about nutrition in our...
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Head lice infestation can occur during any time of the year, however, the problem significantly increases when students go back to school. Having head lice is an uncomfortable issue, but more common that one might think. Luckily there are certain measures people can take to prevent and treat head lice!
While it has been the norm for US students in K-12 to start school around 7:30 am or earlier, communities are now starting to question if early-start policies are the best option for teenagers.
School Gardens help to extend the classroom beyond traditional settings by expanding it outside. Gardening can provide students with hands-on learning opportunities while increasing environmental awareness and vital experience in problem-solving. In a school garden, children are learning to grow more than just plants. According to Lisa Giorday, who manages the program The Classroom Gardener,“the garden is a wonderful place where children learn to come...
School nurses play a crucial role in children’s health. They give preventative, educational, and emergency aid for students. With the many services school nurses provide daily, more and more nurses are looking to technological advancements to help manage their daily tasks and to enhance student health.
Sending your child to a sleepaway Summer camp can be unsettling, especially if they have never been away from home before. Parents worry that their child will be homesick or exposed to situations that can mentally and physically challenge them.
Summer and sunny weather is here! However, summer is not the only time a child needs to be protected from the sun, and every child needs sun protection. Damage from exposure to UV rays builds up over time, so sun protection should start at an early age. It is essential for teachers and school staff to model sun safety and create an environment where there are sun-safe policies integrated with health education and practices. Teachers and administrators should recognize the importance of sun safety and create an environment that communicates these practices and sun safety education.
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CBS recently covered news on the School Nurse shortage as a part of their “School Matters” series, and some are calling this a growing national crisis. They say “only three out of five schools across the country have a full-time school nurse... often forcing school administrators, with no medical training, to step in and provide some level of care.”
Technology is an intricate part of most of our lives, especially in the lives of our teens. Teens are checking their social media more than ever during the school hours and it’s likely a trend that won’t go down anytime soon. While schools may not be able to control how students use their phones at home, they can regulate how much they are used at school. Even though there is not a 100% guarantee you will stop kids from using devices like phones and tablets during class, there are ways that schools can cut down on unnecessary screen time during the school day.
Family issues, bullying, homework, and even world news are just some of the many triggers that can attribute to increased stress in a child’s life. Experiencing stress at an early age is common and normal, but too much stress can have negative repercussions on children’s health. Even though there are some stressful situations in life we can’t control, having “supportive relationships with adults as early in life as possible can prevent or reverse the damaging effects of toxic stress”. Here are some stress relief activities that can be implemented at school or at home to help reduce childhood stress:
Handing your child a phone, an iPad, or some other technology device to keep them entertained has become an easy fix for parents. Even though this solution may seem practical at that moment, it can have a lasting negative impact on children in the long run, if parents are not mindful. Children and teenagers between the ages of 8 to 18 years, spend an average...
Since the growing popularity of electronics, it has become more and more difficult to motivate children to go out and enjoy the great outdoors. Getting the kids to be active outside has multiple benefits: it helps avoid childhood obesity, it helps increase brain function, and it encourages them to think outside of the box. Parents know this, but how do they put that plan into motion and get children to go outside?
We know that it’s not always easy enduring the winter months in your classroom. The days seem so long, cold and gray, and winter woes affect teachers and students alike. Aside from your students feeling extra antsy, you’re probably also dealing with a lot of sick kids, especially during the flu season. When you’re in such close quarters, it’s very easy to share germs, so we have a few tips that can help you survive the winter!
Everyone knows that Physical Education (PE) class is great for kids. It helps improve their physical fitness, increases their motor skill development, and encourages daily exercise. But, what about the hidden benefits? PE is much more than just exercise! In fact, Dr. John Ratey, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, says, “Exercise is like Miracle-Gro for the brain.” Including it in a daily routine...
It’s no secret that in recent years, heavy smartphone use in teens has been linked to a myriad of mental health issues, ranging from anxiety to depression. But, what if the same device causing the tech-age angst could also be the key to detecting those same conditions?
In recent years, an increasing number of children are showing up in emergency rooms for mental health reasons. After seeing an increase in mental health concerns in her own practice, Dr. Anna Abrams, a pediatrician and researcher at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington D.C., analyzed data from 45 different children's hospitals from 2012-2016 and saw a roughly 55 percent increase in mental health cases.
Flu season is creeping up quickly! But, don’t be scared! We want to make sure you and your school are prepared! The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have great resources available, however, there are still many misconceptions about the flu. Let’s talk about a few of the most common myths.
A recent observational study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that limiting screen time for children to just two hours a day can help improve their brain function, memory, attention, and the speed at which new information is processed. When limited screen time is paired up with a good night’s sleep of at least nine hours, kids tend to score better on tests.
The study analyzed data from the broader original study that focused on 4,500 children aged 8-11. Researchers examined screen time, amount of sleep, and time spent engaging in physical activity and compared it to the Canadian 24-hour Movement Guidelines.
The average American Teenager gets only seven hours of sleep per night, cramming it between school, homework, sports, and work, while research suggests they need closer to nine hours a night. Unfortunately, biology is working against them. According to Mary Carskadon, a Member of the Centre for Sleep Research at Brown University, as children get older, they are naturally more inclined to want to stay up later and sleep in longer. And, with school start times getting earlier, there is little time for teenagers to recover.
Often resembling USB flash drives and coming in a variety of flavors, including various candies and fruits, e-cigarettes have soared in popularity among teenagers in recent years. In fact, e-cigarettes are the most commonly used tobacco product among middle and high school students - with the variety of flavors cited as one of the top reasons for use.