Now is the time to start getting back to a normal sleep routine. Between sleepovers, camp, and other summer activities, your kids might not have a sleep routine. Having a good sleep routine is important for kids and teens in school to not only keep them healthy and re-energize them, but to help them pay attention in class (1).

Check out the tips below to help get your child’s sleep cycle ready for school!

• Turn off the TV. According to the Sleep Foundation, television and computer use before bedtime can hinder quality sleep (2).

• Set a bedtime. If you child has been staying up too late, set a new bedtime. It may be hard for your body to adjust right away, so start with small changes, such as 15 minutes earlier each day.

• Stop sleeping in on weekends. For most of us, it’s easy to sleep in on the weekend, but it can throw off your normal sleep schedule.

• Get the right amount of hours. School-age children between 7-12 years old are recommended to get 10-11 hours of sleep per day. Children and teens 12-18 years old should get between 8-9 hours. Make sure your child is getting enough sleep (3).

• Be a good role model. Set an example of good sleep habits for your child. If they see that good sleep habits are important to you, it might be easier to get them into a good sleep schedule!

Post by Dan Wilson, RRT, CPFT, AEC

School is back in session and parents are making sure their children are getting back into the swing of the school season.  In the rush to get school supplies together and checking the bus schedule, it’s easy to over look the, “Back to School Asthma Checklist”. The American Lung Association recommends the following five steps when it comes to asthma readiness and the school season.

Step 1. Learn About Asthma
Talk to your healthcare provider about how asthma affects the lungs and what can be done to keep asthma from becoming a problem. Visit the American Lung Association website at www.lung.org and search, “Asthma” for many free resources including online asthma educational tools for parents and educational asthma games for kids.

Step 2. Talk to the School Nurse
Visit or call the school nurse or staff member in charge of student health. Ask if there is a form that needs to be completed by your child’s healthcare provider authorizing the school nurse or staff member to give your child breathing medication if an asthma flare up happens at school. Ask about the school’s asthma emergency plan and if PE instructors, coaches and teachers are trained to recognize asthma symptoms and how to respond to an asthma emergency.

Step 3. Schedule an Asthma Check Up
Every school year should begin with a visit to your child’s healthcare provider for an asthma checkup. This checkup assures your child’s asthma is in control and that they are receiving the right amount of medicine for their asthma. It’s is also a good time to be sure your child has enough asthma medication refills for the school season.

Step 4. Develop an Asthma Action Plan
An Asthma Action Plan is a written worksheet created by your healthcare provider that helps you and the school nurse recognize if your childs asthma is OK or if it is becoming a problem. The Asthma Action Plan has written instructions about what “Action” to take if the asthma is becoming a problem. Ask your healthcare provider to give you an Asthma Action Plan during your asthma check up.

Step 5. Get a Flu Shot
The “flu” is a respiratory virus and a common asthma trigger. The best way to protect you and your child from the flu is by getting the flu shot. Also, teach your children the importance of hand washing to prevent respiratory infections.

For more information about HealthNet or to find a location near you, visit www.indyhealthnet.org.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month.  Bully is becoming a huge problem for kids in school as well as kids and adults on the internet.  According to kidshealth.org, 25 percent of public schools report bullying happens at school on a weekly basis!  In addition, 1 in 3 kids report being cyber-bullied and 1 in 6 adults report having experienced cyber-bullying.  This is a disturbing trend.

Bullying can be defined as any kind of intentional torment.  This includes physical, verbal, or emotional abuse.  Sadly, emotional pain inflicted by others can be difficult to forget and can cause lasting damage.  Unaddressed, a victim of bullying can develop low self-esteem and even suffer from depression.

So, what can we do about it?  As a parent, it’s excruciating to see your child hurt and, often, parents can feel as helpless as the child in knowing what to do about bullying.

First and foremost, don’t be afraid to talk to your kids.  Talk to them about bullying even if you don’t know that it is happening.  Education regarding what bullying is and what is means can be beneficial for children to help them know how what to do if they are bullied or if they witness bullying.  Let your children know that it’s okay to feel scared and embarrassed but that it’s important to tell a trusted adult.

Encourage children to try to ignore the bullying and walk away.  Alert them to get help from an adult.  Talking preemptively about managing anger can be helpful too.  As we all know, it’s hard to walk away sometimes!  Educating children on counting to 10 when angry or taking slow, deep breaths to compose oneself can be helpful in a crunch.

If you do suspect your child might be bullied, again, don’t be afraid to ask.  Listen in a non-judgmental way and validate their feelings.  Bullying can be shaming, so the child needs to feel safe as he is telling of this pain.  If your child doesn’t come right out and tell you, pay attention to changes in behavior.  Is he suddenly refusing to go to school?  Is he not sleeping at night?  Be aware but don’t jump to conclusions.  If you do discover your child is being bullied, model healthy behavior.  Don’t immediately try to address the situation yourself with the bully.  Take a breath and decide on a plan of action with your child.  Often, the best approach can be collaborating with the school.

Bullying can have long-lasting, devastating affects, but you can be helpful in talking and listening with your child as well as addressing the issue in an appropriate manner with the school.  With parents offering education and support, kids can learn to survive bullying and move forward to healthy, productive lives.

Have you had an experience with a bully? Comment below and let us know how you handled the situation.

Post by Denise Kaspar

Healthy Families America is a nationally recognized evidence-based home visiting program model designed to work with overburdened families who are at-risk for adverse childhood experiences, including child maltreatment. HealthNet’s Healthy Families program has been providing home-based family support services for approximately eighteen years.  Healthy Families America has a strong research base, which includes randomized control trials and well-designed quasi-experimental research.  To date, research and evaluation indicate impressive outcomes. Reviews of more than fifteen evaluation studies in twelve states produced the following outcomes:

• Reduced child maltreatment
• Increased utilization of prenatal care and decreased preterm and low birth weight babies
• Improved parent-child interaction and school readiness
• Increased access to primary care medical services
• Increased immunization rates

The primary goal of prenatal care coordination is early entrance and continued participation in prenatal and postpartum care to reduce low birth weight, preterm labor, and infant mortality.  Prenatal Care Coordinators and Community Health Workers provide home-based support services and referral to human services for pregnant women and their families at risk for poor pregnancy outcomes due to physical, social, psychological, financial, or environmental factors.  HealthNet’s prenatal care coordination program, Better Indy Babies (BIBs), has been providing these services for well over twenty years.

Better Indy Babies’ goal is to decrease the incidence of low birth weight and infant mortality.

Research was completed on a similar program in New York City and it was found that home visiting programs during the prenatal period reduces the incidence of low birth weight.

Additionally, both of HealthNet’s programs increase school readiness – first through assisting mothers to have a healthy birth outcome and then assisting overburdened families to enhance parent/child interaction and improve family functioning.

HealthNet’s home visiting services help promote physical well-being and motor development, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, language development, cognition and general knowledge.  Our services recognize and honor the special role that parents play in shaping the lives of their children and can help create families and communities and children ready to learn.

Click here for more information about Better Indy Babies/Healthy Families.

Together, HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies and Healthy Families programs provided more than 10,955 visits to at-risk homes in Marion County. With your help, we can do even more.

Immunizations are an excellent way to help keep your child healthy.  Children entering kindergarten need to show proof of having received DTaP and MMRV boosters.  These vaccines help protect against whooping cough, measles, and chickenpox.  Likewise, children starting sixth grade need their meningococcal and Tdap vaccines.  The HPV vaccine can also be started at this age; this vaccine protects against cervical cancer.  It’s also a good idea to get a flu shot this fall.  Influenza can be quite serious and keep a child home from school for a week or longer.

Adequate sleep is very important to school success.  Start practicing the school schedule at least a week before school starts.  Generally, this means getting to bed and getting up earlier!  Most school children need nine hours of sleep every night.  And plan on enough time in the mornings for your child to get a good breakfast.  Children who eat breakfast get better grades.

Backpacks can get heavy with school books and cause back pain.  Make sure your child’s backpack fits over fits over both shoulders so the weight is evenly distributed over his back.  Throw in some hand sanitizer and Kleenexes to help ward off those school-time germs.

Most children ride the bus to school.  Find out where and when the bus will be coming.  If possible, greet the bus driver and meet the other children at the bus stop.

Many schools have a dress code.  Make sure your child’s clothes conform to the dress code and that they are comfortable and clean.  Contact the school’s social worker if you need assistance.

Your child’s future depends on a successful school experience.  Is your child is ready for school?  Are his immunizations up-to-date?  Does he have a good sleep schedule?  Are his clothes appropriate?  If your child complains about school or isn’t doing well, talk with his teacher(s) early in the school year.  Yes, school is for learning but it should also be fun and safe!

Well…..it is that time of the year….already! August is here and the kids are heading back to school.

It is hard to believe, because it feels like summer just started. But, as I checked my Facebook page this last week, several of my friends who are teachers are preparing to go back to work, others are posting pictures of their little ones’ first day of kindergarten, and (while I hate to admit it) some of my friends are getting ready to send their oldest off to college!

As I drove into work this morning, I began to reflect upon this time of year and what it means to me. For me, fall and the beginning of a school year, brings back wonderful memories of wearing my new “back-to-school” outfit, reuniting with old friends and the anticipation of making new ones, new teachers, new beginnings, new classes….it always felt like a “fresh start.” This time of year also takes me back to my college days and the feelings of freedom and independence – like the world was in my hands and the hopes and dreams for my future were endless.

I began thinking about HealthNet’s five school-based clinics and what our staff and providers must be thinking this time of year. How are the children we serve feeling? Are they up-to-date on their immunizations? Do they need help with taking their asthma medication? Many of the children that HealthNet’s school-based clinics serve do not have the same luxuries that I did as a child. Many come from broken homes or no home at all and many are suffering from medical and social needs.

Our staff is there to help these children begin the school year healthy….because being healthy is the foundation to learning and every child deserves to have hopes and dreams for their future.

Last year, our school-based clinics helped more than 3,000 students receive health care and health education services. As you prepare to go back to work as a teacher….or send your little one off to kindergarten….or drop your oldest off at college, please take a moment to consider making a donation to HealthNet’s school-based clinics.

A gift of $25 helps provide a change of clothing to a child who gets sick at school, and a $50 gift would provide students with a personal hygiene kit that is filled with items they may not have at home.

We are dedicated to ensuring that health becomes a bridge, not a barrier to learning. Help us build that bridge!

______________________________________________________

What hopes and dreams are your kids looking forward to this school year? Share your comments!