First: Make sure your child’s immunizations are up-to-date.
The Somerville-Raritan-Manville Health Department offers the following suggestions for a healthy school year:
- Make sure that your child’s immunizations are up-to-date all schools require a doctor’s immunization record that includes the day, month and year that your child was immunized.
- Know you school district’s rules about handling and distributing medicine before the school year starts. "Some schools allow children to ‘self-medicate’ under certain circumstances for example, students may be allowed to carry an inhaler for asthma with them," stated Steven Krajewski, health officer for the Somerville-Raritan-Manville Health Department. "Others require that the nurse administers all medications regardless of whether it’s for asthma, attention deficit disorder, or the last few doses of antibiotic for strep throat."
- To reduce the risk of lice, remind children never to share or trade hats or scarves, combs or brushes, or anything else that touches another person’s head (barrettes, hair ribbons, headbands or headphones.
Keep Lunches Healthy
- Choose low sodium ham, turkey breast or roast beef for a lower fat "deli" sandwich. Include lettuce, cucumber slices or sprouts for added crunch power.
- Peanut butter and jelly, apple butter or honey is still favorite meatless alternative.
- Pack a "leftover" lunch with cold chicken or meatloaf. Fill thermos with stew, chili or soup.
- Avoid high fat (and salt) Lunchables pack ready to assemble crackers or mini rice cakes and low fat cheese or deli meat in a plastic container.
- To help your child get the recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables, include a piece (or two) of fresh fruit or an individual cup of fruit cocktail (packed in fruit juice) and cut-up carrots, celery and red pepper.
Keep Lunches Safe
- Use an insulated lunch box or bag. Once a week, wipe the interior of the box or bag with a weak bleach solution (one teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water).
- Make sandwiches from cold ingredients use frozen bread slices and refrigerate your cans of tuna. It you don’t like using a reusable ice pack, pack a 100 percent juice box or water bottle (freeze the night before as it thaws, it will keep everything cool until lunch time).
- Remind children to wash their hands before eating (and after using the bathroom), not to share food with their friends and to throw away any leftovers after lunch.
Watch Your Backpack
- Filled backpacks should weigh no more than 10 to 15 percent of your child’s weight. A heavier backpack will make your child bend over, which can cause balance problems now and may lead to chronic back and neck problems later in life.
- Buy a backpack with padded, adjustable shoulder straps. Have your child use both shoulder straps, adjusted so the backpack fits close to the upper part of the back. Carrying a backpack over one shoulder can lead to neck and muscle spasms, and lower back pain.
- If possible, encourage children to make more frequent trips to their lockers between classes to replace books.
- Instead of a traditional backpack, buy a small luggage bag with wheels and handle.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
- By the time children are 5 years old, they need at least nine hours of sleep a night. Help young children get to sleep by establishing a predictable bedtime routine, and target bedtime for about the same hour every night. Make sure their "wind down" environment before bedtime is quiet limit action packed television, computer and video games.
- The internal clock for teens which tell them when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to wake rapidly changes with their rapidly changing bodies. While their bodies often do not signal that it’s time for bed until very late, their school day often starts very early, leaving them chronically sleep deprived. Encourage teens to retire before they’re actually tired and to read, listen to quiet music or just relax until they fall asleep.

