Start the back-to-school season right with these healthy tips
As back-to-school season is here, parents must teach their children beneficial ways to live a healthy life free of chronic diseases in the future. In partnership with parents and caregivers.
the school must also provide students with the necessary knowledge and skills that will contribute to the protection and enhancement of students’ mental and physical well-being to help them achieve academically.
Experts at the Active Hub program of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council have provided special tips for parents to guide their children as they enter the new academic year. These are as follows:
- Prepare school supplies in advance: Ensure that all required school supplies are prepared before the start of the school year such as uniforms, bags, lunch boxes, school supplies, and other things.
- Maintain physical and social activities: Include physical and social activities as a part of daily life rather than just temporary. Encourage children to play at least one sport for the long-term. Take advantage of the availability of sports facilities in the community, whether in schools or public parks, as these will help develop their social and physical skills.
- Manage their schedule efficiently: Help children set a schedule, which facilitates balancing their time between study and other activities such as sports, play, and rest.
- Encourage them to eat healthy food: Children need proper nutrition to achieve optimum health and wellness. Nutritious food includes carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Hence, parents must help their children eat healthy food and schools must reinforce this positive behavior.
- Stay away from television and gadget screens, as well as smartphone applications: An unusual amount of screentime can have negative effects on a child’s brain, behavior, and physical activity. Set an ideal screentime and monitor their usage.
- Establish an ideal bedtime and go to bed early: Promoting this habit in a child contributes to maintaining positive health and development. It also protects against negative physical effects of lacking sleep such as stunted growth, fatigue, and irritability. Proper sleep enhances efficiency of mental abilities and strengthens concentration. Sleep also increases the brain’s memorization and learning capabilities. Furthermore, it improves the mood of children and their response to stress.
- Take care of their mental health: Be attentive to changes in a child’s mood or behavior, as they may need additional support with their mental health. This can be done by providing continuous emotional and psychological support, whether to young children or adolescents.
- Establish constant communication with teachers: Maintain effective and constant communication with your children’s teachers to keep track of their progress in academics. Do not hesitate to ask any questions or raise concerns that you may have about your child.
- Stimulate their curiosity and inspire continuous learning: Help your child increase their curiosity and nurture their love for learning by asking questions and exploring different topics outside academics.