| This Fall, Give Your Child a Healthy Start at School
Tri-City Voice, September 11th, 2007
Right now,
more than 55 million American children
are going back to school. As a parent,
you want your child to start out on the
right foot so they will experience the
most successful year possible. Besides
making sure your son or daughter has the
proper clothing and school supplies, you
can give them a great start by focusing
on healthy behaviors.
Keep
immunizations up to date
"One of the most important
ways to maintain a child’s good health
is to make sure all of their
immunizations are up to date,” says
Hoang Trinh, M.D., family practice
physician and medical director of
Washington Hospital’s Nakamura Clinic,
Union City. "Surprisingly, parents often
think their child is up to date with
immunizations. But often, when we take a
close look at the records, this isn’t
the case. Many parents are unaware that
the immunization guidelines can change
every year, and new vaccines may be
recommended.”
If you have any questions
about your child’s immunization
schedule, check with your primary care
physician. A full schedule of all
required immunizations is also available
online at
www.cdc.gov.
Get a
yearly check-up
The best time to review a child’s
immunizations is during an annual
well-child check-up. At that time, all
routine health care issues should be
covered. In addition to the usual
physical exam, the visit should include
basic hearing and vision screening, as
well as blood and urine tests to check
for conditions such as anemia and any
possible underlying kidney problems.
"Every child should have a
routine physical exam once a year,”
emphasizes Dr. Trinh. "It’s important to
note that this includes teenagers. Many
families take for granted that their
teens are healthy and don’t need regular
check-ups, but that may not always be
the case.”
Have a
sports physical
Dr. Trinh also recommends that
children and adolescents who wish to
participate in sports have a physical
specifically tailored for their
particular sport. Sports physicals
should include a review of the child’s
individual medical history. This might
identify certain risk factors or detect
pre-existing conditions that could make
it inadvisable for a child to
participate in a certain sport.
"Often,
injuries can be predicted or even
prevented by doing a thorough physical
exam prior to participation in the
sport,” Dr. Trinh reports.
As the designated physician
for the local Pop Warner Football
League, Dr. Trinh conducts sports
physicals for many local student
athletes each summer.
Start a
routine
Another
important way to help your child start
the school year out right is to
establish a regular daily routine well
ahead of the first day of school.
"I recommend to all parents
that they help their child get into a
routine to make those first few days and
weeks of school less stressful,” adds
Dr. Trinh. "This should begin several
weeks before school starts, not the
night before the first day.”
It’s a good idea to establish
consistent times for homework, play and
sleep. Parents can also help by being
enthusiastic about the upcoming change
from the more relaxed and spontaneous
summertime schedule.
If your
child is entering kindergarten, he or
she may be experiencing added anxiety.
You can encourage them by being
especially sensitive to their moods and
enthusiastic about the exciting new
school experience that lies ahead.
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