|
Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
It’s that time again.
The end of long summer days and nights hanging with friends in the parks and the game rooms and at community centers.
Instead, it will soon be the time of early bedtimes and wake ups in the early morning hours and struggling through breakfast, the time of buses and ringing bells and classrooms.
Children throughout the city and surrounding places will soon return for the 2024-2025 school year, and they will bring with them that rather confusing and yet playful medley of excitement and anxiety and all things in between.
Of the many things crucial to the healthy return to school is the matter of sleep, uninterrupted sleep without smartphones and other distractions.
“Getting good sleep is good for your health, like taking a vitamin,” said Dr. Asim Zamir, chief of pediatrics at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville.
“During sleep, your body repairs your worn-out muscles and refreshes your brain,” Zamir said. “Without enough sleep, children can feel tired, fatigued, irritable, moody, forgetful, and may even not perform as well at school.”
There is of course no one-size-fits-all playbook the addresses the needs of each child. Each individual is wired differently and must find his or her own way in the world. In general terms, however, children in school must get between nine and 11 hours of sleep each night.
To encourage children to get to bed on time, make bedtime fun.
“Try to make bedtime a positive experience, because sleep is happiness,” Zamir said. “There is nothing more exciting than dreaming. Children should have a regular bedtime and wake time, with a relaxing schedule to help wind down. There should be no screens, televisions, computers, phones, or tablets in the bedroom.”
Kids also must be current with their immunizations for many reasons. Immunizations are important to keep a child healthy, they are important to keep them in school rather than home sick, and they are important to prevent their teachers and classmates from falling ill.
“Children should receive their immunizations as soon as they are recommended independently of their school schedule,” said Dr. Jose Campo Maldonado, infectious disease specialist at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen.
“Vaccinations are so important because they can save lives,” he said. “Before vaccinations were widely available, millions of children died each year due to preventable illnesses. The World Health Organization estimates that vaccination saves 2.5 million child deaths each year and could save two million more deaths per year if vaccination was more widely implementation.”
All physicians agree that a healthy diet is also crucial to a successful school day and school year.
