Summer and Overweight Children

Question: I keep seeing obese and overweight children this summer. What do you think schools can do to make the kids healthier? What do schools do with all of these overweight kids?
When schools resume in September, there are many things schools can do to help all students.
Children are in school for at least 6 hours, and they should exercise a good portion of that time. Elementary teachers are required by law to give students 100 minutes a week of physical education instruction. Not all of this has to be aerobic exercise, but a great deal of the time kids spend in PE should be physical.

Certainly making school lunch options healthier is essential. If schools are not presenting healthy options to children, parents need to do it themselves.
An important note is that our students have at least one 15-20 minute recess, and another 50 minute lunch. If kids know that time spent outside should be full of running and playing, those kids get enough exercise on their own.

In schools, you do find overweight children unwilling or unable to keep up with peers who are at a healthier weight, and those overweight children do not find enough physical outlets on their break time to start to make changes in their health. As teachers, we can encourage all children to play together and include one another. We also need to make sure there is no teasing going on as kids make attempts to be healthy and active.

Principals need to take the lead on encouraging physical play at recesses and finding activities in which all kids can participate. It is not enough to tell playground supervisors to set the tone. Sometimes parents will complain when schools make kids do things, like play and stay active, even when those things are beneficial for children. Some overweight children now have additional health problems including asthma, diabetes, and bone and joint problems, but doctors still give guidelines to parents oftentimes prescribing physical activity. If those parents share those guidelines with the school, activities can be devised to specifically address those needs.

Remember, kids go to school from around 8-2, and while they sit for much of that time the time is spent engaged in learning. If they go home and are allowed to relax the rest of their day, 6-7 hours, with the TV, computer, and/or video games, they will eat more and exercise less. Parents have to be part of the solution when it comes to setting up a healthy environment for their kids.

Peanut Butter Bans in Schools

I was outraged at the insensitive attitude of the parent who cares more for her child eating peanut butter than the lives of children that are DEADLY allergic. No one chooses that our children are allergic to peanuts, but we adapt. Quickly when the allergist tells new parents that your child has a 50% chance of dying if they ingest anything with peanuts!
My family grew up eating peanut butter, my parents grew up with peanut butter but when you know it may KILL you child or grandchild you stop using it, period, no question!
The parent that whined that their child cannot have peanut butter at preschool is insensitive! Peanut allergy is the FASTEST growing allergy in the world. If the parent does not like that there preschool does not allow nuts, then change preschools. Parent, remember it is preschool, not Harvard so you can easily find another preschool.
This parent should be teaching their child that life is not a free for all and we must follow some rules and be respectful of others too.
My 3 year old was taken by ambulance to the hospital in June due to someone NOT listening about his allergy. Out of pocket was thousands of dollars, but the money is not the issue. Seeing my son in the ER with IV’s in his arms, oxygen on his face and his red swollen body is something I will never forget!
Sometimes, other parents need to hear how this allergy really presents in young children. I thought more people would agree that banning peanuts in a preschool when a small student has allergies was the logical step, but some parents were up in arms at that suggestion. Lucky for them, their children are not allergic. They do not know or want to consider what it would be like if their children were allergic. Your description might help them understand.

Swine Flu Experiment for Teachers

Question: I am a teacher and I am trying not to overreact to the Sine Flu, but I kind of am already overreacting. I must tell you I am afraid of what this will mean for my students. I teach Second grade. Our district has it on the agenda for teaching training before school starts. How am I going to teach second graders about what we need to do without scaring them? I always teach hygiene, but this year there is another layer. What is overreacting and what is normal?

Answer: I have an experiment I plan to do with my First Grade students to help them understand how and why we wash our hands. All you need is pepper, water, and a bar of soap, so the ingredients are affordable and easy to gather. Fill a bowl with water and sprinkle the pepper on the surface of the water. Put soap on your finger and dip it into the bowl. Your students will see the soap repel the pepper. It is pretty neat for such a simple experiment. It looks like the pepper explodes out. Then talk to your students about how some students use only water to wash their hands, but this does not work. We need soap to repel the germs. It makes the lesson meaningful for them. This is a great segue into a lesson on hygiene and keeping ourselves clean.
All any of us have to do is watch the news to get a little frightened of the flu season this year. I sought help from a doctor to properly answer your question. Dr. Erika Schwartz, Medical Director of Cinergy Health, gave me a list of things we can do as teachers and even added a few tips on what would be considered overreacting. Here are some of her guidelines:
• Teach students to wash hands throughout the day.
• Keep anti-bacterial pumps accessible. Explain when it is appropriate to use them.
• Remind the students not to touch their eyes, nose and mouth with their hands.
• Explain to students the importance of getting at least 8-10 hours of sleep a night.
• Teach your students to eat three full meals and several snacks a day which are balanced complex carbohydrates, protein and are chock full of fruit and vegetables. Stay away from pre-prepared, high sugar, soda and preserved foods.
• Keep children hydrated. Kids should be drinking 4-6 glasses of water a day.
• Dissuade children from sharing cups, straws and bottles
• Make sure the children are getting sufficient exercise. Children should be doing aerobic activity at least 5 days a week during recess, gym class or after-school sports.
• Don't send sick children to school; likewise, send them home if they get sick at school.
• Send a "Flu Prevention Tips" letter home with students. The same tips should be practiced at home to assure a healthy school year.
• If you notice a child with the beginning symptoms of a flu or cold, let their parents know immediately. Helping prevent the flu or cold developing with vitamin C, hydration, rest and chicken soup is critical.
• How to NOT go “over board” with Swine Flu Prevention:
o There is no need to frighten the children by wearing a mask or using gloves. If they see their teacher being hysterical or nervous they will imitate and results will be counter-productive.
o There is no reason to explain in detail the symptoms or effects of the flu to children. Younger children will not understand and adolescents will get scared. Teaching them to maintain healthy lifestyles is all they need to learn from you.
Contact the writer by visiting her website at http://www.goasktheteacher.com or email her directly at goasktheteacher@yahoo.com

HIV/AIDS prevention classes in K-12 schools

I have to write a letter to the school to get them not to teach my son about HIV and AIDS. How did we get to this immoral place?

The California Ed Code requires all schools to teach HIV/AIDS prevention at least once in junior high and at least once in high school. Ed Code also recognizes that parents have the right to excuse their children from this instruction. This is not a question of immorality, it is a question of making sure our children have all of the information and education we can give them to avoid this epidemic.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) finds that half of the new HIV/AIDS cases each year are found in young people under the age of 25. California Ed Code demands HIV/AIDS education just as the CDC recommends.

If you choose to teach your children at home about the dangers and significance of HIV/AIDS, you are making a perfectly acceptable choice. Simply notify the school of your wishes, and they will abide by them.

Schools imparting this information to our youth are not acting immorally. They are acting responsibly.

Backpacks Are TOO Heavy!

My son’s backpack weighs 30 pounds some nights. He is in Junior High and his teachers have no concept of what one another is giving for homework. He can hardly make it to the car some days and I would prefer him to walk home on other days but I can’t do it because he’d never make it home with the backpack. Can’t schools do something about this?

This is a fairly common complaint. I think parents today think that this is a new phenomenon, but kids have been lugging home heavy books for quite some time. A seventy-two year old friend of mine says, “Heavy backpacks have always made kids strong and smart, why complain?” Some schools have tried to remedy this problem by assigning two sets of books to each student, one set to be kept at home and another to be kept at school. I find this solution to be pretty ingenious, so you might want to check with your son’s school to see if you can borrow a set of textbooks for the school year. If this is not an option, you may want to consider getting a backpack that rolls with one of those pull-up handles. I’m not sure if this is “cool”, but it will save your son from lugging around the weight on his back.

What vaccinations do Junior High Students need?

Question sent in from parent:

After all of this talk about vaccines and immunizations, I just heard that my daughter needs more immunizations before junior high. This cannot be true, can it?

My answer:

It is true. As of 1999, all students need 3 doses of the hepatitis B vaccine and a second MMR dose before entering seventh grade. In order to complete the hepatitis B series, which takes 4-6 months, students need to start these vaccinations when they are in 6^th grade. Some exemptions are made for medical reasons or personal beliefs. Check to see which vaccinations your daughter has already completed and which she will need before next year. Your daughter’s school should have more information on this for you.