One of the fears parents often have of
sending their children off to kindergarten is the exposure to a public place
where the protection of the home is no longer possible. It is true that when your child goes to school
with other children, the opportunities for illness and contamination are much
more frequent. But the value of being in
school with others and the social and educational value mean that we as parents
must prepare our children to begin to spend time in a public place and that we
do all we can to help them stay healthy and safe each and every day.
Part of preparing your child to stay
healthy even in a public venue like kindergarten is to enlist the aid of your
child’s pediatrician. She can make sure
your kiddo is up to date on shots and that any vulnerabilities are well
known. A good check up and getting all
necessary shots before school starts will insure your child’s immune system is
well equipped to deal with the additional exposure to germs.
But you can also teach your child good hygiene
habits at home and engrain them in her lifestyle so they will stick with her
even when she is at kindergarten and she doesn’t have you there to protect her. This includes good bathroom habits, an
obsession with washing her hands as often as possible, being aware of others
who are sniffing and who may not be taking good care of themselves to avoid
contamination and using good table habits so the foods your child eats are
clean and safe for consumption at lunch.
Good lifestyle habits at home will benefit
the child at school as well. This
includes a well developed schedule of getting at least eight hours of sleep
each day and a regular diet of all the major food groups, particularly fruits
and vegetables as these foods will give your child’s body the defenses it will
need to ward off illness if there is an exposure to germs. Good dietary habits will be something that is
taught as well as enforced at home. You
can send your child a lunch to assure that at least she is taking the right
kinds of foods. But the best defense is
to make sure your child is aware of her own nutritional needs as it pertains to
resisting illness so she also eats well when getting food from the cafeteria
and stays healthy and regular every day.
You don’t want to send your child to school
paranoid or afraid of other people. But
some simple rules of how to interact with others in a way that is social but
not risky should be part of your training as you raise the child. Just as you know not to eat after someone
else using the same utensil, not to eat anything that has been on the floor or
not to eat anything that you don’t know the origin of, these are basic health
rules that children may not know if they are not taught. So be a conscientious parent and equip your
child to avoid hazardous hygienic situations.
Even if they are innocent dangers, they are dangers none the less.
The health preparations for kindergarten
includes things parents can control at home such as check ups, getting good
sleep and nutrition and gong to school healthy and clean. But they also include things you teach your
child so she can keep herself safe and healthy even in the middle of a large
group of other kids. By giving her these
skills from the first day of school going forward, you are doing your job as
good parents to assure she is ready for school each and every day from
kindergarten all the way through to college graduation.
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