As children and teens head back to school for their third term, it's essential to keep in mind and remind them about their health and wellbeing, and the impact that some everyday activities can have.
Screens are a part of the modern learning environment. Because of this, it is more important than ever to ensure your monitoring your child's recreational screen time. We recommend that you try to keep your child's screen time to about 2 hours for recreation or to attempt to maintain a balance between screen and non-screen related activities.
One of these non-screen related activities should be some form of physical exercise. It is recommended that children get at least 60 active minutes per day. Whether this is through family walks, a team sport, or just running around in the backyard keeping your child active is a great way to set them up for a healthy life.
Keeping your child well-nourished is another preventative measure that you can take. Not only will this prevent future health issues but will also help keep your child active and help them stay alert in this classroom. Here is a link to the government's guidelines on child nutrition.
Backpacks are a standard method of transporting things between school and home, but just as necessary as bring textbooks and other essential items, is ensuring that your child is using the backpack correctly. Your child should be wearing their backpack at an appropriate height, with both straps on. Wearing their backpack like this will help children prevent back pain that may come from carrying a substantial bag to and from school.
With a large amount of sitting in school, it is also vital that you teach your child how to sit with correct posture. The head, shoulders, and hips should all be in line on top of each other with there feet firmly on the floor.
All of these will help keep your child happy, healthy, and alert as they continue with term three and into the rest of their lives.