The summer is coming to a close for families, which means the “Back to School” season is here. One important part of back-to-school preparation is being proactive in your child’s health care needs. At AdventHealth Hendersonville we provide convenient access to health care for children of all ages. Here are some recommended steps parents can take to keep their kids healthy and safe when they head back to the classroom.
- Get a check-up
Annual well-child visits are the best way to be proactive for your child’s health care needs. This is true for school-aged children, as well as teens. Scheduling a visit with your child’s health care provider during the summer is one way to minimize school absences. This also gives you a chance for discussions about any health changes your child may be experiencing before the school year begins.
“Back to school health care is really just one part of the annual general health overview/review for a child/teen,” shares Nicole Groves, MD, pediatrician at AdventHealth Medical Group Pediatrics at Medical Office Building, “As a child/teen advances through their school years, their educational and health care needs change. Annual visits with the child/teen’s primary care provider can help anticipate upcoming needs or changes as well as update support resources. This is really taking a proactive/preventative approach to health instead of a reactive approach.”
- Keep immunizations and medical records current
Keeping your child up to date on their recommended vaccine schedule is an important step to going back to school. Not only are vaccines important to keeping your child healthy when they go back into the classroom, it keeps other kids around them safe as well. AdventHealth Hendersonville recommends following the CDC guidelines for childhood and teen vaccine schedules. For more information on the childhood vaccine schedule, you can visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/children-teens.html.
Along with updating their immunizations record, make sure any school medication forms and individual health plans are updated for the school year. When you visit your child’s primary care provider, they can update any needed sports physical forms, school enrollment forms, and school medication/health plan forms.
- Start a sleep schedule
When the summer ends, it can be hard to get back into a regular and healthy sleep schedule for kids. A good way to prevent the shock of going back to school for your kid, is to gradually transition them to a regular sleep schedule before school starts.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) provides some helpful guidelines regarding just how much sleep children need at different stages in their development. For each 24-hour period infants (4 to 12 months) need 12 to 16 hours of sleep including naps, toddlers (1 to 2 yrs. old) need 11 to 14 hours of sleep including naps, preschoolers (3 to 5 yrs. old) need 10 to 13 hours of sleep including naps, grade schoolers (6 to 12 yrs. old) need 9 to 12 hours of sleep, and teens (13 to 18 yrs. old) need 8 to 10 hours of sleep.
The “Back to School” process is an exciting time to prepare for your child’s upcoming school year, and it is an excellent time to prepare for your child’s well-being. At AdventHealth Hendersonville we provide convenient support for your child’s whole being.
“AdventHealth Pediatrics has a team of experienced board-certified pediatric physicians that manage all health care needs for children and teens from birth through teenage years,” Dr. Groves explains, “whether that patient has complex special health care needs, social-emotional complexities, or just needs the general care for a growing child.”
If you need a pediatrician or family medicine doctor, AdventHealth is here to help. AdventHealth Medical Group Pediatrics at Medical Office Building is located at 50 Hospital Drive, Suite 5D, in Hendersonville, NC. To learn more or schedule an appointment visit AdventHealthNC.com or call
Call828-650-8032.
