Parents can and should participate in the prevention of risks of accidents or illnesses while their children are in school. Adequate communication with the educational establishment and the taking of simple measures in consensus are fundamental to contribute to the safety and health of the students. In this section, we present back to school tips for students.

Back to school tips for students

Here are some recommendations that parents and educators should take into account to ensure the well-being of children during school days. Can you speak English fluently? If no, learn from here.

Roundtrip

The use of safety belts on buses or small school buses is ideal. Encourage the campus for your transportation provider to follow this rule. Children should not go from one side of the bus to the other and should remain within sight of the driver.

In the case of private cars, all children under the age of 13 must go in the back seat of the vehicle.

If your child is transported by bicycle, it is of vital importance to wear the helmet and always keep the right one.

When the journey is made on foot, make sure the student’s pedestrian skills, because young children are impulsive and less cautious in transit. First, carefully evaluate whether or not you are ready to walk to school without adult supervision.

Recreation place

Every year about 200 thousand children are injured in parks or recreational equipment, with injuries severe enough to need treatment in the emergency room.

It is advisable to verify that the recreational facilities are of the appropriate size so that the infant can easily reach them. Small swings can break if large children use them. Under the game equipment, there must be a surface that minimizes the impact when the child falls on it, such as synthetic floor or sand.

Wood implements or appliances should be free of splinters and protruding nails or screws.

Do not allow the use of ropes, cords or bicycle helmets while using the facilities of the game, as they increase the risk of strangulation if the child is trapped in any of these structures.

Feeding

The schools are increasingly concerned about the healthy diet of students because it is essential for the improvement of academic performance. The reasons why the snacks of the public schools offer besides fruits, products rich in fiber and vitamins.

Know the products that cafeterias sell. Where possible, the school cafeteria or food service should offer healthy foods such as fresh fruits, dairy products, water, and natural juices.

Restrict the consumption of soft drinks. Each 12 oz. Soft drink contains approximately 10 teaspoons of sugar and 150 calories. Drinking just one can a day increases the risk of your child suffering from obesity by 60%.

Health care within the educational establishment. According to their characteristics, educational institutions must have a gifted area and a health professional, be it a doctor or a nurse, to provide first aid and basic attention to students in the event of an accident or to present any symptoms such as fever, vomiting, headache, cramps, etc.

In both cases, the school must inform the parent or guardian of the situation and evaluate the need to send it to a hospital institution.

It is always opportune to have the telephone number of the person in charge of providing health care and inform which health entity the student is affiliated with.

Likewise, it is important to communicate in writing to the directives of the school and its medical or nursing area if your child suffers from any illness, if he is allergic to medication or food, or if he has restrictions to do sports activities that require physical effort.

Find out about the school’s disaster prevention plan. It is convenient that every educational establishment develops and socializes a disaster prevention plan, which includes knowledge of the risk landscape, training of its teachers and simulations.

Both students and professors must identify the sites with the highest probability of fire. Likewise, the state, resistance and functionality of the building must be evaluated to take preventive measures.

Below, a tip for each day of the week

Monday: Wearing a helmet should be a priority if your child is riding a bicycle to school. Also wearing a helmet when playing soccer or baseball considerably reduces the risk of suffering a head injury.

Tuesday: Take some time to verify that your child’s backpack is not too heavy. The American Chiropractic Association recommends that a backpack weigh no more than 10 percent of the child’s weight.

Wednesday: Walk without being distracted! Children suffer injuries when they text or talk on their cell phones when they cross the street and walk through a crowd of pedestrians.

Thursday: Never buy or allow children to wear clothes with laces around their necks: they run the risk of strangulating themselves!

Friday: Never let children play on slides/slides and very hot surfaces. And on the soccer field, check that all mobile soccer goals are firmly held at all times.