Schools

Seven Tips For Back-to-School Health

Let's brush up on some health tips to make sure your kids have another successful school year.

With the new school year just around the corner, the State Health Department is offering some tips to help your kids achieve perfect attendance this year.

  1. Immunization: Whether your child is a toddler or a teenager, immunization is the best defense against a variety of diseases. Immunizations are especially important in a school setting where diseases can spread quickly. Here's a chart of required immunizations in Washington.
  2. Meningococcal disease is a concern on college campuses, especially for students living in dorms. In Washington, 30 to 60 cases are reported each year, including 1 to 8 deaths. The disease can also cause permanent brain damage, hearing loss, learning disability, limb amputation and kidney failure. Vaccination can prevent some kinds of meningococcal disease. Learn more information here.
  3. Nutrition and physical activity: Recently there has been promising news regarding both the nutritional and physical activity habits of youth in the state of Washington. But there is still room for improvement. Visit our Nutrition and Physical Activity webpage to learn more about these vital components of physical and mental health. 
  4. Prevent the spread of germs: Learn more from our "Preventing the spread of germs" fact sheet and from your local health department. This information is available from the fact sheet page in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Cambodian and Chinese.
  5. WashYour HandsingTon: Washington State Department of Health welcomes you to WashYourHandsingTon! where everyone washes their hands, covers their coughs and gets the flu vaccine! Get vaccinated. Stop the flu. 
  6. Injury prevention: Back to school time can be a dangerous time to be a pedestrian. The Safe Kids USA fact sheet provides tips to help kids be safe at school or on their way to and from school.  If your kids are old enough to drive themselves to school, see "The Washington Parent Guide to Teen Driving".
  7. Food Safety: A lunch that sits un-refrigerated for hours waiting for the lunch hour can pose possible health risks. If your child takes food that needs to stay cold, use an insulated lunch box and chilled freezer gel pack to keep the food safe. You can find additional information about school lunch safety on the Fight Bac website.


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