Back To School: Basic Guidelines for Success

Back to school season is in the air! Schools are preparing for our kids to jump back into classrooms, and parents are preparing schedules for their children. It’s a time where we might be excited for the upcoming school year, but disappointed that the relaxing summer months with our kids is about to end. Stress may be high during this time of year, as we are having to arrange schedules with others to coordinate transporting our kids to school as well as extracurricular activities. One thing to keep in mind this year is the safety of our children. We often become so busy and caught up in the madness of back to school, that we forget one of the most important aspects of our kid’s well-being. Be sure you prepare for the year by taking necessary steps to ensure your child’s safety in, and out of school. There are many places that pose threats for injury or illness- from the playground at recess, to the soccer fields after school. Keeping our children healthy and in a state of well-being will make our year much less stressful, and will allow for a smoother transition into our new schedules.

In fact, a large portion of child injuries result from recess time at schools. Other areas to be sure to recognize include areas like school busses, cafeterias, and carpool lines. In addition, with the rise in technology, cyber bullying can be an area for mental injury to our children, as they become older. A great resource for identifying these different types of injuries, and ways to identify and treat them is the Child Safety Guide. As parents, we are unaware of many injuries, or ways to treat them. Keeping a guide like this is important for this year.

Be sure to also speak with older kids and teens regarding potential dangers that they could face this year as well. There are many resources online that can identify these threats. One of the biggest problem areas for teens who are driving is engaging in distracted driving while traveling to school. Teen texting and driving actually causes more serious injuries than drunk driving alone.

An excellent resource to demonstrate the dangers of distracted driving, that can be implemented into your conversations with teens is the Stay Alive Game. This would be an excellent conversation piece to initiate talks with teens about the threats that they face while texting and driving.

Be sure to start the school year off on a healthy, positive note. Let’s set guidelines and routines for all that will ensure safety and reduce any risks for dangers among our kids. Stay safe this year!

This guest post was written by Landon Biehl. Photo credit to Lord Jim.

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