BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — There are just two weeks left until most kids in the area head back to the classroom. That means routines that were set over the summer are about to change.
A new school year marks a new chapter, new teachers, new classroom, and for some, new challenges. In the state of Louisiana, there are some requirements to make sure your child is physically ready to go back to school including shots and vaccines. However, family doctor Melissa Love says there are other things parents should be doing now as well to help better prepare their child for school like starting to implement school schedules. Some doctors say kids should start going to bed early now.
“One thing I suggest to parents is going ahead and trying to get back in a regular routine. If we’ve been getting to bed later at night, try to ease it back maybe 15 minutes every one or two nights to try to get them back on schedule and even waking up on schedule in the morning time just to get them back in that regular routine a bit, because it’s going to be kind of hard for everybody. But that sleep cycle, the nutrition cycle. Just trying to get them back on that routine will really help them for that first week when they start back,” explained Dr. Melissia Love, Family Medicine, Oschner.
She goes on to say that getting your child back on their school diet including eating a healthy meal in the morning is important. Also, taking thirty minutes of the day to do flash cards or making your child read will help better prepare their minds for the classroom. She says you can also make it fun by acting out a typical school day with your child. Here’s more information on how you can better prepare your child for the upcoming school year.
