Helping Our Kids Build Healthy Active Lives
By Eva MayerMD, FAAP
As parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, and healthcare providers we can share goals for our children by supporting and encouraging active and healthy habits and routines through wellness education, developing self-confidence, and practicing prevention. It’s our job to set those healthy standards for our kids, especially as the new school year approaches.
I always find the Healthy Lifestyles 5-2-1-zero rule an easy way to begin:
- 5 – Enjoy five or more vegetables and fruits every day.
- 2 – Limit screen time to no more than two hours a day.
- 1 – Play actively for at least one hour a day. (There’s a great list of activity & fitness ideas at healthychildren.org)
- 0 – Drink zero sugary drinks
I understand how our busy lifestyles can distract us from some of the important aspects of a healthy lifestyle. But I always suggest to parents with children of any age, that providing a healthy, well-varied diet and packing a lunch containing the four food groups is the foundation for a productive day at school.
Smart Phone and Social Media Use
Many teachers report that cell phones are creating problems in both the academic and the social experiences of their students. One study in Norway showed that banning cell phones in school decreased the incidence of anxiety and depression in girls, bullying decreased, and kids were more successful academically.
A survey quoted in a recent article “The Smartphone Problem” found that 42% of children have a cell phone by age 10, 71% by age 12, and 91% by age 14. A national program called “Wait Until 8th” asks parents to pledge not to give kids cell phones until 8th grade. A book “The Anxious Generation” by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, links much of the younger generations’ anxiety/self-harm/suicide/depression on cell phone use.
Pediatricians are encouraging parents and caregivers to follow the “5 C’s framework” to become more aware of social media and online media use.
- Child: Is social media drama triggering your child’s social anxiety? Are age-inappropriate online video thrills triggering your child’s ADHD symptoms? Does social media bring out your child’s artistic or musical gift?
- Content: Use a resource like commonsensemedia.org to research age-appropriate videos and games to ensure there isn’t too much violence, unrealistic beauty standards, or commercialism.
- Calm: Remember that electronics are not calming to a child’s brain to help them fall asleep.
- Crowding out: Is your child’s social media use crowding out healthier activities?
- Communication: Communicate with your kids about the social media they are watching.
Smartphones and apps can be very helpful and useful tools. However, applications have been developed to make their parent companies profit from advertising revenue or selling user data. They are designed to encourage more and more use, and some may even become addictive. Teens are often the target audience. For every minute they spend on the apps, a corporation is profiting.
New CDC Guidelines
Before we know it, it’s going to be flu, RSV, and COVID season.
The Centers for Disease Control released new guidance on preventing infections in schools and for when a child should be kept at home. These are the guidelines for when to stay home:
- fever over 100.4° especially with a new rash
- vomiting more than two times in the preceding 24 hours
- diarrhea that causes accidents, is bloody, or results in two or more bowel movements than is normal for that child in 24 hours
- skin sores that are draining fluid that are unable to be covered
- respiratory symptoms that are worsening or not improving and not better explained by another cause like seasonal allergies
So many of us learned a lot during the pandemic, practices that we continue to use – washing hands, taking breaks from computers and phones, monitoring social media engagement and worrisome behaviors, developing routines for kids as well as the positive impact of outdoor activities and the importance of keeping current with vaccinations and checkups.
I still find the best source of parent information at healthychildren.org, a comprehensive and timely website sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatricians. This site contains a recently updated report on the key factors that affect a child’s health and practical tips for tackling the issues you can control as the school year begins.
If you have questions or are struggling with medical or behavioral issues, your pediatrician or primary care provider can provide a wealth of information and direct you to resources available in the community and online. These are important issues that you should plan to discuss at your child’s well-child appointment.
Eva Mayer, MD is a pediatrician at Community Health Pediatrics
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