The start of a new school year is always exciting with new challenges and new expectations.   Everything that occurs during the school year from September through June will impact our children’s health – mostly in positive ways but there are always a few speed bumps along the way at unexpected times.  Here’s a snapshot of the most important issues nuts and bolts to consider as you march through a new school year with your kids.

The Annual Well Child Examination
When a Child Is Sick
Common School Year Illnesses
Medication Use In School
Immunizations
Special Vaccines
Unexpected Problems

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Preparing for a new school year is always challenging, and always catches even the most organized of parents off guard. In the blink of an eye, summer is over and we’re in school mode again – just like that!

Before you panic, keep in mind that you don’t need to organize the entire school year right now.  To help you get organized, just think

“BACK TO SCHOOL”!

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You likely heard that Massachusetts is finally considering an anti-bullying law. It’s about time!

My kids have both been bullied over the years…have yours? It is one of the most challenging situations to handle in all of parenting and the dramatic increase in technology among today’s kids and teens and made bullying via technology a contributing factor. 25% of kids being bullied is too many already. 42% of kids being cyber-bullied is unthinkable…but is the estimated number being victimized via technology.

The impact of bullying on my kids lives wasn’t readily evident until I asked my 12 year old some questions for a book I was working on. I asked her the following question: “What are the biggest threats to your childhood today?” I had asked that to her older sister, almost 16, and heard answers such as too much homework, not enough time for friends and family, too much use of technology, too much pressure. My 12 year old turned to me and said “Bullies. I was bullied and it took something from me. It could happen again, you know.”

Of my two girls, she had the worst of the bullying and one of the situations was recent. We had thought she had “dealt with it” but clearly it was still plaguing her…she was almost carrying it around like a permanent tattoo, just under the skin, out of site, but palpable.

What we fail to realize as parents it that kids don’t categorize situations as we do. Situations we view as “not bad” or “mild” are still incredibly painful. In fact, in the case of bullying, all bullying hurts and its extremely challenging to categorize it. We can look back after the fact in some cases, such as the tragic suicide death of Phoebe Phoenix of South Hadley High School in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and recognize how intense that was with nothing being done.  However, all bullying is intense and does escalate. That means that we have to pay attention to each and every report of bullying and stop it before it gets to the point of no return for the victim and before they feel so helpless that he or she reaches for some extreme cry for help, as Phoebe did. Those extreme cries for help mean that the system and adults within that system have let that child down and failed to protect that child.

Massachusetts passing an anti-bullying law is an important measure but will mean nothing if schools and communities don’t do better in listening to children and protecting them when they turn to a trusted adult and say “I need help…I’ve been bullied”.

Bullying is a violent act. It’s time we take a stand for all our kids and simply say “No more! This ends today.”

One of the situations I found most challenging working in emergency rooms and urgent care settings was when a teen came in for “medical clearance”. This phrase is code for “a teen in an emotional crisis who may need be having a major psychiatric issue…or not.” My job was look into any possible medical issues of the mood changes and then to call the on-call psychiatric crisis team in for the remainder of the evaluation, if needed…which was the majority of the time.

I recall one 17 year old teenager who had threatened to commit suicide earlier that day.  I remember being struck by two observations: how sad she appeared and how “normal” her family was by all standards. They were basically like any of our neighbors.

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Does your teen or tween every travel alone? “Of course not,” you say. What about school trips in middle school or high school?  What about overnight camp and day trips or overnights they may take?

Any time your kids do something without you, they are travelling alone. Once kids are old enough to have these opportunities, they are old enough to not only understand important safety rules about travelling without you, but understand how to care for themselves and their health a bit. In fact, if they can’t accomplish either of those tasks, perhaps they are not quite ready to be on their own.

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