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 As
summer vacation draws to a close and families get ready for the
start of the 2010-2011 school year, Lee Memorial Health System wants
parents to help their children make healthy lifestyle choices, which
includes receiving any required immunizations, eating balanced meals
and getting plenty of exercise.
Local school systems require certain vaccines based on the grade the
child will be entering, but Pierre Loredo, M.D., a pediatrician with
Lee Physician Group, recommends parents also seek additional
immunizations for their children and themselves.
“Influenza vaccines are not required, but are very important. In
September and October, children should definitely be immunized for
the seasonal flu,” Dr. Loredo says. “And since a child must be 6
months old before they can receive the flu vaccine, expectant
mothers in their third trimester should be immunized so that the
child is protected through vaccine transmission.”
Dr. Loredo also mentions that many parents do not realize that the
pertussis vaccine—which immunizes against whooping cough—is no
longer effective once the person reaches their 20s. Parents should
be reimmunized to prevent spreading the deadly disease to their
children.
“Whooping cough really is a miserable illness,” Dr. Loredo says.
“You could be looking at three months without a restful night of
sleep because you are up all night coughing. Young children can have
a fatal outcome because there is no way to treat it.”
Another vaccine he highly recommends is the HPV vaccine, which
protects adolescents from the human papillomavirus. “This isn't just
another sexually transmitted disease like herpes simplex or
mononucleosis, but rather, this disease can cause cervical cancer."
HPV can cause cervical cancer in young women, who usually don’t
exhibit any symptoms until the disease is quite advanced. Both
genders can be affected by genital warts and cancers of the vulva,
vagina, penis, anus, lungs, mouth and throat.
Lauren Speas, ARNP, is a nurse practitioner and a certified diabetes
educator with the pediatric endocrinology practice of Asjad Khan,
M.D., Cayce Jehaimi, M.D., and Melanie Aracri, CDE, registered
dietitian and certified diabetes educator. Lauren says that being
back in school is usually better for a child’s health. “The school
day is more structured than summer vacation,” Lauren says. “Kids
often snack more during the summer and are less likely to have three
balanced meals.”
According to Lauren, breakfast is the most important meal of the
day. Whether it is eaten at home or at school, kids need breakfast
to jump-start their day. She recommends having water instead of
juice and half of a bagel instead of a whole one. For lunch, packing
a lunch at home makes it easier to ensure that healthy choices are
made. “Schools provide some really healthy options, but kids don’t
always pick them. They may have soda instead of milk, or chips
instead of vegetables. But even kids who bring a lunch from home can
trade their carrot sticks for someone else’s cookies,” Lauren says.
So how do parents ensure their children are making healthy choices
at school? “The behavior has to start at home. Plan out the meals
for the week and include your kids in the planning process. Go
grocery shopping together and let them pick which fruits they want
in their lunchbox.”
Since many schools have limited physical education programs, Lauren
says that it is still important that children get 30 minutes of
non-stop exercise every day, even if it is after dinner. She
suggests getting the whole family together to walk the dog or take a
bike ride around the neighborhood is the safest and most-family
centered way to encourage children to stay active.
And a family-centered approach is exactly what the pediatric
endocrinologists emphasize. “If mom and dad aren’t exercising or
cooking healthy foods, they cannot ask their kids to make healthy
choices,” Lauern says. “The same goes for exercise. Parents
absolutely must be their child’s best role model when it comes to a
healthy lifestyle.”
Even if parents are having trouble sticking to their exercise
routine or just cannot seem to give up sweets, it is important for
children to understand that making mistakes is OK as long as they
recognize the mistake.
For more information about childhood obesity or any other
nutrition-related pediatric health issues, please call 239-274-5660.
For information about immunizations or general pediatric health,
please call 239-343-9888.
For immunization requirements, click
here.
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