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Back to School Health & Safety Recommendations – PODCAST

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For the very first podcast from The Family First Show with Marijo Tinlin, we are featuring recommendations from the American College of Emergency Physicians for a Back-To-School Health Checklist as well as recommendations from The March of Dimes on the best vaccinations to make sure you get for your kids.

The check list from the ACEP includes:

  • Organize medical history records and emergency medical contact information for your kids.  Make sure this information gets to your child’s school and any day care providers.  Make sure form includes information about prescription medications, medical problems, or previous surgeries as well as emergency contacts.  Free forms can be downloaded on the EmergencyCareForYou website.  An emergency information form is also available for children with special needs.  Make sure you have completed a consent-to-treat form and that the school nurse gets a copy.  The form will allow your child’s caregivers to authorize medical treatment.
  • Speak with the school nurse and your child’s doctor to create action plans for health issues, like asthma or food allergies.  Speak to all appropriate care givers about this.
  • Get those medical and dental check-ups scheduled before school starts.  Don’t forget vision and hearing tests, since impairment can adversely affect learning.  Get a sports check-up well in advance of the season if your child will be playing in sports.
  • Do a dry run with your child of his or her route to school, and talk about the potential hazards along the way – busy streets, bushes that hide you from drivers, intersections.  If your child walks to school, make sure he or she understands potential traffic dangers.
  • If your child will be taking the bus this year, establish a safe, visible pick up/drop off spot, preferably with a group of children and in an area where they can be clearly seen by adults.  If your child drives to school, make sure he or she obeys all laws and wear seatbelts.
  • Make sure your children know how to telephone for help.  Post emergency contact numbers by every telephone in your home.  Have them practice how to call 911 or the local emergency number and give their names address and a brief description of the problem. Make sure they know your contact information and that of your spouse.
  • Develop a family emergency plan in case something happens on the way to (or from) and while at school.  Be aware of the emergency and evacuation plans for your children’s schools.
  • I added this one – don’t put your child’s first name on anything that strangers can view, like a backpack. That immediately creates familiarity with the child and your child may not realize the stranger simply read the backpack and immediate trusts that stranger. This could put your child in a very dangerous spot. You can still identify possessions with initials or a simple last name at the most.

For more information, check out the website at www.acep.org.

The second half of the show was about vaccinations. The March of Dimes put out a press release encouraging parents to make sure their children are up to date on vaccinations, especially measles, mumps and pertussis (whooping cough). Over 28,000 cases were reported last year of pertussis, a preventable disease. The most dangerous part of the vaccine debate is endangering the health of infants who have yet to get their vaccinations.

Anyone having contact with these young children as well as siblings and pregnant moms really should consider vaccinations if it is in line with your philosophy.

The March of Dimes started in 1938 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a polio survivor himself. He did not want children to suffer as he did so he pushed hard for vaccinations and then in 1955 the first polio vaccination was developed with the oral version following in 1962.

Learn more about the March of Dimes at www.marchofdimes.org and about vaccinations at www.vaccines.com.

Marijo Tinlin is an author, editor, blogger and host of The Family First Show podcast who lives in the Boulder, Colorado area with her husband and their four kids. She is the author of “How to Raise an American Patriot” an Amazon best seller.


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