Children can see it looming ahead — the dreaded cliff's edge where summer abruptly drops away and they land in school. But parents can help make a softer landing for them and deal with anxiety about the unknown ahead, doctors say. The new school year has already arrived for some in South Carolina while for others it will come in the next couple of weeks.
Richland One students in Columbia and also Greenville County pupils return Aug. 8; Charleston County kids are back Aug. 13; and Horry County Schools resume classes Aug.
19. Aiken County schools welcomed students back July 22. Sonia Hanson, with Sunflowers of Hope fills a new backpack for Joseph Scott Green, 6, during a Back to School event held in the Icon at Park Circle neighborhood Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in North Charleston.
Parents should take advantage of the time they have to start preparing kids now for the new school year, said Dr. Brittany Peters, a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Columbia with Prisma Health. "It's a good idea to start getting back into those routines" now, she said.
If possible, start adjusting bed times and wake-up times gradually to get back from summer's more lenient hours to those appropriate for school, Peters said. Try adjusting bed times and wake-up times by 15 minutes earlier a day, lowering them until students are back where they need to be to get their proper rest. "Most kids need nine hours of sleep a night, especially the younger ones," said Dr.
Valerie Scott of Mount Pleasant Family Physicians, which is part of Roper St. Francis Physician Partners. "Most teenagers need a lot more sleep than they are getting.
" Social media use and screen-time restrictions often get relaxed during the summer so now is a good time to start "weaning back" their use as school approaches, she said. For instance, many families institute a rule about not having devices at the table during meal-time and impose other restrictions on when and where they can be used. Parents can help kids make the adjustment if they model that themselves, Peters said.
Scott agrees. Barber Clyde Hampton uses dollar bill stickers to paste back the long locks as he gives Jahari Smalls a medium bald fade haircut during a Back to School event held in the Icon at Park Circle neighborhood Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in North Charleston. "We must also take responsibility that we can't be on our screens all of the time," she said.
Anxiety about what's ahead is natural and it is not just confined to starting school, she said. "In general, people are anxious about what they are uncertain of," Peters said. Parents should assure kids "it's normal to be anxious and excited," she said.
But there are things parents can do to help. If the school offers a chance to visit before classes start, or to meet the teacher, or both, that can help students see what to expect before the new year begins. If possible, talk to the teacher or teachers about what routines to expect, how assignments will be handled and other details that can help the child adjust.
Dr. Kelly Willard, with Vision to Learn, performs an eye check up for North Charleston High student Breydis Lopez during the back to school event. Story continues below It's also important to keep up with the required vaccinations.
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Health, the schedule for this year requires new updates, including: • Those in Fourth Grade to have two doses of the Hepatitis A vaccine, administered on the first birthday or after, separated by at least six months. • Those in Ninth Grade to have a dose of Tdap vaccine given on or after the 10th birthday. • Students in 10th Grade who have never had chickenpox must have two doses of the varicella vaccine (while those who have had it are exempt).
• High school Seniors must have had three doses of inactivated or oral polio vaccine, with at least one dose administered since they turned four years old. Flu and COVID-19 vaccines are not required but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and DPH both recommend those ages six months and older get them when they are available later in the fall. Volunteers with Top of the Line Barber College including Clyde Hampton give free hair cuts during a Back to School event held in the Icon at Park Circle neighborhood Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in North Charleston.
There were 290 outbreaks in South Carolina schools last academic year due to either flu or COVID-19, DPH reported. An outbreak in a school is defined as 20 percent or more of staff/students absent or sent home due to flu, COVID-19 or respiratory syncytial virus within a three-day period. While they are not mandated, Scott recommends flu and COVID-19 vaccines to her parents.
Even if the illness is not very serious, coming down with flu or COVID-19 can cause a child to miss a week of school. And there are potential long-term consequences from a COVID-19 infection, she said. But it can be a difficult conversation.
"It's a tough one because so many people have feelings about (the vaccine) that are not always based in science," Scott said. And there are other potential pitfalls parents can help prepare children for, particularly those going into middle schools and high school, such as vaping, she said. North Charleston Elementary School literacy coach Tayler McCormack stacks boxes of supplies that are given out to students during a back to school event held in the Icon at Park Circle neighborhood on July 31 in North Charleston.
"Vaping right now is at an epidemic proportion," Scott said. Parents can help kids think of strategies of how to avoid or decline it if offered, such as saying they don't want it to affect their athletic performance or their health, she said. Children and teens are also consuming energy drinks at an enormous rate now and many of them have incredibly high amounts of stimulants in them, Scott said.
It's another temptation parents should prepare kids to maneuver around, she said..
