Theback-to-school routine is not easy, because during the summer holidays there islaxity in the hours of eating and sleeping for kids. But with the return ofstudents to schools, things don't go back as they were right away. For many families,the back-to-school period is approaching, and it is a good thing that childrenwill be back to a routine, having an early dinner and going to bed at areasonable time. For moms especially, back to school is stressful for a varietyof reasons. School fees in Kuwait's private schools are sky high and continueto soar. Supplies and uniforms are also expensive and require repeated trips tomarket and special budgeting.
Preparing forschool, whether by returning from travels or buying school supplies likeuniforms, bags, notebooks and other important needs are not the only concernsfor families, but how ready are the schools to receive students and thereadiness of classes too, especially with regards to air conditioning and watercoolers, as well as the necessary medical supervision to ensure the safety ofstudents from any diseases or infection. I think the back-to-school season hasbecome a burden, especially if the family has to pay for additional lessonsafter school for the children to help them in their studies.
Theback-to-school season will begin in Kuwait and the rest of the Gulf veryshortly, so it is important to raise awareness of the health risks that can betransmitted among students, especially in the kindergarten and primary levels.School health specialists agree that the school is an environment that providesan incubator for infectious diseases, and that illnesses can be easilytransmitted through the integration and accumulation of pupils in classrooms.This is a natural result because of the presence of children in large groups,who are exposed to pathogens including germs and other vectors of infection.School infections, skin diseases and eye infections are transmitted by viral,fungal and bacterial means.
In any case,early diagnosis and continuous follow-up of the situation of the child, whetherby parents or school administrations, is required to avoid problems. I thinkgiving attention to the periodic examination of the skin of schoolchildren andnot allowing them to keep their hair and nails too long are effective andvital.
For theprevention of these diseases, several tips are provided by specialized doctors,especially proper nutrition, as it stimulates the immune system and improvesthe body's ability to fight diseases, including making sure there is no lack ofvitamins in the child's daily diet to ensure that the child gets enough of theright foods and enough sleep at night.
I remember when Iwas young, our parents were keen to make us to go to sleep early. We did nothave mobiles that we took to our beds that kept us awake for a long time. Delayin sleeping at night leads to stress issues in the morning, which is a bigproblem for families today.
Social mediaoccupies a lot of time in the lives of people, whether school kids or others,so it is important for parents to set certain hours during the day to letchildren use their mobile devices, and not allow these devices to go to bedwith them. I hope this year we will not witness any cases of disruption of airconditioning in the light of the very hot weather. We need a good start.Welcome back everyone, and wishing you all a great school year!
By Muna Al-Fuzai
muna@kuwaittimes.net