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After a year of full or partial distance learning, many students will be headed back into a physical classroom this fall. In this Mayo Clinic Minute, Dr. Nipunie Rajapakse, a pediatric infectious diseases physician at Mayo Clinic Children's Center, offers some tips for a healthy school year.
Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (1:05) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.
"Going into the school year, it's probably going to be another kind of challenging year for kids and families."
Dr. Rajapakse says making sure your child has a healthy return to school starts with having conversations.
"Let them know what to expect when they return to school," she says.
For example, talk about if people will be wearing masks and if they will be expected to wear a mask. If your student is eligible, talk with him or her about COVID-19 vaccinations.
It's not just COVID-19. Dr. Rajapakse says trends continue to show kids 12 and younger are falling behind in other childhood vaccinations.
"This is a really great time, in the weeks leading up to return to school, to make sure your child, even if they can't get the COVID-19 vaccine, is up to date on all other routine vaccinations."
She also suggests parents pay attention to their kid's mental health as they adjust to returning to the classroom.
"We've seen a significant increase in mental health issues in children and teenagers over the pandemic ― increases in depression, anxiety and social isolation. There is quite the adjustment that we expect kids will need to make, especially those who were (participating in) fully online schooling all of last year," says Dr. Rajapakse.
Don't hesitate to talk to your child's primary care physician if you notice any concerns.
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For the safety of its patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place. Anyone shown without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a nonpatient care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.
Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.
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