As the summer heat gives way to the fall, the health needs of your family will start to change. This is particularly true for families with school-age children. For parents, sick children can be a source of stress, which makes it important to appreciate the types of health changes that you should make for your family during this time of the year.

Ease Your Child Back Into Their School Schedule

When the first day of school is approaching, you should take the time to ensure that your child has a smooth transition back into a school schedule. In addition to decreasing school performance, a child that is experiencing sleep deprivation may have a weaker immune system. Considering that the start of the year can be a time when your child comes into contact with a variety of bacteria and viruses, you will want your child to enter the year as healthy as possible. Several weeks before the start of school, you should adjust your child's schedule so that they are going to sleep and waking up around the times that will be required for their school schedule. If your child is stubborn when it comes to going to bed, you can help this process by arranging for activity filled days that start early in the morning. This will help your child to be tired enough to willingly go to bed at the right time.

Respect The Value Of Flu Shots

Developing a case of the flu can be extremely disruptive for anyone. This can be particularly true for children as they may be required to miss a week or longer of school, which can be very difficult to make up. Furthermore, if your children catch the flu, there is a strong chance that they will spread it to you. For these reasons, you should ask your doctor whether your child is healthy enough to get one of these shots.

Increase Vitamin C Intake

Boosting your child's immune system can be an excellent way of avoiding the risk of becoming ill during the school year. Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins for the development of the immune system. However, it is important to note that the effects of increasing vitamin C will take time to show effects. Therefore, you should increase your child's intake of this vitamin several weeks prior to school starting so that their body will be better able to fight off the diseases that they may be exposed to through their classmates.