School aged children
The school years can be both exciting and challenging for parents, children and teens. You may have questions about the health and well-being of your child. Connect with us through our Parenting in KFL&A - Connect with a registered nurse by email, phone 613-549-1154, or messaging us through Parenting in KFL&A's Facebook page.
Growth and development |
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It is important for young people to build knowledge and skills related to healthy relationships, including but not limited to friendships and dating relationships. Building knowledge and skills supports a young person to gain confidence with navigating different types of relationships and better prepares them to be healthy and safe now and in the future. |
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Supporting school aged children when they are upset |
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When a child is upset or acting out, they are usually feeling overwhelmed and having trouble controlling their bodies. Children are more likely to have overwhelming feelings when they are tired, hungry, or out-of-routine. Instead of trying to correct the behaviour, focus on listening and connecting with your child. Sometimes children have strong emotions, and that's okay. Be calm; this is normal and will pass.
When your child is upset:
Teens can be emotional, have mood swings, and have strong responses to issues or events. Help your teen cope with strong emotions in a positive way.
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Routines are important for children |
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Routines can help children know what to expect and help them feel safe, especially when they are included in some of the decision-making. Routines like:
When children become teenagers, they go through a lot of big changes. Routines can help your teen to feel safe and supported. They can also help teens plan their time more effectively so they can manage their time studying or socializing with friends. Teens need more sleep because their bodies and minds are growing quickly. During weekends, teens often catch up on their sleep. Let them sleep longer when possible but encourage them to get up before noon to avoid insomnia or trouble sleeping at night. Bedtime routines can help school aged children sleep better, including:
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Managing screen time |
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Too much screen time can impact children’s health, mood, and ability to sleep well. When children and youth are on their devices it can get in the way of opportunities for learning, spending time with friends and family, playing and being outdoors. Too much screen time can impact their health, mood, and ability to sleep well. Recent research has shown a link between screen time and anxiety and depression in children and youth.
View tips on limiting screentime from the Canadian Paediatric Society for young children or school-aged children and teens. |
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What to do when you child is upset or acting out |
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Children express their feelings through their behaviour, and may act out when they feel scared, bored, tired, hungry, frustrated, or overwhelmed. Discipline is not about punishment. Discipline is about helping children and teens understand an appropriate way to behave.
You can support your child's emotions and still have boundaries. This might look like: "I can see you are mad that your turn is over, and it's okay to be mad, but it's not okay to hit. Let's try taking a deep breath together". Building strong connections with your child/teen in the early years will help foster open communications especially when they become teenagers. Setting limits and boundaries help them learn:
Here are some tips for setting clear limits:
Positive Discipline for Young children - Caring for Kids
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Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep |
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Canadian 24-Hour Movement GuidelinesFor optimal health benefits for children and youth between the ages of five to 17 years of age, physical activity levels should be high, and sedentary behaviour levels should be low, with sufficient sleep each day. Visit our physical activity for school aged children page for more information. |
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Alcohol, cannabis, or other drug use can affect parenting |
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As a parent, you’re trying to do the best you can for your child. But your alcohol, cannabis or other drug use can impact your child as well as yourself. Don’t use alcohol, cannabis products or other drugs in front of your child, or when caring for your child. When you’re affected by alcohol, cannabis or other drugs, you might not be able to do things like:
Alcohol, cannabis or other drug use can impact your physical and mental health. This might make it hard for you to see your children’s emotional needs or be available when your child needs support or comfort. Children who see their parents under the influence of alcohol and other drug use are more likely to:
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Mental health |
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Understanding what mental health is, can help you talk to your child about their mental wellbeing. Think of mental health as a range with one end being good mental health and the other end being poor mental health. We all move across this range at various times in our lives and we can all experience poor mental health at times in our life. Just like physical health, it is important we take care of our mental health. |
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Bullying and violence |
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Bullying can take many forms, including physical, verbal, and cyber/electronic bullying. Bullying can cause immediate and/or long-lasting harm to a child’s emotional, social, physical and mental well-being. For more information on signs of bullying, how to prevent bullying, and how to support your child if they are experiencing or enacting bullying behaviours, visit:
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Substance use |
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Parents play a key role in shaping their child’s attitudes regarding substances. What you say and how it is said has an impact on your child’s thinking, decision making, risk taking and choices. Talking with your child about substances occurs over several ongoing conversations For helpful resources to support children and youth regarding substances including alcohol, cannabis, vaping and tobacco visit:
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Sexual health |
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Sexual health is an important part of your overall health and well-being. Visit Teaching Sexual Health for information and resources on how to talk about sexual health with your child or youth. KFL&A Public Health provides information about contraception, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections and can help direct you to information on safe sex practices. We provide a caring, non-judgmental experience over the phone and in person at our quick test clinics. Parents and caregivers can help children take care of their sexual health by teaching that bodies, relationships, and sexuality is natural, normal, and healthy. This can be done in age and developmentally appropriate ways. Build a healthy, open relationship with your child so they feel safe to ask questions and discuss concerns. |
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Infections and infectious disease |
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To reduce the spread of infectious illnesses within schools, students can:
For information on infectious illnesses and your child, visit our chart on when should my child stay home and Caring for Kids common infections and your child. |
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Injury prevention and safety |
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Most injuries that occur in young children are avoidable and happen in the home where they spend most of their time. Young children are curious and like to explore their environment but they are unable to identify hazards on their own. View our injury prevention and safety page for more information on how to prevent common at home injuries. |
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Immunizations and vaccines |
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Children need vaccines to stay healthy. You can get your child vaccinated by your healthcare provider or at the one of our clinics. Don't forget to report vaccinations to KFL&A Public Health if your child gets vaccinated by a health care provider. View our immunization schedule by age for more information. |
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Vision |
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As many as one in four children has a vision problem serious enough to impact their learning and development, including language delays. Regular eye exams can identify health problems and conditions such as a turned eye or lazy eye. These conditions may be treated if they are found early in a child's life. Take your child for a free eye examYearly eye exams with an eye doctor (optometrist) are free for children (zero to 19 years of age) with an Ontario health card. The Ontario Association of Optometrists recommends that school age children have an eye exam every year. The Canadian Association of Optometrists provides more information about eye health and eye exams for children and adults. Does your child need glasses?Find help to pay for glasses
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Head lice |
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Anyone can get lice, but it’s more common in children because they are often in close contact playing together. Having head lice doesn’t mean that your child is not clean. Head lice are tiny insects that live on the scalp and can cause itching. They do not spread disease and therefore are not a public health concern. There is no medical reason for your child to be excluded from school or childcare for having head lice. For tips on what to do if your child has head lice visit the Canadian Paediatric Society website. |