School aged children

Children wearing backpacks outside jumping into the air

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.

Growth and development

Sexual health is an important part of a person’s overall health and well-being. It is important to foster an open relationship with your child so they feel safe to ask questions and discuss concerns. To help you talk with your child in an age and developmentally appropriate ways visit Teaching Sexual Health or Sex Positive Parenting.

For additional information and resources to support sexual health with children visit:
Sex & U – Sexual and reproductive health information and resources. It is an initiative by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.
Saleema Noon - Sexual Health Educators provides comprehensive sexual health education to children and their parents

Big feelings and strong emotions

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:

Be calm.
Listen to them.
Help them find the words for how they are feeling.
Let them know you are there to help.

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.

Talk about your own personal experiences. Discuss stressful times from your teenage years, and how you managed your emotions. Talk about what you might have done differently.
Help your teenager look at the situation in a new way. Consider the other person's point of view or think positively about the situation. Ask "How can we learn from this?"
Give options for how to deal with strong emotions. Offer activities to focus on, like exercise or self-expression through art.
Show by example how you cope with your emotions. Staying calm and positive will teach your teenager how to respond to stressful situations.
Let your teen know that there are other people they can talk to like teachers, guidance counsellors, or other trusted adults.

Routines

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:

Having regular wake-up and bedtimes.
Eating together when you can.
Planning some quality time with your child each day, such as a family walk.
Sitting down and sharing something fun you each did during the day.

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.

Screens and social media

While there are some benefits to screens and social media, research suggests that child and youth mental health can be impacted by how they use it. Using screens and social media too much can have negative effects on mental health and well-being including: 

increased feelings of anxiety and depression,
decreased attention span and social connectedness ,
lower self-reported happiness and self-esteem, and 
sleep difficulties.

When children and youth are on their devices it can get in the way of opportunities for learning, spending time with family and friends, playing, and being outdoors.

Tips to help manage screen time:

Delay screen use and giving your child a personal device for as long as possible.
Make rules and set limits. Make mealtimes screen-free and bedrooms screen-free zones. Turn off all screens at least one hour before bedtime.
Spend lots of screen-free time with your child or teen. Plan activities so that screen time isn’t the go-to activity.
Be part of your child’s media life. Be present when screens are used, join in during a video game and talk about their experiences and their encounters online.
Model healthy screen use. Consider using your screens primarily when your children are in bed, out of the house, or involved in an activity (e.g., going for a walk).

The Canadian Paediatric Society offers more advice and tips to parents of school-aged children and teens around screen time and social media. Additional information for children ages two to five can be found on the Caring for Kids website.

Discipline and boundaries

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.

Do not spank your child. Spanking can teach children that hitting is okay and cause them to distrust their parents.
Give yourself 10 seconds to calm down and slowly breathe before responding. It’s normal to feel frustrated with your children. Role model staying calm in tough situations.

Try to catch unwanted behaviour and redirect your child early. Suggest a different activity.
Say what you want instead of what you don’t want. Instead of “stop shouting” say “please speak quietly”.
Use a consequence that relates to the behaviour (e.g., if they have made a mess in a room, have them help to clean it up). Consequences are not about punishment, but about helping your child learn from and take responsibility for their actions.

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:

Independence
Problem-solving
Responsibility and consequences for their behaviour

Here are some tips for setting clear limits:

Involve your child/teen in working out limits and rules.
Be clear about the behaviour you expect.
Discuss responsibilities with your child/teen.
Agree in advance with your child/teen on what the consequences will be if they don't stick to the rules you've agreed on.

Positive discipline for young children - Caring for Kids
How to talk with your teen - Caring for Kids

Physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep

Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines

For 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.

Mental health

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. Learn more on how to support the mental health and well-being of your child or youth.

Bullying and violence

Bullying can take many forms, including physical, verbal, and cyber/electronic bullying. Bullying is not a normal part of childhood, and can cause immediate and long-lasting harm to a child’s emotional, social, physical and mental well-being.

To help prevent bullying, and support your child if they are experiencing or enacting bullying behaviours:

Learn about bullying, including its risks, signs, and how parents can help.
Talk to your child about bullying and its impacts.
Build your child’s knowledge and skills related to healthy communication and relationships, including friendships and dating relationships.
Build and encourage empathy in your child.
Speak to your child’s school for further support and discuss their policies and requirements related to bullying.

Substance use

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.

What you can do:

Know who your child is spending time with, what they are doing, and where they are.
Talk early and often with your child.
Set clear expectations to create an environment where rules are respected.
Be a positive role model.
Support healthy relationships which can help prevent or delay substance use.

For helpful resources to support children and youth regarding substances including alcohol, cannabis, vaping, and tobacco visit:

If you are struggling with substance use, there are programs and services that can provide support.

Sexual health

KFL&A Public Health provides information about contraception and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections. We provide caring and non-judgmental support over the phone and in person at quick test clinics.

Consent is a necessary element in any relationship. Everyone has a part to play in creating a culture of consent.

Infections and infectious disease

To reduce the spread of infectious illnesses within schools, students and guardians should:

Follow current recommendations to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses and the spread of vomiting and diarrhea (gastroenteritis)

Complete the self-assessment tool and follow the directions provided if your child is experiencing symptoms of illness, or if they have tested positive for COVID-19.

For information on infectious illnesses and your child, visit our chart on when your child should stay home and Caring for Kids' common infections and your child.

Injury prevention and safety

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.

When outdoors teach children how to avoid injury from the Hickory Tussock Moth caterpillar.

Immunizations and vaccines

Children need vaccines to stay healthy. In Ontario, some vaccines are also required to attend school. To help your child stay up to date:

View our immunization schedule by age page.
Visit your healthcare provider or one of our clinics to get vaccinated
Report all vaccinations to KFL&A Public Health (health care providers may not report immunizations)

Vision

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 exam

Yearly 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.

Find an optometrist

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

Free glasses for kindergarten: Eye See...Eye Learn

The Eye See…Eye Learn program gives free glasses to kindergarten students after an eye exam with a participating optometrist. Check with your eye doctor before your appointment to see if they participate in this program. Learn more about Eye See Eye Learn.

This program ends June 30, 2025

City of Kingston Low Income Health Benefits

The City of Kingston offers low-income families extended health benefits for vision care, glasses or contact lenses, prescription medications, and adult dental care. Learn more about Low Income Health Benefits.

Ontario Disability Support Program

If you are receiving income support from the Ontario Disability Support Program, you may be able to receive assistance with the cost of prescription glasses through the Vision Care benefit. Learn more about the Vision Care benefit.

Ontario Works

If you are an Ontario Works client, your family may be eligible for certain health-related benefits: Ontario Works Health Benefits. Contact your local Ontario Works office to find out what is available to you.

Dental

Dental health is an important part of overall health. Learn about dental health at every age.

If you need help paying for your child’s dental care, there are programs to help.

Head lice

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.

There may be coverage for specific head lice treatment products under OHIP+. OHIP+ covers the cost of certain prescription drugs for anyone 24 years and under who are not covered by a private plan. A health card number and an eligible prescription from a health care provider are required. Speak to a health care provider or pharmacist to learn more about options.