Every Kid Healthy Week is an annual event organized by Action for Healthy Kids to celebrate school health and wellness during the last full week of April. Each day of the week focuses on a specific way schools and families can improve the health and wellness of kids. Your PTA can host an Every Kid … Continue reading Every Kid Healthy Week is April 26-30
Safe2Help Illinois Aims to Reduce Suicide, Bullying, and School Violence
Teen suicide, bullying, school violence, and other threats to school safety are a far too common part of today’s schools. Illinois has now launched a new school safety program called Safe2Help Illinois to address those issues. The program is aimed at getting students to seek help before harm. Central to the program is a free app, website, … Continue reading Safe2Help Illinois Aims to Reduce Suicide, Bullying, and School Violence
How to Advocate for Healthier School Food
School lunches (and breakfasts) are lifesavers for some children, providing critical nourishment they might not have at home. But even for children who are food-secure, school lunches can help support their education, as well-fed and active children have fewer absences, higher self-esteem, better behavior, and increased academic performance. The Chef Ann Foundation, a non-profit that … Continue reading How to Advocate for Healthier School Food
Improve Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence
One of the things that has become clear during the pandemic is that supporting children’s emotional needs will be critical to a successful return to school. Great Schools has six suggestions for different age ranges on how you can help build up your child’s emotional intelligence at home. Students with high emotional intelligence (often referred … Continue reading Improve Your Child’s Emotional Intelligence
Online Learning and Mental Health
One of the things that stood out from the Illinois PTA-Advance Illinois Town Hall was the struggles families are facing around remote learning. Many parents reported that their children have not wanted to get on Zoom calls, turn on their video during class, or otherwise engage with their teacher and classmates. The sudden shift to … Continue reading Online Learning and Mental Health
May is Mental Health Month
One in five people will experience mental illness during their lifetime, and everyone at some point deals with situations that affect their mental health. Mental Health America has created a toolkit of resources for Mental Health Month 2020 called Tools 2 Thrive. The kit contains practical tools that everyone can use to improve their mental … Continue reading May is Mental Health Month
Caring for Your Kids if You Have COVID-19
COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, has upended our lives—schools are closed, we’re working from home or our employer is closed, and we are staying at home except for essential trips. While this is difficult, it is also an essential step to preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed as the virus spreads. Though we’re busy adjusting … Continue reading Caring for Your Kids if You Have COVID-19
How to Talk to Your Child About COVID-19
Schools and restaurants are closed. You may be working from home. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has upended everyone’s life, and your child may have questions about what is going on, whether they are safe, and more. Today’s post is from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about how to talk to your … Continue reading How to Talk to Your Child About COVID-19
Celebrate National Nutrition Month in March
March is National Nutrition Month, an annual nutrition education campaign led by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to encourage everyone to develop healthy eating and physical activity habits. Here are some ways your PTA can celebrate. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has a National Nutrition Month toolkit. The toolkit has PDF handouts on … Continue reading Celebrate National Nutrition Month in March
A Parent’s Guide to ADHD
Every child is fidgety or easily distracted at times, but perhaps you suspect it might be something more with your child. Perhaps your child has already been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In either case, the Child Mind Institute has created a guide to ADHD for parents. Children with ADHD can struggle with settling … Continue reading A Parent’s Guide to ADHD
Helping Your Anxious Child
We covered how childhood anxiety is a significant and growing concern, and we’ve also reported on items from National Public Radio’s (NPR) Life Kit, created in partnership with Sesame Workshop. Recently, NPR and Sesame Workshop added an article on how to help your child when they are struggling with anxiety. The story is also available … Continue reading Helping Your Anxious Child
Talking to Your Teen About Vaping
Illinois PTA has highlighted the issues surrounding vaping and teens for many years and continues to focus on the issue in alignment with our 2018 resolution on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS). We’ve also highlighted National Public Radio’s (NPR) partnership with Sesame Workshop that created their Parenting: Difficult Conversations podcast, a part of NPR’s Life … Continue reading Talking to Your Teen About Vaping
Use the Healthy Eating Toolkit to Build Healthy Habits at Home and School
Every parent wants their child to eat well and develop healthy habits, but with today’s busy lives, helping your child build those skills can be a challenge. Action for Healthy Kids has created a Healthy Eating Toolkit for parents and educators to help improve student learning, behavior, and emotional health. The toolkit is made up … Continue reading Use the Healthy Eating Toolkit to Build Healthy Habits at Home and School
Helping Your Teenager Get More Sleep
Teenagers need about 9 hours of sleep to function at their best, but only about 8% of American teenagers are getting the sleep they need and, according to a recent study in the Journal of Adolescent Health, more than half (59%) are suffering from severe sleep deprivation, meaning six or fewer hours of sleep most … Continue reading Helping Your Teenager Get More Sleep
Getting to Know Your Child’s PE Program
Physical Education (PE) at school can help children build lifelong healthy habits to exercise. Illinois was the first state to mandate daily Physical Education (PE) with at least 100 minutes per week, and in 2015, Illinois adopted Enhanced PE standards. But in 2018 that requirement was cut to three days with no minimum time requirement. … Continue reading Getting to Know Your Child’s PE Program
ENDS Update
In 2018, Illinois PTA Convention delegates passed a resolution on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS). The resolution followed years of tracking the data and science surrounding ENDS use by youth, and Illinois PTA continues to keep its members informed about new developments. Once again, e-cigarettes are in the news, with reports of pulmonary illnesses and … Continue reading ENDS Update
News from National Convention—The Opioid Epidemic
One of the workshops at the 2019 National PTA Convention focused on the Opioid Epidemic. Misuse of prescription pain medication is one of the fastest growing health issues in the United States today, and the problem is on the rise at an alarming rate not just among the general population but among youth as well. … Continue reading News from National Convention—The Opioid Epidemic
CDC Offers Free Online Concussion Course
Concussions are a serious concern for children’s growing brains, and the risk is not just from playing football or soccer. Illinois PTA has published information on what parents need to know about concussions in the past. A new free online course from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is designed to help parents, … Continue reading CDC Offers Free Online Concussion Course
Summer Food Programs Help Fight Child Hunger
As school lets out for the summer, families’ thoughts turn to vacations, outdoor activities, and picnics, but for some, there is also thoughts of how to feed their family. For those families taking part in the free and reduced lunch program, the end of the school year means the end of the ten meals per … Continue reading Summer Food Programs Help Fight Child Hunger
Top 10 Water Safety Tips
With warmer weather finally here, many people are heading outdoors. If your outdoor plans include being around water, whether swimming, fishing, or boating, be sure to follow these top ten water safety tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). You can find these and other information on how to be safe around … Continue reading Top 10 Water Safety Tips
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