TOWARD A HAPPY SCHOOL YEAR: From conscientious eating, to counseling your children about e-cigarettes. PHOTO COURTESY OF INSIDE CREATIVE HOUSE / ISTOCK VIA GETTY IMAGES

(StatePoint) – A new school year brings with it fresh opportunity, excitement, and, sometimes, anxiety for parents and students. Medical experts say that addressing health-related issues can help make for a stress-free back-toschool season.

“Opening the lines of communication with your child and their physician to talk about nutrition, physical activity, and the steps you can take together to have a healthy and rewarding school year can help ease some of those backto-school jitters you may be feeling,” says Bruce A. Scott, MD, president of the American Medical Association (AMA).

For a healthy and successful school year, follow these doctor-approved tips from the AMA:

Annual physicals. Visit your child’s physician every year. Annual physicals are critical to ensuring children are growing and developing properly.

Talk to your child’s pediatrician about vaccines. For the U.S. population in 2019, childhood vaccines prevented more than 24 million illnesses. Vaccines are safe, effective and save lives. Routine childhood immunization is highly effective at preventing disease over a lifetime, reducing the incidence of all targeted diseases, including measles, mumps, rubella, polio and varicella (chickenpox). And if your child turns 11 or 12 this year, it’s time to get the HPV vaccine, which protects against the HPV virus – a virus linked to six types of cancer.

Be conscientious about what your child eats at school. Healthy students are better learners. School meals should include fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. If you pack your child’s lunch and snacks, try to pack at least two-thirds of their meal with plant-based foods. Strive to include lean protein, or plant-based protein, and avoid processed meats and sugary drinks like soda and juice.

Be smart about sunscreen. From gym class and school sports to recess and waiting for the school bus, kids of all ages spend a good portion of their day outside. It’s important to take steps to protect your child from damaging UV rays. Look for a broad spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 30 and apply it before sending your kids to school. And as you’re shopping for back-toschool apparel, look for UV protective clothes.

Exercise is key. Children need at least 60 minutes of exercise daily, so check their schedule to make sure they’re getting enough physical activity. Strive to build time for bike riding or walking as a family into the end of each day.

Talk to your children about e-cigarettes and other tobacco products. Make your children aware of the dangers of tobacco products and talk to them about how to resist peer pressure. From 2022 to 2023, the number of middle school-aged children using to- bacco products overall increased by nearly 50%, with e-cigarettes being the most commonly used product.

With a focus on good health, wellness and nutrition, you can help prepare your child for a healthy and happy school year and a lifetime of good health.