Giving your kids the tools for a healthy back-to-school season

(BPT) - For moms, family and children are their No. 1 priority. Keeping everyone safe, healthy and happy is a huge part of everyday life. However, each year, parents send their kids back to school knowing they will be exposed to germs, making prevention of sickness a priority. Statistics show that school-age children can have between seven and 12 colds per year, meaning moms need to be on their guard against germs at home and at school.

So what can families to do ensure their students have a healthy, productive school year?

This year, Kleenex brand and Box Tops for Education(TM), one of the nation’s largest school fundraising loyalty programs, are working together to share tips for a healthier back-to-school season. Below are some of their top recommendations:

* Even though facial tissue is required in every classroom, moms may not be aware of how Kleenex brand tissues can help keep kids’ hands clean – or how they support schools. As a champion of healthy kids and schools, Kleenex brand is supporting this back-to-school season in two ways: by promoting healthy kids with new Kleenex Everyday Tissue with Sneeze Shield, which is now thicker and more absorbent to help keep the wet stuff off kids’ hands, and as the only facial tissue that participates in Box Tops for Education to help promote healthy schools, donating a total of $13 million to date. Encourage your teachers to help earn more Box Tops for their schools by putting Kleenex brand facial tissues on their back-to-school supply list.

* Make bedtime a priority by setting a routine. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that school age children need between 10-11 hours of sleep each night. Sleep is key to a healthy body, and oftentimes families’ relaxed summer mentality can interfere with little ones’ sleep schedules. Don’t try to instate a “go to bed early” mandate the night before school begins; start a few weeks before the first day of school, so children are used to the pattern of “early to bed, early to rise” to synch up with the school year schedule well in advance. Those well-rested minds will be more alert and ready to absorb the day’s lessons when they’ve slept well the night before.

* Get up and get going. Help your family stay in shape by encouraging them to exercise. In 2010, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.Help your children burn off that extra energy and stay in shape by arranging for play time outside with friends after school or enrolling them in extracurricular activities like sports and dance. Setting an example as a family will help children develop healthy exercise habits early on. Furthermore, studies show that exercise fuels increased brain function, which can contribute to better performance in the classroom.