Back To School

As sure as that slight autumnal chill signifies the end of summer, it's almost time to go back to school.

For parents of those returning to - or even starting - full-time education, here's a round-up of various useful links to help your child stay healthy and happy throughout their school days:


The First DayThe first day at school is a memorable milestone for little ones, but it doesn't have to be a difficult experience for either parent or child. Parenting expert and mother of three, Dr Pat Spungin offers some advice to help make the transition as easy as possible:
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/childhealth1-5/pages/firstdayofschool.aspx

Ofsted's tips to prevent first day fears at primary school:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/PreparingFortheFirstDayAtSchool/DG_4016576


Lice
It's been a long time since 'Nitty Nora, the Biddy Explorer' did the rounds, so head lice can unfortunately be part of primary school life. Here's some practical advice to treat 'nits' with a video clip from a pharmacist explaining why children get them more than adults:
http://www.nhs.uk/planners/birthtofive/pages/headlice.aspx


Walking to School

It's well worth the little planning required to walk your children to school. Not only will it improve both parent and child's fitness levels, but it saves on petrols costs too. Even two or three times a week will be beneficial. To demonstrate how this can be incorporated with your daily routine, here's a video of Mum Nina starting a new walk-to-school routine with her two young children:
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/onabudget/pages/walktoschool.aspx

Of course, walking is great for fitness and building confidence, but it's important that children and teenagers cross the road safely:
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/roadsafety/pages/pedestrians.aspx


Healthy Lunches
Since Jamie Oliver's campaigned for healthy school dinners, getting a nutrituous balanced meal at the canteen isn't so difficult. If you'd like to fine-tune your child's lunchbox too, here's some useful ideas:
http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/childhealth6-15/pages/lighterlunchboxes.aspx

Still stuck for ideas? Here's a whole host of recipes for healthy lunches for kids that the whoel family will enjoy:
http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/pages/lunch-recipe-book.aspx


Bullying
If your child is dreading the return to school, it could be that they've been bullied. If you suspect this, here's some advice and further links to helpful organisations:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Bullying/Pages/Bullyingadviceforparents.aspx

Despite so many children and teenagers owning their own mobile phones and computers these days, cyberbullying is a new phenomenon for many parents:
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Bullying/Pages/Cyberbullying.aspx


Young Carers
If you have young relatives who are carers, school can be both a haven from the pressures of home as well as causing extra difficulties in juggling homework:
http://www.nhs.uk/carersdirect/young/your-life/pages/school.aspx


Special Needs
If your child has a disability, the major event of starting school for the first time or moving up to secondary can take on extra significance:
http://www.nhs.uk/carersdirect/guide/kinds/pages/schooltransfers.aspx

Festivals Calling

Festival season is well under way now, so with Cumbria's own 'Kendal Calling' at the weekend, here's a round-up of tips and advice to help make your experience memorable for all the right reasons.

The Call of Nature

Festival toilets can be notoriously unpleasant at the best of times, so spare loo roll, hand sanitiser gel or anti-bacterial wipes are all a must to minimise bugs and other nasties. One top tip to cope with the smell is to dab some perfume, after-shave or Tiger Balm under your nose to mask the worst.

If you’re going to Kendal Calling, you can get exclusive access to the Best2Know luxury toilets while you ‘pee in a pot’- the quick and painless test for Chlamydia. You’ll also get a goodie bag of festival essentials. More info here.

Mosh safety & crowd-surfing

The lure to be in the first few rows can be very strong, but especially after last week's tragic crush incident at Germany's Love Parade, it's wise to be aware of what can go wrong and make plans to keep yourself safe if there is a crowd surge. Knowing where the exits are, as well as the location of medical and security staff before you get into the arena crowd can help you make split-second decisions if you need to move to safety.

Don’t forget to arrange a meeting point and time with friends in case you get separated. You can’t always rely on your phone as some festival sites, especially rural ones, can have patchy mobile network coverage.

Some hardcore fans claim that crowd surfing can add to the atmosphere of a performance, but it’s a controversial activity carrying risks of injury to both to the person surfing and those underneath. For this reason, it's regarded as anti-social by a majority of fans and even bands themselves, so being ejected from the event is a commonly-enforced penalty.

If your festival hasn't banned it outright and you're determined to do it anyway, follow the link to Chartered Physiotherapist Sammy Margo’s advice on crowd surfing as safely as possible. Girls especially, please think twice before trying to crowd surf: Not only will you get bruised all over, but fansites commonly report female fans getting groped as they move across the crowd. Not the most pleasant memory to take home...

Sound and Vision

When the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) commissioned a survey of 2,711 festival-goers in 2008, 84% said they experienced dullness of hearing or ringing in the ears after listening to loud music. According to the RNID's Donna Tipping, these are the first signs of hearing damage. Permanent damage is irreversible, so look after your ears!

Like many musicians and DJs, fans in-the-know use earplugs to protect their hearing while enjoying loud performances. There are lots of re-usable, very affordable earplugs around and all work simply to reduce noise levels whilst the wearer can still hear the music perfectly.

Other tips include not standing near the speaker cabs and taking some time out in the chill-out areas to give your ears a break. You can even check your hearing right now via the RNID's Don't Lose the Music site.

Strobe lighting can cause problems for people with photo-sensitive epilepsy, but most bands *should* announce they'll be using these effects before a performance so those affected can retreat to safety. As for laser effects, enjoy the show, but never look directly into the beam of a laser as it can cause permanent eye damage.

Alcohol

Most people know alcohol is very dehydrating, so if you want to enjoy a drink don't forget to have plenty of water to help avoid hangover misery. Try to stay within daily limits, which are three to four units a day for men and two to three for women.

Sun Smarts

Ironically, we’ve had a lot of rain in Cumbria since the hosepipe ban started, but wherever you are even with light cloudy skies, it is possible to get a lot of UV exposure. Take a hat, some sunblock and drink plenty of water to help prevent sunstroke. If you're not able to pee at least three times a day, you might be dehydrated which can lead to headaches and feeling irritable. Most good festivals have free drinking water points around the arena and campsites, so use them often to feel at your best.

Disabled Facilities

Nowadays many festivals offer facilities for disabled people, but as these can vary it makes sense to check them well in advance on the event website. Most commonly, these can include a viewing platform for wheelchair users and their assistants, separate toilets and an accessible campsite area.

Make sure you take enough of your prescription medication as the medical volunteer teams often only have a range of medicines to cope with common situations and they might not have yours to hand.

For more in-depth festival health guidance, including checklists of what to pack, click on: http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/festivalhealth/pages/festivalhealthhome.aspx and

http://www.safeconcerts.com/festival-survival-guide.asp