Feature Channels: Back to School

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Nutritional tips from pediatric nutritionist for parents of children going back to school.

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This fall, send your kids off to school with a healthy lunch. "A nutritious lunch should appeal to your kids' taste buds and help keep them focused for the rest of the school day," says Debra DeMille, MS, RD, a Nutritional Counselor at Pennsylvania Hospital. She offers tasty and healthy suggestions.

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Colleges and universities spend hundreds of hours matching freshman roommates. Problems develop, however, just as soon as would-be roomies eye each other before move-in day on social networking websites like Facebook or MySpace and don't like what they see.

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University of Michigan experts available to discuss health and psychological/behavior related issues in education.

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Going away to college is an exciting experience for most freshmen, but it can also be intimidating to leave their homes, family and social networks behind to enter a campus community where they may know only a few people. For these reasons, it is essential for students to get involved in student organizations when they begin college, according to UC San Diego's Student Organization Leadership Office Director Emily Marx.

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University of Michigan experts are available to discuss quality of education and public education policy.

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University of Michigan experts are available to discuss technology and education.

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According to research reports, over the two months of summer, most students are at risk of losing more than two months of their newly acquired math skills, as momentum gained is lost due to lack of practice. As a result, when school resumes, teachers often must spend the first two months of every school year, or even more, focusing on lesson plans specifically designed to help students regain their math skills.

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While that new backpack your son or daughter just got for the new school year might seem harmless, there is the potential for a lifetime of back and neck ailments if not loaded or worn correctly.

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For many college students, getting away from mom and dad may be great, but dorm-life also has its downfalls, including the foot fungus and wart-causing virus that can be picked up in communal bathrooms/showers. "Shared showers are one of the easier places to contract fungus and bacteria because the wet, steamy atmosphere is a great place for them to breed," explains Oliver Zong, D.P.M. popular New York City podiatrist and foot surgeon.

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Every family member's life changes when a member of the household goes off to college for the first time. Siblings may resent the relaxed rules a college student can now follow or just miss spending time with their brother or sister, while moms and dads face decisions about how to communicate and relate to a child transitioning from high school to college.

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One of the surest ways of eliminating yourself as a contender for a job is to show too much skin, but for college students across the nation, knowing how to dress appropriately for a job interview may seem as mystifying as calculus. "Television shows have affected how students think they should dress. Sex And The City didn't do us any favors," says Bethany Cooper, associate director of career support at the University of New Hampshire Advising and Career Center.

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Freshmen college students frequently fall victim to the Freshman 15, that dreaded weight gain that quickly arrives once students join campus life, thanks to decreased physical activity, late-night hours, late-night eating and late-night parties. Aside from zapping students' energy, the lifestyle choices many college students make also influence their academic performance as a result of improper rest and nutrition.

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Remember that bully on the playground in elementary school? A Rowan University study has found that it's not uncommon for elementary school bullies to continue bullying throughout their high school and college years. And the same apparently goes for people who have been targets of bullies, according to the study's lead author.

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How parents interact with their children can mean a lot when it's time to start school.

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Thousands of young football players returning to the gridiron this season will receive concussions"”simply because their helmets are not properly fitted, according to researcher Eugene Hong, M.D., chairman of the department of family medicine and chief of the division of sports medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine.

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With the start of the school year, many children nationwide will find going to school this fall to be one of the most unpleasant experiences of their young lives -- nearly 30 percent of U.S. school children will be bullied or bully other children this year.

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In the battle against bullying, school officials and parents usually focus on the behavior of the bully, but to get to the root of the problem, they also must look at the physical structure of the school, says a professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Lafayette College in Pennsylvania has traditionally required a "summer reading" project to all new freshmen. Instead of a book this year, the college has assigned the movie "Crash." the 2005 Oscar winner for Best Picture.

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The cycle of friendships, aggression and social power among pre-teen girls is the topic of a recent study by Ana Campos, a Department of Sociology graduate student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa.

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College freshmen face some big challenges. None may be so big as the expectation that they be able to write at a high level - no matter what course they are taking. English Professor Linda Coleman offers some of her best tips to help freshmen get their college writing careers going in the right direction.

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With school starting in just a few weeks, Dr. Leonel Hunt, director of spine trauma at Cedars-Sinai Institute for Spinal Disorders and Orthopedic Center, offers some advice to reduce the back and shoulder pain that as many as half of all school children experience each year.

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While primary and secondary students may still be enjoying the dog days of summer, the countdown to the start of school has begun. Less than three weeks of summer vacation are left for most primary and secondary students across the nation. Should parents spend these weeks focusing on fun"”or multiplication tables?

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While some children transition rather quickly into a back-to-school sleep schedule, others may struggle with new bed times and wake-up times. A U-M expert explains how parents can help ease their children into a routine sleep schedule so they'll be well-rested and ready to learn at school.

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When kids leave home for college, they'll need to learn to do more for themselves like cooking and doing the laundry. They'll also need to become an independent health care consumer. To help, a U-M expert offers college students some tips to think about as they pack-up and move into college life.

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Does your child already have the back-to-school butterflies? Some important tips from experts at the University of Michigan Health System can help ease fears and anxiety for children of all ages before the school year begins.

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Healthy kids make happy kids. Here are some tips for starting off the new school year on the right foot. Included are tips on picking out the right back-pack, car-seat/booster seat safety, immunizations and physical fitness.

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The experiences college freshmen have--and the challenges they face--are akin to immigrant experiences, according to Rowan University sociologist Jay Chaskes, founder and director of the University's Center for the Study of Student Culture.

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Education experts at Rowan University are available to discuss a host of back-to-school issues, including building learning communities in classrooms, parents' roles in fostering school success, challenges facing beginning teachers, and the importance of special education assessments.

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As parents prepare to send their students back to school, researchers at Utah State University are implementing creative and innovative programs that any family can use to teach children the importance of healthy eating habits and combat the growing national trend of childhood obesity.

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College financial planning doesn't just mean figuring out how to pay for tuition, room and board, according to an expert at St. Lawrence University. Parents and students also need to manage day-to-day expenses.

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Thousands of high school seniors will soon begin the most important transition of their young lives when they leave home for college. But what does your child need to know before he or she leaves, and how do you set limits without squelching your child's newfound freedom? April Stein, psychologist and director of The Menninger Clinic's Compas Psychiatric and Addictions Program for young adults, provides advice on how to help your child transition to college.

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Students around the country are starting to get their backpacks ready - another school year is about to start. Along with pencils and notebooks, these children bring a wide range of ability, desire and energy into their classrooms. What will it take to make sure that every one of them can succeed? University of Maryland Education Professor Donna Wiseman offers her ideas on issues facing education today.

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Students benefit by studying abroad any time during their college years, but the experience is most valuable if done immediately preceding the freshman year, says a Purdue University expert.

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There are better ways than testing to improve teaching and learning says Robert Pianta, Novartis US Foundation Professor of Education, head of the U.Va. Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning.

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It's good to remember recent high school grads are about to head to college, not the North Pole. Here are some tips to make that transition easier.

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Fewer than half of Canadian children get the daily physical activity necessary for their healthy growth and development. They earned a "D" for the second year in a row from the Active Healthy Kids Canada 2006 Report Card on Physical Activity.

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Glow in the dark yoghurt. Fruit strips that are mostly sugar. For parents facing the back-to-school lunch crunch, it's hard to decide what to buy. And food manufacturers aren't making it any easier, according to research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

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Staying active is important for teenagers "“ and so is staying injury free. Unfortunately, injury is all too common, according to one study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). But, according to another CIHR-funded study, innovative training techniques can help reduce the injury rate.

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Policies banning peanuts from classrooms appear to be working "“ even in schools where they don't exist, according to research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

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New playground equipment in 34 Toronto District School Board (TDSB) schools has given Dr. Andrew Howard an opportunity to test the effect of different surfacing materials on injury rates.

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Many parents, especially mothers and single parents, grieve when their children leave home for the first time to attend college, but one lifespan-development expert and psychology professors says parents should celebrate and reconnect with life around them, not mourn.

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Dr. Gayle Timmerman, associate professor and assistant dean of the undergraduate program in the School of Nursing at The University of Texas at Austin, has been involved with research focused on health promotion with a specific focus on nonpurge binge eating and weight in weight in women.

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Living Well for July has a back-to-school theme and features tips on school readiness, transitioning to high school, gambling as a top priority for youth substance abuse prevention and undiagnosed vision problems leading to difficulties in early education.

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A University of North Texas psychologist who studies retirement adjustment says the anticipation of an empty nest is often worse than what actually happens each day after children leave home.

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A new systematic review suggests that a certain kind of vaccine may help to protect babies and small children from a devastating killer: meningococcal meningitis. However, this particular vaccine is not approved for use in the United States, and while it may boost immunity, no randomized controlled studies so far have proven its actual clinical effectiveness.

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School nurses can help break the cycle of bullying and can help students recover from bullying without psychological harm, said Sabrina Robinson, author of a new study published in the latest issue of The Journal of School Nursing.

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The directors of the University of North Texas' Student Money Management Center give advice for new freshmen and their parents to conquer many of the students' money woes.

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Results from a new study found that free, on-site, mass flu immunization had a positive impact on school attendance. With the help of school nurses, more students may be able to avoid getting sick in the next flu season. The study is published in the latest issue of The Journal of School Nursing.

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Low-income children tend to do poorly on academic achievement tests, the centerpiece of the No Child Left Behind Act. A pilot study from Children's Hospital Boston suggests these children's low scores may arise from developmental issues — particularly in "executive" functions like organization, planning and control over thoughts and actions -- that budgets might be better spent addressing.