Christus experts offer health tips for students, parents as school year approaches

Published 5:35 am Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Soon, backpacks will be packed, alarms will be set and mornings will get a lot more chaotic for many families across East Texas. As the first day of school approaches, families across the region are shifting their focus from summer fun to rebuilding routines, such as earlier bedtimes to healthier meals to everything in between.

Medical experts from Christus Health have some advice to help make things a bit easier for both parents and students.

Restructuring routines

As families adjust from summer break to school mode, building solid routines becomes essential — starting with sleep.

“Learning good sleep habits now is really, really important,” said Dr. Joshua Barker, a family medicine physician with Christus Trinity Clinic. “If you don’t get a good night’s sleep, it’s going to throw everything off for your day and potentially your health long term.”

Beyond shopping for supplies and organizing schedules for the new school year, parents should be focusing on making sure their children are physically and mentally ready to return to the classroom.

“It’s important to keep your kids healthy — feed them good, nutritious food,” Barker said. “Avoid junk food, avoid sweetened beverages as much as possible. Healthy habits will go a long, long way.”

Vaccinations

With kids heading back into classrooms and crowded hallways, health providers also recommend making sure children are physically prepared to be around others — starting with checkups and up-to-date immunizations.

“We see a lot of kids with the sniffles because once school starts back up, it’s just kind of a pool for all the germs,” said Dr. Evelyn Cho, family medicine physician at Christus Trinity Clinic. “We will probably see an uptick in the runny noses, some coughs, just things that spread around just because there’s a lot of kids now together who are passing it around and then taking it home with them.”

With kids back in close quarters, keeping them healthy means more than good habits; it also means staying protected against diseases.

One of the most effective ways to protect your child and the community from preventable diseases is with vaccinations, according to Cho. 

“Immunizations cover a lot of different things,” Cho said. “Usually during the well visits, most kiddos see their doctors for each year and we always review to make sure immunizations are up to date.”

Vaccine hesitancy continues to be a concern for some families. Health officials stress the importance of open conversations to address those fears and ensure children are protected from preventable illnesses.

“I tell my parents to do what they’re comfortable with on the vaccines. If they want to vaccinate their kids, I don’t have a problem with that, but I also don’t get pushy with that sort of thing,” Barker said. “They do need to be aware that a kid vaccinating themselves protects that kid only and it doesn’t protect anybody around them.”

One vaccine that often causes hesitation is the optional HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccine, Cho said. “I have a lot of parents tell me ‘maybe not yet’ or ‘I don’t know about that one,’ but … if there’s another thing that we can do to help prevent cancer down the line, why not?”

According to Cho, there are countries like Australia and New Zealand that have seen significant decreases in cervical cancer because of the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccination rates.

The HPV vaccine can prevent six different types of cancer, including cervical and throat cancers, the American Cancer Society says. They said the vaccine is ‘safe, effective and long-lasting’ and works best when given between the ages 9 and 12 for both boys and girls.

Worth a visit?

When it comes to what warrants a visit, health experts say understanding the signs and knowing when to seek care can make a difference in preventing complications.

“There’s a lot to be said for parental experience,” Barker said. “Everybody knows their kids. If you feel like there’s something wrong that you can’t handle, it never hurts to bring them in and get seen.”

However, the health experts say that if there’s pain in the back of the throat, particularly with swallowing or speaking, those might be signs of strep throat.

“Kids are often going to have a fever and will typically not have a cough,” Barker said. “If you’re having those signs and symptoms, bring them in… let us have a look at them and see if they need to be treated.”

With other upper respiratory illnesses, those often go away with time but parents need to make sure to keep their kids hydrated and keep track of the fever, letting symptoms run their course the next 48 to 72 hours.

“It is perfectly fine to keep at home and not bring them in,” Barker said. “That said, if there are any concerns, it never hurts to have them come in and be seen.”

While some illnesses, like stomach bugs and the common cold, aren’t preventable through vaccines, the doctors say that basic hygiene can still go a long way in reducing the spread. Handwashing with soap and water before meals and after touching shared surfaces is especially important.

“They need to learn to not share cups and utensils with anybody, even family members, because sometimes you can’t spread those things before symptoms develop,” Barker added.

Eye health

While most parents prioritize vaccines and general checkups during the back-to-school season, eye health can sometimes fall off the radar. Experts say that, like dental care, vision checks are a critical but often overlooked part of a child’s overall health and can directly impact performance in the classroom.

“At the well child visits, we do an eye-screening exam… where you cover one eye and read down the line of the car,” Cho said. “It’s really just a screening tool and sometimes we can pick on things like maybe one eye didn’t do so well or maybe even both.”

She also said it’s not uncommon for children struggling with reading or understanding lessons simply because they can’t see the board clearly — particularly if they prefer to sit toward the back of the room. Without proper vision correction, students may fall behind academically before the issue is even recognized.

“If they can’t see, they might be getting distracted by other things,” Cho added.

Parents can play an active role in supporting their child’s eye health by asking simple questions, such as whether they can see the board at school or if things look blurry. Experts also recommend watching for signs like children holding screens too close to their faces, which may indicate vision problems. Limiting screen time — and encouraging devices to be held farther away — not only helps reduce eye strain but also supports neurological development.

“I’m always happy to send them to the eye specialist because at the end of the day they have the fancy tools and they’re really the ones who are better able to say for sure whether or not my patient needs glasses or not, which can then really change their outlook on life because they can see better,” Cho said.

While nutrients like vitamin A, found in carrots, are beneficial for eye health, most children receive adequate amounts through a balanced diet. Ultimately, an eye care professional is best equipped to determine whether a child needs corrective lenses, which can have a significant impact on their academic performance and quality of life.

“I don’t necessarily think there’s anything specific you need to do supplement wise, but just being more conscientious of that’s screen time and making sure that they’re not holding things too close to their face and going from there,” Cho said.

Student-athletes

Even with summer break in the rearview mirror, those East Texas summer temperatures remain. The high heat has student-athletes and those in band camp taking extra precautions.

“The No. 1 thing I recommend is hydration, hydration, hydration,” said Dr. William Garre, family physician for Christus Trinity Clinic in Chandler. “Start before the activity, don’t wait until you feel thirsty. If you wait until you feel thirsty, you’re already well behind where you need to be. Look at your urine — as weird as that sounds, we’re looking for clear to pale yellow. If it’s dark yellow, that’s going to be a sign that you are well behind.”

Injuries among student-athletes generally fall into two categories, according to Garre. Acute injuries are sudden and easily identifiable, often occurring with a noticeable pop, sharp pain or visible deformity, such as a bone bending unnaturally. These typically require immediate medical attention, including imaging and evaluation.

Overuse injuries, on the other hand, tend to develop gradually. They result from repetitive motion that strains a muscle or joint beyond its normal limits. These types of injuries often require rest and activity modification rather than emergency treatment.

To prevent these injuries, warming up is key.

“More so than stretching is a good adequate warm-up before you start going to full speed,” Garre said. “So take the time, do the warm up, get the blood flow in your body, get everything warmed up before you start going full speed, and that alone can go a long way to preventing injuries.”

It is also recommended to make sure students have the necessary equipment, especially for footwear.

“Kids are growing all the time,” Garre said. “The shoes that we’re fitting in the spring may not be fitting in the fall, and proper footwear that doesn’t fit can have long term effects. So make sure that the footwear and the protective equipment and everything is properly sized for the athlete.”

The weight of a backpack

Many students are loading their backpacks with heavy books and personal items, which can strain their backs and lead to pain. Garre says there has been an increase in back pain among children compared to previous years.

“The recommendation is that the weight of the backpack be no more than 10% of the kids’ weight,” he said. “It is (also) recommended that backpacks have padding on them and have the kids wear backpacks the way they’re supposed to wear them, not just sling them over a shoulder.”

While there are many variables that go into preparing for the new school year, prioritizing a child’s overall health can make the transition smoother. From building routines to staying on top of checkups and screenings, even small steps can help set students up for a healthier, more successful year ahead.