Primary Times - the definitive what’s on and where to go family guide of activities and events for children of primary school age. Things to do with your kids during the school holidays including arts and craft activities, music and theatre for children, parties, competitions, days out, and family attractions along with term time drama schools, dance classes, after school clubs and sports activities. Things to do at a place near you!
Family Health - Autumn 2020
Family Health
Health has never been higher on the agenda for families than it is now for a variety of reasons. We’ve pulled together some useful tips on key areas of concern for families during this time.
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The NHS website is the primary resource for the most up-to-date advice and information for the current pandemic and contains frequently updated guides to testing, symptoms and treatment.
CBBC Newsround has compiled a special Coronavirus minisite which contains helpful and entertaining videos and is frequently updated
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/51861089
Child Flu vaccine
As with previous years, primary school aged children will be offered their vaccination in school. In some areas, it might be offered in primary care settings. Children who are home educated will also be offered the vaccine. Pre-schoolers aged 2 and up will begiven the vaccination at their GP surgery usually by the practice nurse.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/child-flu-vaccine/
Eye Health
Free NHS sight tests are available at opticians for children under 16 and for young people under 19 in full-time education. Local opticians will have special arrangements in place in order to make appointments safe in this present time.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/eye-tests-in-children/
Foot Health
Well fitting shoes, are an essential part of helping to ensure good child foot health and can prevent problems in later life as the bones in a child’s foot do not fully form until they are around 18 years old. Independent shoe shops often offer a child foot measuring service, however, at the moment we note that some parents may have reservations about visiting stores for this purpose. Websites such as the one for Start-Rite shoes have a downloadable paper measuring guide and Clarks currently offer virtual fittings through an online Zoom video call.
https://www.startriteshoes.com/measure-at-home
https://www.clarks.co.uk/measureandfit-shoe-size
Mental Health and family relationships
We know that this is a challenging time for many families in a variety of different ways.
The NSPCC website is full of advice and resources dealing with family mental health issues in everyday life and during the coronavirus pandemic. Take a look at the Action for Children website for links to national helpline and organisations who supply general support to children, as well as adults.
Reading Well for Children is a fantastic list of recommended books to promote mental health and wellbeing with books. Check out the websites/social media of your local library to see what arrangements they currently have in place as it is possible to access some texts via online systems/audiobooks/ebooks/download.
https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/support-for-parents/
https://reading-well.org.uk/books/books-on-prescription/children
Nutrition
The NHS Change 4 Life website has some great resources on eating healthily, understanding nutritional information and cost-effective recipes that are suitable for families and healthy snacking
https://www.nhs.uk/change4life
Exercise
Local parks are great places for families to carry out socially-distanced exercises where sports clubs may currently be operational. At home, don’t forget that The Body Coach’s ‘PE With Joe’ sessions are still available on YouTube as a special playlist for all the family and the excellent Change4Life website has a series of 10 minute shakeup exercise games involving famous Disney and Pixar characters.
We also recommend the Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube channel for fun themed yoga through storytelling and popular characters including Trolls, Harry Potter and Frozen.
Search YouTube for The Body Coach – then find PE With Joe in the playlists tab
https://www.nhs.uk/10-minute-shake-up/shake-ups
https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga/featured