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Summary
Your child spends more time at school than anywhere else except home. Schools can have a major effect on children's health. Schools can teach children about health, and promote healthy behaviors. Physical education classes give children a chance to get exercise.
Schools work to:
- Prevent risky behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use or bullying and cyberbullying
- Encourage healthy habits like exercise and healthy eating
- Deal with specific health problems in students, such as asthma, obesity and infectious diseases
The school building and environment should be a safe and healthy place for your child.
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Reducing the Spread of Illness in Child Care (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
- Safe Schools during the COVID-19 Pandemic (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
- 10 Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Backpack Safety (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Health Problems at School (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- Playground Safety (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)
- School Refusal (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
- Your Teenager at School (American Academy of Pediatrics)
Specifics
- Asthma Factsheet (for Schools) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Can People with Asthma Play Sports? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- CDC Healthy Schools: Physical Activity Facts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Food Allergies at School (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Healthy School Environments (Environmental Protection Agency)
-
Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed: A Guide for School Personnel
(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
- Mold and Indoor Air Quality in Schools (Environmental Protection Agency)
- School and Concussions (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- School and Diabetes (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
-
See, Hear, Speak: Are Kids' Senses Ready for School?
(National Institutes of Health)
Also in Spanish
Statistics and Research
- About School Violence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Adolescent and School Health: Data and Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- CDC Healthy Schools: Data and Research (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2017 (Department of Education)
- Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Factors associated with perceived health of school-aged children in rural Rwanda:...
- Article: Waist circumference as a parameter in school-based interventions to prevent overweight...
- Article: School-based healthy eating interventions for adolescents aged 10-19 years: an umbrella...
- School Health -- see more articles
Find an Expert
- KidsHealth (Nemours Foundation)
Teenagers
- 4 Ways to Make Homework Easier (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Back to School (Nemours Foundation)
- Backpack Basics (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- School Violence: What Students Can Do (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
- Test-Taking Tips (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish