4 Things Schools Should Ban

Education, Featured Posts / By

Schools are meant to educate and train children, referring to the creches, playgroups, nursery, primary and secondary schools. To help through these early years of instruction, there are things schools should ban. By the time children get to Senior secondary and University the children are formed and are adults.

Schools and parents work as a cycle – the schools are relying on parents and the parents are relying on the schools to join forces to teach and instil the right values in the children. Schools have lots of experience with hundreds of children passing through their school walls. Sometimes schools are in a better position than parents to know what is good or bad for children in the long run. Parents are limited to what they know, as it is specific to their set of children.

So here is a list of the top 4 things Schools should ban on behalf of the children (and their parents).

1) No Extensions (or attachment) allowed

Children have very tender hairlines and extensions put a lot of strain on the hairline. One of the benefits parents talk about is that the children will have to do their hair less often, however, the children are not in a fashion contest so their hair doesn’t have to be “perfectly neat” all the time. There are several hairstyles that will last for a couple of weeks and not need to be taken out weekly. Long term damage to the hairline of children can lead to “traction alopecia“.

 

“Traction alopecia is brought on by physical actions placing tension on hair follicles. Traction alopecia is as a result of pulling your hair constantly. The pulling is commonly a result of hair styling process or routine. Additionally, hair extensions have also been known to cause traction alopecia in women (or children) who often wear extensions. 

alopecia
Traction alopecia in a child

 

2. Not Allowed in School with a serious cold or a cough

Parents share the refrain that children build up their immune systems by going to school. However there is also a limit to this, there are times when children have colds with runny noses or coughs who need to stay home and feel better before being allowed to go back to school. Imagine this – runny noses with phlegm dripping out of the nostrils continuously, child wipes nose on his or her arm, doesn’t wash hand, touches a classmate or a friend and voila the germs are passed on.
“The American Academy of  Pediatrics suggests that a child with a mild cold or respiratory symptoms doesn’t have to be kept at home so long as their nasal drainage is clear and their cough is mild”.  
 

3. No unhealthy lunches allowed

Children need to get a balanced diet and this includes their school meals and snacks which should be healthy. Teachers report that too many lunch boxes are filled with candy, biscuits and packaged juices every day. Parents can use the teachers to their advantage, teachers represent a different kind of authority that children respond to. So if they are encouraged in school to finish their carrots and apples they will most likely eat these at home with little fuss. It is unhealthy for children to consume these empty calories on a daily basis.

[Tweet “Teachers report that too many lunch boxes are filled with candy, biscuits and packaged juices everyday”]

“Regularly consuming junk food can be addictive for children and lead to complications like obesity, chronic illness as well as affecting how they perform in school and extracurricular activities”. You don’t need to totally avoid junk food, but eating too much of it makes meeting your daily nutrient requirements less likely and experiencing weight gain and adverse health effects more likely.Read more
 

4.  No Perms allowed

A child’s hair undergoes changes through to puberty and sometimes even after that. A child’s hair and scalp before puberty is fragile, sensitive and prone to irritation or allergic reaction and can be easily damaged by even the most gentle perms. Relaxers can sting, burn and cause irreparable damage to a young child’s scalp and hair follicles. One of the dangers of misuse of relaxers is sparse or bare hairlines down the line. We have all seen a little girl with a hairline that begins inches back from where it should be. If you are going to perm wait till the child is at least thirteen or older before you start putting chemicals in the hair.
 “Many recommendations from professional hair stylists to medical professionals indicate that chemically changing a child’s hair prior to puberty age is not ideal”.

While parents might know some of these, schools helping to enforce can help. What do you think?

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