Family Night Lesson

[Cackalacky]

I've been invited to give a 30 minute presentation about Health and Hygiene at family night because parents have expressed the interest. In your experience, what do parents care to learn about?

[100kids, BSN, RN]

Is this for families with students of a certain age group? What ages? And will you be speaking to just the parents in this discussion or everyone?

[Cackalacky]

There will be two groups at separate times, one group for the lower grades and one group for the upper grades in elementary school. The students are with their parents. I asked the school what parents will be expecting and they said they're not sure because the information came from a survey given and the option was just health and hygiene. Another speaker will be discussing nutrition that night.

The school said they've been having questions from parents such as when to keep a child home from school and for how long. And teachers have been asking about discussing hygiene habits with parents such as how often to bathe.

But is there anything else that you think a parent would really appreciate hearing? I was thinking about putting a plug in there for adult immunizations!

[amoLucia]

To OP - be careful about the plug for immunizations. You could be opening a can of of worms or Pandora's box and there goes all your time. Very controversial - stay neutral.

I think it could be a good topic but I suggest to tread softly. How about sports injuries or facts vs myths re colds & flu as topics?

[Sudsy]

What a great opportunity to speak with parents! I would talk about

--when to keep a child home

--handwashing (after my yearly handwashing talk with the kids, I always have teachers tell me they wish their spouse could hear me). If you have/can get Glo Germ (Glo Germ: Handwashing, aseptic & isolation techniques, infection control, Contagion, Meryl Streep) that would be great!

--concussions/sports injuries (depends on your school and how often you encounter these)

--basic first aid?

Good luck and have fun!

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

Concussions!!!!!!!!! Especially for the older students who are in club sports outside of schools. Appeal to the parents to please, please please share injury info with you!!!

[Cackalacky]

It went pretty well last night. I opened with a question and answer session to get a feel for what they wanted to know, but no one had questions - so I jumped into my powerpoint. I presented hygiene, when to keep your child home, concussions and lice. Parents seemed to have enjoyed it, they came up to me afterward to ask questions. I think it really helps to just be more visible to the community. I really enjoyed the opportunity.