Suds and Duds

School starts back again in about a month so I thought I would dedicate this post to all parents sending their little angels back to school for us to teach! In the last 12 years of teaching, I've grown accustomed to children having no structure for the summer and then coming back to school with some issues when it comes to school rules and socialization within the confines of a small classroom. The two biggest issues I've seen are these:
1. Not taking their meds on a regular basis and
2. Not bathing as often as they should.

Regarding medication, as with every medication, please consult your doctor for ALL questions. I did not go to medical school and I don't claim to know specifics about medications. What I will tell you is based purely on observation and some common sense. Children with ADD/ADHD who require medication, require medication! You must treat the medication as you would, say, your eyeglasses. Your glasses help you function more normally just as the medication for your child helps him/her function more normally. Stopping medication at any point must be done so with the advice and counsel of your physician. Let's talk hypothetically:
Your child doesn't take medication on the weekend for whatever reason. You start the medicine back on Monday as they are heading out the door to school. It will be Wednesday before there is enough medicine in your child's system to have any effect. That's two days every week that your child is going through withdrawal during the weekend and then two more days getting in trouble at school because they can't focus. If the kid needs to be off the medicine to be more "normal" this may be a dosing issue and you should speak with your doctor about this.
Bottom line on this issue: consistent communication with your doctor and monitoring your child on a regular basis.

Speaking of monitoring, let's address the bathing issue. Your kid has to bathe. Period. You would never go to work without a shower, so why on earth would you send your kid to school without one? Once kids hit puberty, they stink, both in body odor and sometimes attitude. If kids are playing outside during recess or gym class, they stink. Before puberty, every other day showers may be acceptable, but after puberty, nope. They need a shower everyday. My little ones have taken a shower every day of their lives since they were about 2 or 3. The way I see it, my kids are about 1000 times more active than I am, and I shower everyday. They should likely be showering twice a day to be honest. The amount of dirt and grime that shows up on my floors is a giant indicator that someone in the house is dirty and needs a shower.

I'll step down from my soap box now and proceed with getting the kids ready for their showers.
Please remember that everything you just read is purely based on 12 years of classroom experience, common sense, and well, more common sense.