tips from school nurses

Recommendations from School Nurses:

• Notify parents before you conduct the screenings to let them know to expect the screening results in the mail
• Be sure to articulate to parents that BMI is a screening tool, like vision or hearing, and is meant to be helpful, not hurtful
• Present information at parent and community meetings about the BMI screenings, what the results could mean, and the importance of good nutrition, physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight
• Take time to look individually at students as you're conducting the screening and consider the entire child (an athlete will likely have a higher BMI, etc.) If possible, take time to personalize the letters with screening results to parents of children who have situations that don't 'match' the BMI results
• If possible, take time to make personal phone calls about the results, in addition to sending a letter, to parents of students who may be particularly sensitive to the results
• Communicate with your school superintendent about the additional time the screenings will require and the importance of presenting information about the screenings to the school board
• Include information about resources to help families achieve or maintain healthy BMI including ways to work with their physician
• Partner, partner, partner!
  • Work in coordination with the larger school community to address childhood obesity issues (join or form a school health council), and tell parents about the positive things the school is doing to address this.
  • Reach out to area doctors to inform them of the screenings, and find out what local resources might be available to help children with high BMI results.
  • Coordinate with local YMCA's and other community groups to find out what programs might be available to help overweight children.
  • Form alliances with local colleges and universities with nursing programs that might be able to provide manpower to help conduct the screenings.

BMI screenings are a great opportunity to focus the school's attention on the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. Following are a list of nrgBalance programs and events to get you started:

• Celebrate nrgBalance Events - Apple Crunch, Go for the Greens and Move it Outside
• For students age 13 and over, promote nrg Powered by Choice to get teens involved in making healthy changes in their school or community with www.poweredbychoice.org
• Work with your school's parent/teacher organization and/or administration to begin regular walk to/at school programs
• Encourage your Physical Education teacher to look into opportunities to engage youth in lifetime outdoor recreation skills through nrg Outdoors
• Implement nrg for a Healthy Me, a seven week after-school program designed to improve nutrition and physical activity for youth in grades 3-5 and their families. Through seven one-hour sessions, nrg for a Healthy Me provides hands-on skill development for physical activity and healthy eating; lessons on achieving energy balance; and take home activities for the family