Returning to school in the fall can be a tricky task for children who suffer from anxiety, autism, developmental disabilities or special needs.

Dr. Ann Griepp, M.D., a psychiatrist and medical director of behavioral health at Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, offers the following tips for parents who want to lessen the stress this school year.

Helping kids with anxiety return to school

Dr. Griepp had a child who suffered from anxiety. What helped? A sparkly, pink backpack.

Watch the following video to learn more about the backpack and other tips, including the importance of discussing last year’s successes with your child.

Back-to-school routine for kids with special needs

The more you rehearse your back-to-school routine, the better the first days are likely to go for kids with autism, developmental disabilities and special needs.

For more tips, click on the following video.

My 2 ½ year old welds his mouth shut whenever I try to brush his teeth.

But there he was on a recent morning, jumping into a dentist chair, opening his mouth super wide and obeying the dentist’s every order.

I, at first, contemplated the merits of hiring strangers to rear my children, since my kids clearly obey them more than me. I then realized the rare opportunity to sit in a chair, unburdened, for several minutes. I relaxed while the dentist examined my suddenly obedient child.

Yup, my son’s first trip to the dentist went better than expected. But turns out this visit was 1 ½ years too late.

Do 2-year-olds get cavities?

Dental experts recommend that your little bundle of joy visits the dentist by his or her first birthday.

I was tardy with that first visit! But I’m not alone. Most families bring their child to the dentist when they’re older than 2 years old, according to a survey.

Why trek to the dentist at such a young age? The dentist needs to start checking for problems, such as tooth decay (cavities). You might not think it’s a big deal if those baby teeth suffer from decay, since your child will lose them eventually.

But cavities now might spell trouble later for those permanent chompers.

Since my little guy fights the daily brushing, I was grateful that he was cavity free. In fact, I was shocked to hear that about one in five children ages two to five years old has a cavity!

At the visit, you’ll get tips to help your child maintain healthy teeth. You’ll learn about brushing and the importance of fluoride (one of the secrets to a cavity-free mouth!).

You’ll likely get answers to other questions, such as how to handle things like thumb sucking.

Plus, getting your child used to the dentist chair when they’re young will hopefully set them up for lots of future stress-free visits.

Tips for the first dental visit

If the dentist doesn’t trigger a weird obedience reflex in your kids, that first visit can be a daunting experience. Here are tips for easing into that first visit:

• Schedule an appointment early in the morning when they’re more likely to be calm and willing to listen.
• Ask the dentist’s office what they’ll be doing at the visit so you can explain it to your child. At this age, they may not have tons of words, but we know they understand us!
• Get them psyched for the visit by practicing opening their mouth really wide.
• Reading books or videos about that first visit may also help.

A fellow mom also shared the following ideas:

• Explain that they’re going to a tooth doctor – and we need our teeth to be as healthy as our bodies
• Ask the dentist’s office if your child can sit on your lap. But also let your son or daughter take a ride on the dentist chair (her son loved that!).
• If your dentist doesn’t have a prize bin, consider packing something small as a reward for being a great patient. Nothing big really – a sticker, a race car, a rubber bracelet.

There’s one more big tip that may have also contributed to my son’s successful visit.

My little guy idolizes his big brother. Who did he watch get his teeth cleaned before he jumped into the dentist chair? His big brother.

If your youngster looks up to a sibling, cousin or friend, you might want to consider bringing him or her along on that older child’s next trip to the dentist.

Jaime Anderson is a seasoned “mom of an asthmatic.” She’s dealt with many back-to-school moments since her now 11-year-old son, Adison, was diagnosed with asthma as a 3-year-old.

The return to school is tough for kids with asthma. Because they head straight into peak virus season and may be exposed to new triggers, they’re more likely to have an asthma attack.

Before school starts, Jaime schedules Adison a visit with his doctor to review his medications and update his asthma action plan. Jaime begins every new school year educating staff about her son’s disease.

“It’s hard,” Jaime said. “School staff can’t know everything. It’s up to the parents to make sure they do.”

Jaime, who is also executive director of the American Lung Association in Western New York, has learned a lot about helping her son safely start the new school year.

She has a slew of back-to-school advice for parents. Her first tip, however, begins with a video game, a mucus mob, and the fictional city of Lungtropolis.

Lungtropolis: Attack of the Mucus Mob

“Your child should know exactly what they’re dealing with,” said Jaime, who lives in the Rochester, N.Y., area. “They need to understand their triggers, recognize that they’re about to have an asthma attack and not be afraid or embarrassed to alert a teacher.”

That’s where the video game, “Lungtropolis: Attack of the Mucus Mob” comes in. It’s a free online game that the American Lung Association developed; players watch videos and get asthma-control tips.

“My son thought it was so cool, being able to play a video game,” she said. “But, he was also learning what he needed to know to feel comfortable talking to his teachers about his asthma.”

Parents shouldn’t assume that school staff – including the school nurse – understands how asthma works. Each kid is unique, with different triggers and warning signs that an attack is imminent.

Jaime recalled the time when school staff sent her son’s inhaler – but not his spacer – with Adison on a field trip. (Spacers help the medication from the inhaler reach the lungs.) Fortunately, Jaime also attended the field trip and had a backup spacer.

After the trip, Jaime educated school staff about the importance of spacers.

Back-To-School Prep

Sure, parents can talk to school staff and visit with the doctor. But moms and dads don’t have a lot of control over the back-to-school risk factors that can trigger asthma attacks:

• Kids are back together and spreading cold germs.
• There’s a “new” room and possibly a “new” building with indoor allergens, such as dust and mold.
• There’s the stress of starting a new school year.

“Students are also changing from a relaxed summer schedule to the structure of the school day and that can impact medication schedules,” added Kwan Chan-House, M.D., a Utica, N.Y., pediatrician and medical director for Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. “Late summer and early fall also are peak times of the year for ragweed pollen, molds and dust mites, which can impact children living with asthma.

“It’s not a surprise that a spike in asthma symptoms and flare ups among children with asthma typically occur beginning in late August and continue throughout September,” she added.

“I didn’t think of that”

Adison, meanwhile, is starting middle school in the fall and will be moving to a building that’s new to him.

“I don’t know how he’s going to react to the new environment,” Jaime said.

Jaime with her son.

When Jaime took Adison to his doctor this summer, they were surprised by how much the youngster had shot up and the weight he had gained.

Adison’s doctor tweaked his medication to ensure it would still work.

“He gained so much weight, we had to up his dosage,” she said. “I didn’t know weight gain would affect his mediation. I didn’t think of that.”

And lastly . . .

Jaime has a few more tips for parents:

• Don’t talk to only the school nurse and teacher. The gym teacher should be on your “must talk to” list.
• In addition to the trip to the pediatrician, visit with your child’s allergist or pulmonary doctor.
• Take a look around the classroom. Do you spot any of your kid’s “triggers” in the room, things like: stuffed animals? You can ask the teacher to remove them.
• Make sure the teacher is aware of your kid’s “sign” that they’re about to have an attack.
• What’s your school’s “emergency plan” in case your child needs to be rushed to the hospital?
• Remember to make learning about asthma fun for your child. There’s the Lungtropolis game, for example, and a lot of other games, podcasts, websites and booklets.

“Games or other educational tools do more than educate your child about asthma. They can also be empowering,” she added. “It’s so important that your son or daughter feel comfortable talking to the adults in their life about their asthma, especially as they start a new school year.”

Click HERE to download a free poster, “Breathe Easy: 6 Steps for Controlling Your Child’s Asthma.”

I love (LOVE) school supplies. Walking into Office Depot or a Staples store is like a day at the spa. There’s nothing more thrilling than walking down rows of colored file folders, matching highlighters and Post-it Notes. My favorite of them all? Agenda planners!

Unfortunately, school supplies can cost a pretty penny. Being a broke, starving college student forces me to decide if I want to spend money on a new electric pencil sharpener, or if I want to eat for the week…decisions, decisions.

If you’re like me, or if you need to purchase supplies for your kids, there are ways to reuse the things you already have. You can even make investments now to help you save money during the next back-to-school season.

Re-use, Renew, Recycle…

1. Save Those Binders!

Unless they’re broken beyond repair, don’t toss old binders in the trash. I’ve seen large binders priced at up to $12! If you need binders for five different subjects, you’re already racking up those dollar signs.

Grab some colored duct tape and have fun recovering the binders. There are hundreds of colors and patterns out there. The binders will look like new when you’re done with them. Do the same thing with folders, too!

2. Locker/Desk Clean Out

Cleaning out my locker or desk was a favorite end of the year tradition! I always went in with a grocery bag to retrieve unopened glue sticks, boxes of loose leaf paper, and other leftovers. Before you hit the nearest Target for a box of number 2 pencils, see what you might have left over from last year.

3. Pencils And Pens

Much to my dismay, I’m always buying new pens, even though I have dozens of them in my purse. Dig through old backpacks, check behind your couch or under the cushions and in the drawers of your desk. If you use mechanical pencils, instead of buying new, just get a few tubes of lead, and new erasers. Although it’s a bad habit I’m trying to break, it’s not a necessary item when you’re doing your back-to-school shopping.

4. Stickers To Cover Stains, Rips And Tears

The internet is a beautiful thing. Luckily, we can find almost everything under the sun on there. Consider finding a site to buy stickers that can mend an old binder or folder. This is especially helpful if your kids want folders featuring favorite TV Show characters! Although it’s trendy, the “character folders” tend to be more expensive than the regular red colored ones. I’ve used sites like Redbubble or CafePress to order stickers that can peel off at the end of the year.

5. Don’t Lose The Loose Leaf

All those half-used spiral notebooks can come in handy when you need loose leaf paper. Instead of paying $7 for a package, rip out unused pages and put them in a folder!

Invest in…

6. A Good, Sturdy Backpack!

When I was younger, I was drawn to backpacks with glitter and fringe. Unfortunately, those backpacks tend to be built for fashion, not durability. My wimpy backpacks took a beating, so I’d need a new one every year. When I got to college, I finally got a backpack that was built to last, and I still use it. It costs a bit more money for a quality pack, but it’s worth it. I’ve gotten three years out of this bag, and I never have to worry about it tearing.

7. Label Maker

Everyone makes fun of me for my electric label maker. I got it at a garage sale. It was broken, out of tape, and covered in dust. But, with some technical help and a deep cleaning, it works like a charm. I label everything. Notebooks, binders, dishes in my kitchen, the list goes on. This is a great investment, and I wish I had one in high school!

Instead of writing my name and class subject on my binders, I can now print a label and peel it off at the end of the year. Now my $14 five-inch binder won’t say Mass Communication Theories forever.

WE ALL SCREAM FOR…

Gelato! This summer, we discovered a small gelato shop that is now my family’s favorite go-to destination when we’re craving a sweet summer treat. We plan to celebrate national ice cream month this July by indulging in a cup of creamy gelato. With which frozen treat will you celebrate? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

THE SCOOP ON FROZEN DESSERTS

You can indulge in many choices when it comes to frozen desserts. Here are a few ideas to get you dreaming about your next trip to the creamery:

Ice cream
Made out of milk and cream, you can scoop hard ice cream from a container or get soft ice cream from a machine.

Frozen custard
Egg yolk is one of its secret ingredients, giving custard its smoother, creamier texture. (Beware if you have an egg allergy). Custard is a Rochester tradition since 1926.

Gelato
Contains more milk than cream and is lower in fat compared to ice cream. This, along with adding less air when mixing, gives gelato a more dense texture and intense flavor.

Sherbet
If you like fruit flavor (or the taste of a rainbow) try this milk-based.

Sorbet: Contains frozen juice or fruit and ice. This is usually a great non-dairy option for those who are lactose intolerant.

Frozen yogurt
This may be a lower-fat option depending on the fat content of the yogurt. Check the label before you buy. Greek frozen yogurt is now available if you prefer the taste.

Mochi
These are sticky rice cakes filled with ice cream. Flavors like green tea and red bean are a great end to a meal at a Japanese restaurant.

Kulfi
An Indian frozen dessert that typically contains condensed milk (or milk that’s been boiled for hours) and other ingredients like pistachios and/or the spice cardamom. Kulfi can be similar in consistency to custard.

The flavor

American’s favorite flavor has been and continues to be vanilla. There are so many crazy flavors out there. I liked the taste of salted caramel that I tried at a local “Artisan” ice cream shop, but was not a fan of caramel bacon. Ask the shop for a taste before you buy. Most places have small spoons just for this purpose.

Toppings!

My family is partial to rainbow sprinkles. We tend to pass on the whipped cream, but wouldn’t say no to hot fudge. I found this fun article in Delish magazine that says my topping choice means I’m playful and traditional.

Don’t forget the cone. Waffle, sugar, plain: it’s a hard decision. We prefer my kids get ice cream in a dish so it won’t spill, but they always ask for the cone on top so they don’t miss out on the crunchy extra.

Where to go

Buying ice cream in the grocery store will cost you less per serving. There are also many unique flavors to choose from and some companies support the local community or donate to grassroots causes. Or, read this list of ice cream shops to check out this summer.

My family enjoys the experience of going to an ice cream shop as much as the ice cream itself. We can walk or ride our bikes, and even bring our dog along. Quick tip: If the store is too far from your home, try driving part way and walking the rest.

Moderation is the key. When you bring a tub of ice cream home, it’s tempting to go back for more and overeat. Try to stick to one serving. When at the ice cream shop, try a kid’s size or baby size serving. You can always swap out ice cream for sherbet if you want a healthier treat.

At Home

Ice cream is relatively easy to make at home. You can purchase an ice cream maker at any household retailer. At home you have control over the ingredients and can experiment with new textures and flavors.

Beyond ice cream, if you freeze overripe bananas and add other frozen fruit you can create a healthy, refreshing treat in your blender or food processer. And don’t forget what’s most important: Enjoy!