Preventative Measures Can Make All The Difference When It Comes to Children’s Health

There’s so much to worry about when sending a child off to school. What your child is learning, if they’re learning, the possibility of bullies or bad teachers. One thing that weighs heavy on many parent’s minds is the exposure that their child might have to other sick children, if a parent sends their child to school when they are sick.

The Vail School District has decided to try something to assuage parent’s fears, at least as much as possible. One of Vail School Districts’ elementary schools applied for grant money so that every parent could get a Kinsa thermometer for free. This thermometer is not just a run-of-the-mill thermometer aimed at only determining a high body temperature or the lack of one. 

Mesquite Elementary School ended up receiving the funds, and now every parent will receive one of these high-tech thermometers. There is an app that pairs with the thermometer, which can downloaded before using the thermometer. The thermometer will store all records of temperature taken in the matching app, however it’s even more helpful than that. The app allows parents to store symptoms like fever, headache, stomach issues, or other flu-related symptoms.

Additionally, the app will allow parents to see anonymous statistics for the entire class. This will allow parents to know if a child in the class is sick. Naturally, there won’t be any identities revealed or any personal pieces of information, but parents will be able to see if there is a child in the class with a bad cough or any other symptoms. This will make a parent aware if there is any danger associated with sending their child to school that day or if extra precautions need to be taken ahead of time. 

Mesquite is not the first school in Arizona to receive such thermometers,. Another school Bella Vista, located in Sierra has had these thermometers since 2018. Five hundred additional schools across the country have applied and received funds for these thermometers. Hopefully, more kids will be spared from the devastation of the flu season by this prevention method and strides can be made in the overall prevention of the disease.