Each year, August brings the end of summer vacation and a return to school for students all across the country. While returning to school is a normal occurrence, this year it is more significant because it marks the first time that most students will be returning to in-person learning at school in over a year. This means they get to see their favorite teachers, their friends, and interact with other students every day. It also means that students will need some new supplies as they head back to the classroom. Here are 9 things that should be on your back-to-school supplies list:

As school starts back up, it’s time for one of the most dreaded things throughout all of childhood: homework. Many students require additional help from their parents or guardians in order to complete their homework outside of the classroom, but what happens when those who are helping students are confused as well? This has been happening more and more as states have adopted the Common Core State Standards Initiative as part of their academic curriculum.

The United States leads the world with nearly 10 million single-parent households, and 23% of children under the age of 18 living with a single parent. While each family’s situation is different, studies show that children raised in single-parent homes tend to face more struggles than children from homes with two parents. Here are some of the disadvantages of single-parent homes:

Poverty is a widespread issue with many damaging effects on those who experience it. In the United States, 10.5% of all citizens (34 million) suffer from poverty. Poverty is especially detrimental to children who experience it. There are over 74 million children under the age of 18 in the U.S. and 14.4% of them (over 10 million kids) live below the poverty line. Here are the effects poverty has on children:

Kids look forward to summer for a number of reasons like going to the pool, playing outside, going on vacation, and, usually at the top of the list, taking a break from school. However, while breaks are sometimes good, the nearly three-month summer break from school can actually lead to something called summer learning loss. Here’s what summer learning loss is and how it can be prevented. 

Obesity is a disease that occurs when an individual has a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile of the CDC’s growth charts. The disease is problematic because it puts people at far greater risk for other health issues like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer risk, and more. 

Obesity has been on the rise in the United States for decades, but it is becoming increasingly prevalent in children. According to the CDC, nearly 20% of children between the ages of 2-19 (~ 15 million) suffer from obesity, with the majority of them being Black or Hispanic. This has created an epidemic for our younger generations, but even more so for minority communities.