When preparing their kids for school, many parents think first of backpacks, lunch boxes and stationary.
A Preschool Fun Fair reminded parents of an important step in ensuring their children are prepared for the school season: immunization.
Prairie North Health Region hosted the Aug. 26 event at the Primary Health Services clinic in Frontier Mall.
A total of 24 children between the ages of four and six were immunized for Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis and Polio, although 32 children attended the event.
The sting was taken out of the shots by offering fun activities and back-to-school related prizes and treats, and booths were set up with valuable information for parents.
Dione Kardynal, PNHR health promotion co-ordinator, said families are busy people and in the rush of getting a young child prepared for their first year of school, they might forget about keeping their child's immunizations up to date.
"We use the opportunity to give them other useful information as well," said Kardynal, referring to the information and activity booths set up.
One booth, hosted by the Acquired Brain Injury Partnership, showed children the importance of wearing a helmet. Eggs enveloped in Styrofoam helmets were dropped and inspected then the Styrofoam helmet was removed and the eggs were dropped again, with predictable results. University of Saskatchewan physiotherapy students Robyn Bauck and Megan Sather explained children are better able to understand the importance of bike safety when the concept is made more tangible.
"It's fun for them," said Bauck.
A speech and language pathology booth explained the importance of reading to children and offered tips on engaging them in the reading process to make sure they understand what is being read.
There was also a booth for the parent mentoring program, a dental care booth offering free toothbrushes and floss and a PNHR booth promoting healthy activity.
A fish pond gave kids the opportunity to hook a prize.
Daisy Adams found out about the event through a letter and brought her two children; Wayne, 10, and Jasmine, 4, who is entering her first year of school.
"It's a good way to make sure they're updated with their immunizations," said Adams.
Children attending the event received back-to-school supplies, such as fun pencils, and there was also a door prize draw.
