The American Pediatric Society recognizes the importance of annual well-care visits in children. This crucial health check starts immediately after your child’s birth. It continues until your child is old enough to see a physician for adults. If you want to start your child’s annual well-care visits soon, here’s what you should know about how important they are.

 

Illness Prevention

Pediatricians schedule your child’s immunizations to prevent certain illnesses. Vaccines fight the pathogens to which your child is vulnerable from infancy onward. Sports teams and schools mandate that their members receive their vaccines based on the CDC’s recommended schedule. Here are the vaccines that your child should have at the right time:

• Measles

• Diphtheria

• Hepatitis A and B

• Haemophilus influenza type b

• Polio

• Tetanus

• Rubella

• Pneumococcal

• Rotavirus

• Pertussis

• Influenza

• Mumps

• Chickenpox
   

During your child’s checkup, your pediatrician will also perform screenings that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for each age. The screenings include laboratory tests, psychological evaluation, and blood pressure assessment. Your pediatrician may give referrals to specialists if there are any abnormal results.

 

Cooperation

Through well-care visits, you and your pediatrician can work together in maintaining your child’s health. You and your child develop a strong bond with your pediatrician as your checkups go on. This makes it easier for your pediatric doctor to give reminders and instructions for your child’s emotional, physical, and mental health.

 

Development and Growth Monitoring

Whenever your child comes in for a visit, your pediatrician assesses how much your child has grown since the last checkup. Expect to answer questions about your child’s latest developmental milestones, learning styles, and social demeanors. If you see problems in sleeping, relations, or eating, a yearly checkup is a right opportunity to bring it up with your pediatrician. You will get recommendations that will address those issues to help your child develop and grow better.

 

Injury Prevention

Active children also need well-care visits. This is to lessen your child’s risk of injury. If your child wants to be part of the next schoolyear’s sports activities, a sports physical exam is necessary. You can request this during your child’s latest annual checkup.

 

Better Sleep

Infants, children, and teenagers need enough proper sleep. You should tell your pediatrician if your child is either sleeping excessively or not getting the right amount of restful sleep. Your pediatric doctor can then determine the cause of your child’s unhealthy sleep pattern and help correct it.

 

Health Improvement

If you notice that your child is turning into a picky eater or is not active at all, your pediatrician can help you make some changes. When it comes to diet, your pediatric doctor can recommend food alternatives that will provide essential nutrients despite the pickiness. For inactivity, you and your pediatric doctor can come up with fun, calorie-shedding activities for your child.


 

Annual well-care visits are crucial for your child’s health and well-being. At Advanced Pediatrics PC, we make sure that we work with parents in helping their children achieve optimal health. Please visit our clinics in Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, New York, for a one-on-one consultation. You can also call us at 718-271-2600 if you want to set an appointment or make inquiries about our annual well-care packages.