What is a Well Child Checkup?
A well child checkup helps to make sure your baby,
child or teen gets the preventive care they need to find and treat health problems
before they get serious. Babies and children grow and change very quickly. Problems
can develop quickly too.
That is why your doctor wants to see your BABY 6 TIMES
IN THE FIRST YEAR and your CHILD OR TEEN EVERY YEAR FROM AGE 2 UNTIL THEY ARE 21
YEARS OLD.
Well Child Checkup Schedule for Babies (6 CHECKUPS)
- 2 Weeks
- 2 Months
- 4 Months
- 6 Months
- 9 Months
- 12 Months
If you miss a checkup, call for another appointment. A late appointment is better
than no appointment. Don’t risk your baby’s health!
Well Child Checkup Schedule for Children and Teens (EVERY YEAR)
- Every year from age 2 until they are 21 years old.
Why Should I Come In For a Well Child Checkup When My Child Isn’t Sick? Because
even the most caring mom couldn’t see…
Just because your child doesn’t look sick doesn’t mean he or she is “well”. Children
can have health problems that are impossible to “see”. For instance, even the most
caring mom wouldn’t know if their baby was born with a heart problem or if their
child had lead poisoning. These are problems you can’t see! Only your child’s doctor
can find these types of life-threatening problems.
Developmental Delay
Almost 1 in every 5 children has some kind of developmental problem. Too often,
these problems aren’t found until they go to school. Because these problems aren’t
found and treated early, most of these children will always be behind their classmates
and never catch up. Finding and treating problems early—before they get serious—are
what well child checkups are all about!
See “What is Child Development and What Skills Do Children Develop At Different
Ages?” below.
Health Education
Bring your questions about your child with you to every well child checkup. This
is your chance to get valuable information about your child and to help you as a
parent!
Shots (Immunizations)
Well child checkups are also the perfect time to get your child’s shots. If you
stick to the well child checkup schedule, you will know your child is also up-to-date
on shots and protected from life-threatening childhood diseases. Your child will
also be ready for day care and/or pre-school.
Well Child Checkups…
- Find life threatening problems that you can’t see
- Are free for your child
- Are the best comprehensive preventive exam for children in the U.S.!
What is child development? [ back to top ]
Child development is a process every child goes through. This process involves learning
and mastering skills like sitting, walking, talking, skipping, and tying shoes.
Children learn these skills, called developmental milestones, as they grow. Children
develop skills in five main areas of development:
- Cognitive Development - This is the child’s ability to learn and
solve problems. For example, this includes a two-month-old baby learning to explore
the environment with hands or eyes or a five-year-old learning how to do simple
math problems.
- Social and Emotional Development - This is the child’s ability
to interact with others, including helping themselves and self-control. Examples
of this type of development would include: a six-week-old baby smiling, a ten-month-
old baby waving bye-bye, or a five-year-old boy knowing how to take turns in games
at school.
- Speech and Language Development - This is the child’s ability to
both understand and use language. For example, this includes a 12- month-old baby
saying his first words, a two-year-old naming parts of her body, or a five-year-old
learning to say “feet” instead of “foots”.
- Fine Motor Skill Development - This is the child’s ability to use
small muscles, especially their hands and fingers, to pick up small objects, hold
a spoon, turn pages in a book, or use a crayon to draw.
- Gross Motor Skill Development - This is the child’s ability to
use large muscles. For example, a six-month-old baby learns how to sit up with some
support, a 12-month-old baby learns to pull up to a standing position while holding
onto furniture, and a five-year-old learns to skip.
What is a developmental milestone? [ Back to top ]
A developmental milestone is a skill that a child acquires within a specified timeframe.
For instance, one developmental milestone is learning to walk. Most children learn
this skill or developmental milestone between the ages of 9 and 15 months. The skill
is walking and the specified timeframe is somewhere between 9 and 15 months.
Milestones develop sequentially, that is, children learn easier skills first and
more complex ones after that. For example, children must first learn to crawl and
to pull up to a standing position before they are able to walk. Each milestone that
a child learns builds on the milestone before it.
What are the typical milestones that children learn at different ages? [ Back to top ]
Our brains are not fully developed at birth. In fact, a baby’s brain weighs about
one quarter (1/4) of what an adult’s brain weighs! The brain grows very rapidly
during the first several years of life. During this time, your child is learning
all sorts of new skills. Because children usually acquire developmental milestones
or skills during a specified time frame or “window”, doctors can predict when most
children will learn different skills.
What if my child doesn’t meet a developmental milestone? [
Back to top ]
Parents often wonder… “Is my child developing like most children his or her age?”
You may have heard people say things like “he was walking before he turned 10 months,
much earlier than his older brother” or “she didn’t say much until she was about
2 years old and then she starting talking like a chatter box!” This is because each
child is unique and each develops at his or her own rate.
There are definitely blocks of time when most children will meet a milestone. For
example, children learn to walk between 9 and 15 months of age. So, if your child
is 13 months of age and is not yet walking there need to worry if he is crawling
and pulling himself to stand up. He has acquired the skills he needs to learn to
walk and may begin walking soon.
However, if you have a child 15 months of age who is not yet walking, it would be
a good idea to talk with your child’s doctor at a well child checkup to make sure
there aren’t any medical or developmental problems because 15 months is outside
the “normal window” or time frame in which most children learn to walk.
How can I help my child meet these developmental milestones? [ Back to top ]
As parents, we want our children to succeed and be the best they can be. Some parents
may think they need to run out and buy special toys, music and games to stimulate
their child’s environment. You don’t need them. It is more important to provide
the following, every-day activities you can do with your child to encourage brain
development
- Give your child lots of love and attention. No matter what a child’s
age, holding, hugging, and listening are important ways to show your child they
matter.
- Interact with your child by talking, singing, playing, eating, and reading
with your child. He or she will grow up feeling special and important to you. You
will also learn a lot about your child’s interests and skills.
- Read, read, read.
Children who are read to by their parents have a larger vocabulary than other children.
Reading also provides children with new views about the world we live in.
- Learn
about simple parenting skills for helping your child learn how to behave. The most
important parenting skills are having consistent rules, rewarding behaviors you
want to see your child do more of, and having consequences for behaviors you do
not want your child to continue to do.
- Limit TV time and video time to no more
than 1-2 hours of educational viewing per day.
How can I check to see if my child is developing normally and at the right rate?
[ Back to top ]
The most important thing you can do is take your child to his or her well child
checkup. Your child’s doctor will assess your child’s development during the checkup.
Your child’s development is not assessed at any other visit. For example, if you
bring your child in because he or she has an earache, your child’s doctor will not
have time to do a developmental assessment. That is why well child checkups are
so important for your child.
A parent’s assessment of their child’s development
can help your child’s doctor focus in on a potential developmental problem. After
all, you know your child best. CUP has developed a tool to help you assess your
child’s development.
Parents can use the DEVELOPMENTAL CHECKLISTS FOR PARENTS
to assess their child’s development before going in for a well child checkup. Click
on a developmental checklist to read and/or print a copy of the developmental checklist.
Write down any concerns or questions you might have about your child’s development.
Take the checklist with you to your child’s well child checkup. Share this information
with your child’s doctor.
|