Find out more about well-child checkups and why they are crucial for your child’s health.
From the moment your baby is born, you want to give them everything. You also want to ensure they have everything they need to grow up healthy and strong. That’s where well-child visits come in. These checkups with your pediatrician allow them to check up and monitor your child’s health when they are growing fast and reaching one developmental milestone after another. These well-child visits help your child stay healthy and detect issues early on.
But My Child Is Healthy. Do They Still Need a Checkup?
Pediatrician visits aren’t just for sick kids. In fact, healthy children still need to visit their pediatrician regularly for wellness checkups to ensure they stay healthy. After all, these visits are the best way for your child’s medical team to monitor their health and development and catch problems early on. During your child’s well-child checkup, your pediatrician will evaluate your child’s health, growth and development.
How Often Do Wellness Checkups Occur?
How often your child visits their pediatrician will depend on their age. While you can easily find the American Academy of Pediatrics’ well-child care visit schedule online, for easy reference, your child should come in for a wellness checkup at,
- Three-five days old
- One month old
- Two months old
- Four months old
- Six months old
- Nine months old
- 12 months old
- 15 months old
- 24 months old
- 30 months old
- Three years old
Once your child reaches three years old, they only need to come in once a year for wellness checkups.
What Is Involved in a Wellness Checkup?
When your child comes into their pediatrician’s office, they will first check and record their height, weight and vital signs (e.g., heart rate; blood pressure). Your pediatrician will also go through your child’s medical history and family history to understand their current health and any preexisting conditions.
From there, your pediatrician will perform a comprehensive physical evaluation of your child, checking everything from reflexes and nerve function to the heart and lungs. During these wellness checkups, your pediatrician may also administer certain vaccines to keep your child safe and healthy and perform additional screenings such as hearing, vision and behavioral screenings to check for vision or hearing loss, ADHD or other behavioral problems.
A pediatrician isn’t here just to provide sick care to children; they are also here to provide preventive care such as well-child visits to support your child’s optimal health to prevent illnesses and injuries. Call your pediatrician to schedule your child’s next well-child visit.
