By Dr. Omar Jaber and Dr. Stacy Scott-Mckinney, pediatricians at Children’s National Hospital
It’s time to start thinking about backpacks, lunchboxes, and school schedules again. It’s also a great time to make sure you have scheduled your child’s annual well-child visit. These visits are an important part of keeping your child healthy, safe, and ready to succeed for the next year.
Why Well-Child Visits Matter
A well-child visit (or well-child physical) is much more than a quick check-up or a place to get a school form signed. Each year at these visits, we monitor your child’s growth, development, mental health and overall wellness. We also use this time to:
- Ensure immunizations are up to date
- Discuss age-appropriate nutrition, sleep, screen time, and safety
- Identify and address any behavior, learning, or mental health concerns
- Give you any of the referrals to specialists, therapy, or school accommodations that your child might need
Make the Most of Your Visit
To help your child’s next annual well-child visit go as smoothly as possible, please:
- Be on time: Well-child visits include more time than a sick visit so your child’s doctor can complete a full physical assessment and have a meaningful discussion with you and your child. If you are late, we may have to reschedule, especially during times when many well-child visits are scheduled.
- Silence cell phones: Removing distractions during the visit helps us all focus on building a strong, trusting relationship with your child and addressing any questions or concerns you have.
- Bring medical and social updates: Be prepared to share new medical diagnoses, changes in medications or recent specialist visits. Also, we want to know about major social changes, like a move, a change in guardianship, or possible new stressors at home or school.
- Create a list of questions: It can be hard to remember all the things you want to ask about once the appointment starts. It can really help to write down your questions before your child’s visit. Also, know that no concern is too small! Think about puberty, nutrition, sleep habits, school performance or emotional changes, or anything else you want to ask about your child’s growth and development.
Why Choose Your Pediatrician Over Urgent Care
Whenever possible, schedule well-child visits and routine care with your pediatrician. This helps us provide safer, smarter, and more personalized care for your child at every visit. Your child’s primary care pediatrician knows them best. Consistent check-ins help us keep track of their complete medical history, growth charts, and developmental milestones over time.
Visiting urgent care for routine care or physical assessments may seem convenient at first, but it can lead to missed follow-ups on important issues, repeat or unnecessary testing, and create gaps in your child’s health record.
Kick Off Your School Year Strong
A well-child visit is a small, once-a-year time investment that brings lifelong benefits. Making it a regular part of your annual back-to-school preparations can help keep it a routine part of every year.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
