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Questions To Ask During Your Child's Yearly Exam

To ensure your child is growing and developing properly and to pinpoint any potential problems early, you should take your child for a yearly check-up. Whether you have one child or many, it can be difficult to determine if your child's needs are being met, which is why it is important to ask certain questions during this visit. Here are a few critical questions you need to ask your family doctor during your child's yearly wellness exam.

Is My Child Meeting All of Their Milestones? 

First and foremost, one of the most important questions to ask is about your child's development, milestones, height, and weight. These are all big indications about your child's overall growth and development and ensuring that these are all in the normal range is the best indication that your child is healthy.

If your family doctor has any concerns about your child's weight or if your child is not meeting their developmental milestones, ask about what you can do to help. For example, if your toddler is struggling with their vocabulary and is not learning as many new words as they should, your family doctor might recommend speech therapy.

Is My Child Getting Enough Sleep?

One of the biggest issues that many children face is getting a healthy amount of sleep. Between school, homework, and friends, it can be difficult for your child to be well rested. Depending upon your child's age, your pediatrician can recommend the appropriate amount of sleep and provide you with recommendations about bedtimes and how to help your child get better and more restful sleep.

For instance, if your child seems tired throughout the day or cannot focus during school, putting your child to bed earlier and ensuring they have a bedtime routine can help ensure your child gets enough sleep.

How Can I Support My Child's Mental Health?

Finally, for many parents, their biggest concern is their child's mental health. There are several obstacles that your child can face and working with your doctor to monitor and improve your child's mental health is a critical aspect of your yearly checkup. For example, if your child is having issues with friends or seems anxious, your doctor can help you develop a strategy to improve your child's overall mental wellness.

In some cases, your doctor can help recommend medications or therapy to help your child if they are really struggling with their mental health.

Your child's yearly wellness exam is critical to ensure your child's emotional, physical, and mental development is on-track.


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