Well Child Checks
By Dr. Kent Niss
Spring is just around the corner and just yesterday I saw my crocuses and tulips just starting to peak out of the ground. The signs of new and regenerating life are so refreshing! On the subject of new life I’d like to spend some time in these coming weeks talking about our pediatric healthcare. Today let’s go over the topic of Well Child Checks. What are they? How often do they need to be done? Why do we do them and what is their importance?
The Well Child Check (WCC) is such a common concept in most people’s minds that we don’t give it a second look, however, it is a clinical visit that is being performed less and less and I would like to spend some time today discussing the absolute importance of well child checks. The WCC is a visit with a provider and nurse where children are evaluated for appropriate growth and development physically, mentally and socially as well as an opportunity to screen for both common ailments and devastating rare diseases. This all starts at birth with the child’s very first exam. There are recommended intervals for these WCC: for the first year they are more frequent and are usually every 3 months, then every 6 months until 2-3 years old then yearly after that.
The question I get very often is “Why do we need to do these visits?”. I love getting questions like this as it shows me the engagement folks have with their healthcare and that they truly have a deep interest in their (or their loved ones) health. Unfortunately, the reasons are so vast! Evaluating for appropriate development and growth are most likely the top two reasons for the WCC. However, there are so many other reasons including supporting parents with good, honest, evidenced based education about so many topics, from what to feed your child, what things they should be doing at particular ages and even how to deal with inappropriate behaviors. Raising children is a hard task and yes there are so many different approaches to this hallowed task, therefore, the WCC is an opportunity to discuss the how do’s and what not to do’s of raising children. If there is anything I have learned in life it is that obtaining more than my own perspective on something truly opens my eyes to better ways of doing and thinking about things. I have mentioned development several times, however, development doesn’t just mean physical growth. Yes, physical growth is important, but our children grow in so many other ways. Assessing social development is extremely important. In a questionnaire to parents in the mid 2010’s parents were asked “what is the most important thing they can teach their children?” and tied for the #1 answer was “to help them interact with others”. We have learned that this is not just something to assess in teenagers, but even as young as one year old. Sometimes, subtle anxious tendencies can be seen through this and then addressed, likewise screening for Autism is performed in this young age group and primarily with a social development questionnaire. Mental development is another area that is assessed at these visits. As we get into the school age years, we also assess appropriate levels of maturity which can sometimes help parents when deciding about different school options (HeadStart, preschool, Kindergarten). All of these developmental screenings and assessments have the same goal: early identification. It has been repeatedly shown that early intervention of concerning areas will always result in better outcomes when it comes to children. Unfortunately, there are sometimes areas that cannot be seen by us as parents and an outside perspective is needed to see these areas. At set intervals and ages, we also screen for metabolic conditions and deficiencies such as anemia, lead toxicity, blood sugar instability, vision and high cholesterol. Also screening for skeletal and muscular deformities occurs at these visits. The WCC is also an excellent venue to discuss vaccinations and ask any questions that you may have about them. It is a fact that our childhood vaccines have saved countless lives and lessened disease burden enormously, but that does not mean folks do not have questions about them and I would always encourage those questions to be asked, so that factual, scientific answers can be given. Information is pivotal when making decisions for our children’s health, but more importantly that information needs to be truthful. Lastly, but not of least importance is to give guidance and education about living a healthy lifestyle. Advising children about good and bad choices for their health from a young age has shown to instill healthier behaviors as well as getting children interested in their health and making good decisions for their short- and long-term health.
We all, undeniably, want the best for our children and the children in our community and there are so many ways to help make that happen. Having your children get their Well Child Checks regularly is one small, but extremely important portion of that equation. Please, always remember questions about your, or your children’s health and healthcare are encouraged. I would encourage you to reach out to your child’s healthcare provider to set up their Well Child Check.
