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Your child’s health

By AJ Murphy

Nothing is more important than your child’s health

Just like you, we want your child to grow up healthy and happy. That’s why we cover well-child checkups. These are covered from the day your child is born until they turn 20. Your child will have a lot of checkups before they turn 2. After that, they will only have to go for a checkup once a year.

Children grow and change very quickly. This is why they need to see a primary care physician (PCP) regularly for well-child checkups.

What happens during a well-child checkup?

During a checkup, your child’s PCP will:

  • Do a complete physical exam
  • Check your child’s growth and development
  • Check your child’s vision, hearing and teeth
  • Give shots as needed
  • Order lab work, like blood tests, as needed
  • Answer any questions that you might have, like what foods are best for your child
  • Find any health problems before they become serious
  • Get to know your child so they can take better care of them

When should I bring my child to their well-child checkup?

You should bring your child to their checkups on a regular basis, even if they aren’t sick. To help you stay on track and never miss a checkup, we’ve made this schedule. Your child should see their PCP when they are:

  • Neonatal (between the time they are born and 1 month old)
  • Under 6 weeks old
  • 2 months old
  • 4 months old
  • 6 months old
  • 9 months old
  • 12 months old
  • 15 months old
  • 18 months old
  • 24 months old
  • 3 to 20 years old (once a year)

You should take your child to the doctor immediately if they have:

  • Behavior that’s troubling or different than usual
  • Fever of 103 F or higher
  • Rashes or skin infections
  • Frequent sore throats
  • Trouble breathing
  • Sudden weight gain or loss

Should I vaccinate my child?

The right shots (vaccinations) can protect your child against serious diseases like whooping cough and measles. Your child should get their shots during their well-child checkup. You can call your child’s PCP to see if they are due for a shot. You can also check the schedule of shots by age group when you visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccines and immunizations webpage.

Other helpful resources

Vaccination schedule: 0 to 6 years

Vaccination schedule: 7 to 18 years

KidsHealth®

About the author

AJ Murphy is an evocative young writer who grew up in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood. AJ began his writing career at Alaska Ice Rinks Inc. in Anchorage, AK, where he also drove a Zamboni and took care of outdoor hockey rinks.

Simple veggie stir-fry

Try this speedy stir-fry for an easy way to fill up on veggies, even when you’re short on time! You can change it up with seasonal produce to keep dinner feeling fresh.

This recipe serves four.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tables poons vegetable oil
  • 4 spring onions
  • 1 garlic clove (crushed)
  • 1 piece fresh ginger (peeled and chopped)
  • 1 carrot (match stick cut)
  • 1 red pepper (match stick cut)
  • 1 zucchini (match stick cut)
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar snappeas
  • 4 tables poons teriyaki sauce

Directions:

  • Heat a large pan on a high and add vegetableoil.
  • Add spring onions, garlic and ginger, and stir-fryfor 1 minute. Then reduce theheat.
  • Be careful not to brown the veggies ... keep the heat down!
  • Add carrot and red pepper and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
  • Add zucchini and sugar snappeas, stir-frying for another 3 minutes.
  • Toss the ingredients using aspatula.
  • Add teriyaki sauce and cook on high heat for a further 2 minutes. All the vegetables shouldbe cooked, but not too soft.

Sweet potato and banana pancakes

You can have pancakes, and eat your veggies, too! The sweet potato in this batter cuts down on sugar. And it adds protein for a stack that packs a healthy punch. This recipe serves four.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 2 tea spoons baking powder
  • 1/2 tea spoon salt
  • 1 table spoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup mashed baked sweet potato
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cup skim milk
  • 1/2 teas poon cinnamon
  • 1 banana (diced)

Directions:

  • In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.
  • Add the sweet potato, egg and milk, and mix until smooth.
  • Add the cinnamon. Stir in the diced banana.
  • Place a large pan over medium heat and spray lightly with cooking spray.
  • Drop large spoon fuls of batter onto the pan —pancakes should be about 3.5 inches wide. Cook until bubbly, about 2 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until golden brown.
  • You can also top with slices of banana or other seasonal fruit.

Available at: bbc.com/food/recipes/sachas_stir-fry_17077. cessed September 11, 2018.

Popsugar. These 100 calorie pancakes contain asecret ingredient. Available at: popsugar. com/fitness/Whole-Wheat-Pancakes-Made-Sweet-Potato-31570129. Accessed September 11,2018.

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