Now is an excellent opportunity to schedule a doctor's visit for your kids for the end of summer.
The "back-to- school" visit is important for a number of reasons. For one thing, it gives you all a chance to form a solid relationship with your doctor. It will also give you a head's up about things that may have changed in how the office is run which could be important to know in advance especially should your child have a serious medical problem and need to see their doctor urgently. Is there a process in place for unexpected/ emergency visits? Does the office have new staff? Do you now have to pay for certain things that were previously free?
Seeing the doctor when nothing is specifically wrong also gives the kids (and you) an opportunity to get used to the idea of seeing the doctor. In this way they can start to develop an ongoing positive relationship with a health care professional that doesn’t always involve a painful procedure (like getting their shots) or only when they’re sick or it's an emergency. Plan to use this opportunity to discuss with your doctor information that you may have heard from friends or read on the Internet; to talk about nutrition and eating concerns; to bring vaccination and health records up to date; to check your children's growth and review any health concerns. Issues discovered early can often be dealt with more easily than if they're allowed to fester.
Use this visit to prepare your kids for the fall sports season. Is there a worrisome family history that your doctor needs to hear about (for example: have family members died unexpectedly at a relatively young age)? Does your child get disproportionately short of breath with exercise, feel faint or pass out? These can all be warnings of a serious underlying heart condition that needs to be checked out before something disastrous happens.
New vaccinations and some changes to the timing of old ones have been introduced. The human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine and the chicken pox vaccine are among the vaccines that you'll want to discuss. Is this the year that your kids are scheduled to get the hepatitis vaccine? Better to have any questions dealt with now rather than at the last moment. Older children on their way to college may want to discuss the meningitis vaccine.
Though the end of summer is often a very busy time for families, the back-to-school visit with the doctor is something you should not miss and so you might want to take advantage and book it now!