This month from the Kid Clinic: What are well child visits

Summer is a great time for families to schedule well child visits as kids are out of school, generally allowing for a more flexible schedule. Every child under 21 years of age should be getting regular wellness exams as instructed by the primary care provider.

Wellness exams for children ensure that they are developing appropriately (both mentally and physically), growing well, receiving appropriate age related education, allowing for the provider to diagnose and monitor any chronic medical or mental health illnesses, allowing providers to do a full exam for disease detection and prevention, and also ensures that each child is up-to-date on immunizations. These appointments can also be helpful for parents to learn how to deal with certain behaviors as well as learn certain milestones to be sure their child is developing appropriately. This should be a comprehensive appointment to really cover your child’s whole health.

Well child exams differ from a sports physical as those appointments typically do not allow enough time to discuss all of the same information. Therefore, even if your older child has a sports physical every year, they should still get a well child check as well. A lot of times, these two appointments can be combined into one visit. If you are not sure if your child’s provider will do this, you should call their office and ask for more information.

Overall, the main goal of well child visits is to be sure that your child is mentally and physically healthy so that they have the best chance to grow, learn, and develop appropriately into their adult years. Listed below is a timeline for all well child visits:

• 48-72 hours after discharge
• 1 month
• 2 months
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 12 months
• 15 months
• 18 months
• 24 months
• 30 months
• 36 months
• Annually after 3 years old

Valerie Amstadt is a Physician Assistant at the Campbell County Medical Group Kid Clinic, a school-based pediatric clinic offering medical care and counseling services for Campbell County students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and their siblings ages 2 weeks and up. It is located at 800 Butler Spaeth Rd., across from St. Matthew’s Catholic Church. The Kid Clinic is open Monday-Friday from 8 am-5 pm. For more information, call 307-688-8700 or visit www.cchwyo.org/kidclinic. The Kid Clinic is a collaborative effort between Campbell County Health and Campbell County School District.