WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: What is a well child visit? A well child visit is when your child sees a healthcare provider to prevent health problems. Well child visits are used to track your child's growth and development. It is also a time for you to ask questions and to get information on how to keep your child safe. Write down your questions so you remember to ask them. Your child should have regular well child visits from birth to 17 years. What milestones of development may my child reach by 9 to 10 years? Each child develops at his own pace. Your child might have already reached the following milestones, or he may reach them later: - Menstruation (monthly periods) in girls and testicle enlargement in boys
- Want to be more independent, and to be with friends more than with family
- Develop more friendships
- Able to handle more difficult homework
- Be given chores or other responsibilities to do at home
What can I do to keep my child safe in the car? - Have your child ride in a booster seat, and make sure everyone in your car wears a seatbelt.
- Children aged 9 to 10 years should ride in a booster car seat. Your child must stay in the booster car seat until he is between 8 and 12 years old and 4 foot 9 inches (57 inches) tall. This is when a regular seatbelt should fit your child properly without the booster seat.
- Booster seats come with and without a seat back. Your child will be secured in the booster seat with the regular seatbelt in your car.
- Your child should remain in a forward-facing car seat if you only have a lap belt seatbelt in your car. Some forward-facing car seats hold children who weigh more than 40 pounds. The harness on the forward-facing car seat will keep your child safer and more secure than a lap belt and booster seat.
- Always put your child's car seat in the back seat. Never put your child's car seat in the front. This will help prevent him from being injured if you get into an accident.
What can I do to keep my child safe in the sun and near water? - Teach your child how to swim. Even if your child knows how to swim, do not let him play around water alone. An adult needs to be present and watching at all times. Make sure your child wears a safety vest when he is on a boat.
- Make sure your child puts sunscreen on before he goes outside to play or swim. Use sunscreen with a SPF 15 or higher. Use as directed. Apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before he goes outside. Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours.
What else can I do to keep my child safe? - Encourage your child to use safety equipment. Encourage him to wear a helmet when he rides his bicycle and protective gear when he plays sports. Protective gear includes a helmet, mouth guard, and pads that are appropriate for the sport.
- Remind your child how to cross the street safely. Remind your child to stop at the curb, look left, then look right, and left again. Tell your child never to cross the street without an adult. Teach your child where the school bus will pick him up and drop him off. Always have adult supervision at your child's bus stop.
- Store and lock all guns and weapons. Make sure all guns are unloaded before you store them. Make sure your child cannot reach or find where weapons or bullets are kept. Never leave a loaded gun unattended.
- Remind your child about emergency safety. Be sure your child knows what to do in case of a fire or other emergency. Teach your child how to call 911.
- Talk to your child about personal safety without making him anxious. Teach him that no one has the right to touch his private parts. Also explain that others should not ask your child to touch their private parts. Let your child know that he should tell you even if he is told not to.
What can I do to help my child get the right nutrition? - Teach your child about a healthy meal plan by setting a good example. Buy healthy foods for your family. Eat healthy meals together as a family as often as possible. Talk with your child about why it is important to choose healthy foods.
- Provide a variety of fruits and vegetables. Half of your child's plate should contain fruits and vegetables. He should eat about 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Buy fresh, canned, or dried fruit instead of fruit juice as often as possible. Offer more dark green, red, and orange vegetables. Dark green vegetables include broccoli, spinach, romaine lettuce, and collard greens. Examples of orange and red vegetables are carrots, sweet potatoes, winter squash, and red peppers.
- Make sure your child has a healthy breakfast every day. Breakfast can help your child learn and focus better in school.
- Limit foods that contain sugar and are low in healthy nutrients. Limit candy, soda, fast food, and salty snacks. Do not give your child fruit drinks. Limit 100% juice to 4 to 6 ounces each day.
- Teach your child how to make healthy food choices. A healthy lunch may include a sandwich with lean meat, cheese, or peanut butter. It could also include a fruit, vegetable, and milk. Pack healthy foods if your child takes his own lunch to school. Pack baby carrots or pretzels instead of potato chips in your child's lunch box. You can also add fruit or low-fat yogurt instead of cookies. Keep his lunch cold with an ice pack so that it does not spoil.
- Make sure your child gets enough calcium. Calcium is needed to build strong bones and teeth. Children need about 2 to 3 servings of dairy each day to get enough calcium. Good sources of calcium are low-fat dairy foods (milk, cheese, and yogurt). A serving of dairy is 8 ounces of milk or yogurt, or 1½ ounces of cheese. Other foods that contain calcium include tofu, kale, spinach, broccoli, almonds, and calcium-fortified orange juice. Ask your child's healthcare provider for more information about the serving sizes of these foods.
- Provide whole-grain foods. Half of the grains your child eats each day should be whole grains. Whole grains include brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, and whole-grain cereals and breads.
- Provide lean meats, poultry, fish, and other healthy protein foods. Other healthy protein foods include legumes (such as beans), soy foods (such as tofu), and peanut butter. Bake, broil, and grill meat instead of frying it to reduce the amount of fat.
- Use healthy fats to prepare your child's food. A healthy fat is unsaturated fat. It is found in foods such as soybean, canola, olive, and sunflower oils. It is also found in soft tub margarine that is made with liquid vegetable oil. Limit unhealthy fats such as saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. These are found in shortening, butter, stick margarine, and animal fat.
How can I help my child care for his teeth? - Remind your child to brush his teeth 2 times each day. He also needs to floss 1 time each day. Mouth care prevents infection, plaque, bleeding gums, mouth sores, and cavities.
- Take your child to the dentist at least 2 times each year. A dentist can check for problems with his teeth or gums, and provide treatments to protect his teeth.
- Encourage your child to wear a mouth guard during sports. This will protect his teeth from injury. Make sure the mouth guard fits correctly. Ask your child's healthcare provider for more information on mouth guards.
What can I do to support my child? - Encourage your child to get 1 hour of physical activity each day. Examples of physical activity include sports, running, walking, swimming, and riding bikes. The hour of physical activity does not need to be done all at once. It can be done in shorter blocks of time. Your child may become involved in a sport or other activity, such as music lessons. It is important not to schedule too many activities in a week. Make sure your child has time for homework, rest, and play.
- Limit screen time. Your child should spend no more than 2 hours watching TV, using the computer, or playing video games. Set up a security filter on your computer to limit what your child can access on the internet.
- Help your child learn outside of the classroom. Take him to places that will help him learn and discover. For example, a children's museum will allow him to touch and play with objects as he learns. Take him to the library and let him pick out his own books. Make sure he returns the books when he is done.
- Encourage your child to talk about school every day. Talk to your child about the good and bad things that happened during the school day. Encourage him to tell you or a teacher if someone is being mean to him. Talk to your child about bullying. Make sure he knows it is not acceptable for him to be bullied, or to bully another child. Talk to your child's teacher about help or tutoring if your child is not doing well in school.
- Create a place for your child to do his homework. Your child should have a table or desk where he has everything he needs to do his homework. Do not let him watch TV or play computer games while he is doing his homework. He should only use a computer during homework time if he needs it for an assignment. Encourage your child to do his homework early instead of waiting until the last minute. Set rules for homework time, such as no TV or computer games until his homework is done. Praise your child for finishing his homework. Let him know you are available if he needs help.
- Help your child feel confident and secure. Give your child hugs and encouragement. Do activities together. Praise your child when he does tasks and activities well. Do not hit, shake, or spank your child. Set boundaries and make sure he knows what the punishment will be if rules are broken. Teach your child about acceptable behaviors.
- Help your child learn responsibility. Give your child a chore to do regularly, such as taking out the trash. Expect your child to do the chore. You might want to offer an allowance or other reward for chores your child does regularly. Decide on a punishment for not doing the chore, such as no TV for a period of time. Be consistent with rewards and punishments. This will help your child learn that his actions will have good or bad results.
What do I need to know about my child's next well child visit? Your child's healthcare provider will tell you when to bring him in again. The next well child visit is usually at 11 to 14 years. Contact your child's healthcare provider if you have questions or concerns about his health or care before the next visit. Your child may get the following vaccines at his next visit: Tdap, HPV, and meningococcal. He may need catch-up doses of the hepatitis B, hepatitis A, MMR, or chickenpox vaccine. Remember to take your child in for a yearly flu vaccine. |