Well-Child Visits for Infants and Young Children in Northern Virginia
Parents know who to call when their children feel ill. But did you know checking in with a pediatrician is just as important when children feel great? At Capital Area Pediatrics, we believe well-child care is the foundation for keeping children healthy. Because childhood is a time of rapid growth and change, regular well-child visits to the pediatrician are important for your child’s health and well-being. Even if your child is currently healthy, well-child visits are a good time to talk about ways to improve ongoing care and even prevent future problems.
Well-child visits begin shortly after birth and last until young adulthood. If your child is due for an annual exam or another type of visit, contact us today! You can schedule an appointment online or call one of our five locations to set up your appointment. Be sure to ask us about our evening hours, offered specifically for busy families!
FAQs on Well-Child Visits
What Exactly is a Well-Child Visit?
A well-child visit refers to an annual exam offered specifically by pediatricians (although well-child visits are scheduled more frequently for newborn and very young children).
Well-child visits are important to ensure any and all necessary preventative care is provided to families. They also allow us to track your child's growth and development, and establish a strong relationship between patient and doctor - something we want to have as children approach their teen years in particular. These exams also allow us to promote behaviors conducive to healthy development, as well as give age-appropriate counseling and guidance.
Additionally, these visits also provide us with an opportunity to review immunization records. Vaccines protect your child by helping their immune systems recognize certain diseases. Many childhood vaccines protect your child for life; others require boosters on a set schedule. Note that for someone to be completely immunized against a disease, he or she must get all the recommended doses, which may mean more than one shot during a set period of time. There have been outbreaks of serious diseases in children who did receive all of their shots; so adhering to an immunization schedule is critical.
Why Should I Schedule Well-Child Visits?
There are a handful of benefits that come with regularly visiting a pediatrician. They include:
- Preventative Care: By meeting with a doctor, children are guaranteed to receive preventive care in the form of immunizations, discussions about nutrition and safety at school, exercise needs, sleeping habits, and so on.
- Addressing Delays: Well-child visits provide us with chances to discuss a child's milestones, social behaviors, and education. If there are delays or issues in a child’s growth and development, they can be caught and addressed during these visits.
- Questions & Answers: Regular visits give parents a chance to talk directly with their child’s family doctor, and to review notes from previous exams if needed.
- Building Connection: Regular visits create strong, trustworthy relationships between pediatricians and families. This helps children develop physically, mentally and socially over time!
What Happens During a Well-Child Visit?
During a visit, our care team assesses your child’s physical, behavioral, developmental, and emotional status. Visits can include physical measurements, patient history review, emotional/behavioral assessments, screenings, age-appropriate vaccinations, and other tests as needed.
Based on our findings, we will then assign preventive care action steps to families that will help children continue to grow in a healthy manner.
Note that the specifics of a visit will depend on the age of your child (as well as whether or not we need to follow-up on any issues diagnosed during past visits). Please see the link below to learn more about what to expect at your upcoming well-child visit. Additionally, if your doctor feels other vaccines, tests or procedures are indicated beyond those listed below, your doctor will discuss these with you at your well child visit. Capital Area Pediatrics requires all patients to be on the vaccine schedule recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics.