Don’t Overlook the Importance of Health Checkups in your Child

Every individual including our beloved children should get a health checkup once a year. A regular health check in children ensures their proper brain development and physical growth.

Children are tender and delicate. They are susceptible to many conditions that may have both short-term and long-term consequences. Childhood ailments can either be inherited or acquired. Early detection of some childhood diseases can facilitate easy and complete cures compared to complex treatment procedures at later stages of their life.

A mild rash or a bump today may take a nasty form in the future. Thus, the government and all other healthcare institutions are making a conscious effort to generate awareness about regular health checkups in children. These checkups are essential even when your child shows no symptoms and looks healthy.

Let us understand the timelines when health checks are needed by your child.

New Born Baby 

The hospital staff will check for physical and brain growth:

• Weight
• Length
• Head circumference 

The doctor may advise:

• Regarding Breast Feeding technique
• Burping technique 
• Normal and abnormal signs 
• Normal or abnormal sleeping and feeding behaviors 

Your doctor may ask questions or observe the following:

Whether the baby is: 

• Staring at faces or bright objects 8 to 12 inches away
• Responding to sound 
• Holding arms or legs in a flexed position
• Having strong reflexes, such as sucking and grasping 

They may also perform tests, including:

• Eye exam
• Listening to your baby's heart
• Pulse examination
• Umbilical cord examination
• Back, hips, and feet examination

Your doctor may also do some screening tests like: 

• Blood Test 
• Hearing test 

The physical examinations will be mostly similar for all the subsequent visits up to six months. But development milestones that a doctor will look for will be different. 

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 1-Month-old child 

• Focus and follow objects and faces
• Respond to sound
• Flexed arms and legs 
• Increased frequency of legs extension 
• Brief lifting of the head when lying on the stomach

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 2-Month-old child 

• Make other sounds in addition to crying
• Reaction to loud sounds
• Calming down or smiling in response when spoken to or picked up
• Staring at your face
• Staring at a toy for several seconds
• Lift the head up while lying on the stomach
• Equal movement of arms and legs
• Opening of hands for a brief movement 

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 4-Month-old child 

• Move their head in response to the sound 
• Make sounds like "ooh" 
• Make sounds in response when you talk
• Smiles and chuckles
• Move, or make sounds to seek attention 
• Start holding things in their hands
• Able to balance heads when they are held still

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 6-Month-old child 

• Make sounds with you
• Laughs
• Recognize familiar people
• Like their reflection in the mirror
• Start exploring by putting things in their mouth
• Look and reach for the things they want
• Like to roll from tummy back
• Can sit with the support of their arms 

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 9-Month-old child 

• Make sounds like "ma-ma-ma" and "ba-ba-ba"
• Recognize their name
• Show facial expressions like happiness, sadness, and anger
• Shy or fearful of strangers
• Smile when playing games 
• Start passing things from one hand to another
• Start looking for their favorite objects when dropped out of sight
• Can sit without support

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 12-Months-old child 

• Call their parents mama and papa 
• Understands no
• Wave bye-bye
• Enjoy games
• Can put blocks in a cup
• Walk with support
• Use their thumb and index finger to pick up things 

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 15-Months-old child 

• Show love with cuddles and kisses
• Follow directions with gestures and words
• Start recognizing names of familiar project
• Can copy other children 
• Stack at least two blocks
• Can walk a few steps without support
• Can feed themselves with fingers

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in an 18-Months-old child 

• Say more words other than mama and papa
• Can point at something which they feel interesting
• Push their arms through the sleeves of t-shirts or lift their feet for pants while dressing
• Help you in doing chores
• Use a spoon
• Scribbles with crayons
• Walk without support 

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 24-Months-old child 

• Can use two words together (More milk)
• Learn new gestures like blowing a kiss
• Can recognize things in a book 
• Can recognize body parts
• Can use switches and knobs
• Can kick a ball
• Walk up a few stairs 

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 30-Months-old child 

• Can say approximately fifty words
• Can follow small directions
• Know colors
• Take off some clothes by themselves
• Can jump with both feet

Development milestones that a doctor looks at in a 36-Months-old child 

• Can talk at least two back-and-forth conversations
• Can make others understand their feelings
• Can give their first name 
• Can ask what, where, or who questions
• Can draw a circle 
• Join some items together

After the age of three years, a child must have a visit after every 12 months. You may have in-between visits if your child is not well. 

Conclusion:

A child brings a lot of happiness to the family. But for the parents and other family members, childbirth heralds a plethora of responsibilities. A few simple steps initially can help them in reaching their full potential. It is equally important to monitor them closely. But do not forget that each child is unique. It is not fair to expect your child to adhere to these milestones or be in line with their siblings and other children. There are high chances that your child will be a little ahead of others on some and a little behind on other milestones.  

By going for a regular health checkup, you can remove any obstacle in the very initial stage that can stop them from reaching their full potential in the future.