Texas Children’s pediatrician Dr. Amya Mitchell shares helpful advice for parents.
It’s no secret that children grow up all too quickly. That’s why well check visits are so important. They help you keep track of your child’s growth and development, as well as their physical and mental well-being. With each well check visit, you have the opportunity to talk with your child’s provider and ask questions about a wide range of health-related topics. At these appointments, parents can discuss everything from eating and sleeping habits to language and emotional development, as well as problems or concerns they may be encountering. Below, Dr. Amya Mitchell, a pediatrician at Texas Children’s Pediatrics Palm Center, answers questions about well visits.
How often does your child need a well visit?
Preventative care is the hallmark of well check visits — even if your child is healthy, it’s important to have routine appointments during every stage of your child’s life. Here is a periodicity schedule:
- 1st year: 3-5 days old, 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months
- 2nd year: 15 months, 18 months, 24 months, 30 months
- Yearly starting at age 3
“These are the guidelines developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and I strongly encourage all parents to follow them,” said Dr. Mitchell. “If there are any issues, we want to be able to identify them as early as possible. Early intervention is what leads to the best outcomes.”
Is there an ideal time of year for your child’s well visit?
“It’s a common misconception that well visits need to happen in August, right before the new school year,” said Dr. Mitchell. “Instead, I would encourage parents to schedule their visits right after their child’s birthday. This makes it easy to remember appointments and to spot trends in development.”
What can you expect from each visit?
Your child’s provider will perform a complete physical exam, as well as mental and behavioral health screenings, and provide the appropriate vaccines for your child’s age. At your child’s one and two-year checkups, providers will perform a blood test to screen for anemia and lead levels. At three years old, providers will start checking your child’s blood pressure and vision. Screening for your child’s hearing starts at age four, and screening for cholesterol starts at age nine.
“Another important service we provide during well visits is to work as liaisons for parents, to help them coordinate all of their child’s care with the medical specialists they may be seeing,” said Dr. Mitchell. “If someone’s child needs to follow up with an ophthalmologist, for example, that’s something a pediatrician will coordinate during his or her well check visit. We make sure that all doctors are communicating, and that parents have a clear understanding of what to do.”
How should you prepare for each visit?
“Parents can prepare by making a list of questions and concerns to discuss with their child’s provider during the visit,” says Dr. Mitchell. “In addition to that, I would encourage them to bring any updated information they may have regarding medications, vaccines or advice given by other providers. Finally, they should bring copies of any lab reports or visit notes from other providers.”
What sets Texas Children’s apart from other providers?
“There are so many things that make Texas Children’s unique,” says Dr. Mitchell. “Not only do we offer behavioral health screenings — to address the growing behavioral health crisis in our country — but we have social workers and psychologists embedded in many of our practices, as well as direct access to the full range of behavioral health services offered at Texas Children’s Hospital.”
Dr. Mitchell also mentions the unique relationship between Texas Children’s Pediatrics Palm Center and the particular community it serves within the Sunnyside and Third Ward areas of Houston.
“We are proud to be located within a community that is primarily African American,” says Dr. Mitchell. “We do everything we can to address the unique needs and challenges of this particular community. If there are transportation issues, for example, we send Lyft cars to bring patients to their appointments. We have the best patients in Houston, and it is truly an honor to care for them.”
Schedule an appointment with Texas Children’s Pediatrics, or call 832-824-9322.
If you have already signed up for MyChart, you may access MyChart at mychart.texaschildrens.org.