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Health checks for young children – what you need to know

It is recommended that children attend scheduled health checks until they turn 5. Regular health checks can reassure you or address your concerns about your child’s development. A healthcare professional will let you know if your child is following a typical pattern. They will also let you know how you can support your child at each age and stage.

How often should my child have a health check?

Your child should have a health check at age one, 18 months, 2, 3 and 4 years.

Why does my child need regular health checks?

Health checks may pick up medical conditions and treat them in the early stages. Early intervention and treatment help to support recovery. This helps to avoid complications for treatable conditions.

What will a doctor check?

Your GP will record your child’s height and weight measurements at each health check. Using these measurements, your doctor will compare them against children of the same age and gender. Your doctor may observe your child while they are interacting with you or toys. Measurements will be plotted on percentile (growth) charts and compared against other children of the same age and gender. Your healthcare professional may ask questions about your child’s eating, sleeping habits and general behaviour. They may ask the parent or caregiver questions to help pick up developmental delays or to identify developmental concerns.

What is an infant health record?

Australian women receive an infant health record book when they have a baby. The book contains an ‘ages and stages’ questionnaire you can fill out before your child’s health checks. In the book, you can also keep note of concerns you have about your child and discuss them at the appointment.

Is childhood vaccination important?

Immunisation protects children from serious and often life-threatening diseases. It not only helps protect individual children but also protects the broader community by minimising the spread of disease.

Where can I get my child vaccinated in Alexandra Hills?

Do you live in Alexandra Hills or Redland City? Many community-based child-health centres offer childhood vaccination. Many doctors vaccinate too, including the bulk billing doctors at One Life Medical in Alexandra Hills. Vaccinations recommended on the National Immunisation Program Schedule are funded for all Australian children.

Does it matter if my child is behind in their vaccination schedule?
For the best protection, it is important to vaccinate your child on or as close as possible to the due date in accordance with the National Immunisation Program Schedule Queensland. Your child isn’t fully protected if their vaccination is overdue, even if they have been up to date in the past. It’s important to keep an accurate record of your child’s vaccinations.

Bulk-billing doctors in Alexandra Hills

One Life Medical is a bulk-billing practice in Alexandra Hills. As holistic doctors, we focus on preventative care, looking at a patient’s mind, body and spirit to get to the root cause of an issue. Services include immunisations, general surgery, antenatal care, health assessments, ECG’s, cryotherapy, travel medicine, employment medicals, driver’s medicals and more. Allied health practitioners regularly visit our practice. These include a physiotherapist, podiatrist, hearing specialist and dietitian.

To book an appointment at One Life Medical, please call 07 3824 8144. Alternatively, you can book online or download the app for iPhone or Android devices and make bookings directly from your phone. For further information, please call reception on 07 3824 8144.

Reference

  1. https://www.pregnancybirthbaby.org.au/regular-health-checks-for-children
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