Back-to-School Checkups Important for Kids’ Health

Preparing for a new school year is a lot to juggle; parents have to keep track of everything from sports to social behaviors to school supplies. It’s easy to postpone certain items on the to-do list until everyone is settled into the new school routine. However, an annual health checkup is not something that should be skipped. Even when children seem healthy, a visit with the doctor is an important step to long-term wellness.

An annual checkup can help parents make sure children are growing and developing properly, and creates an opportunity for parents to ask about common concerns like their child’s eating and sleeping patterns. Most importantly, doctors are able to measure kids’ hearing, vision, height, and weight, screen for lead exposure, and check that their vaccinations are up to date.

A doctor who sees a child every year at a health checkup will get to know them better and be more likely to catch health problems early. BMC HealthNet Plan OR Well Sense Health Plan can help families find a doctor and can even provide free rides to and from the scheduled visit if needed. For more information, visit bmchp.org OR wellsense.org.

Karen Szvoren, RN, is the Manager of Clinical Initiatives at BMC HealthNet Plan and Well Sense Health Plan. Karen has been with the organization since 2005, helping to provide the highest quality healthcare coverage to underserved populations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. She has been a nurse since 1973 and has worked on medical surgical floors, in the operating room and in a private boarding school in New York State.