Recommended Visitation Schedule
The physicians at Welcome Pediatrics recommend the following guidelines as to when your child should see a pediatrician. For more information on this subject, please visit the following link to Wonder Time Magazine.Each child and family is unique; therefore, these Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care are designed for the care of children who are receiving competent parenting, have no manifestations of any important health problems, and are growing and developing in satisfactory fashion. Additional visits may become necessary if circumstances suggest variations from normal.
Developmental, psychosocial, and chronic disease issues for children and adolescents may require frequent counseling and treatment visits separate from preventive care visits.
These guidelines represent a consensus by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Bright Futures. The AAP continues to emphasize the great importance of continuity of care in comprehensive health supervision and the need to avoid fragmentation of care .
| Click on the downloadable image link provided to the right for the complete visitation guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics. |  |
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1 to 3 months
Most healthy babies at this age simply need attention in feeding, changing, and frequent cuddling and caressing in order to thrive. That's not to say, however, that routine pediatrician visits aren't required to maintain your baby's health. |
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3 to 9 months
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The current recommendation is for babies to go for well check-ups at 4, 6, and 9 months of age. Not only will your baby's doctor be able to check your baby's growth and development, ask about his eating and sleeping habits, and answer questions you might have, but you should expect to be given information sheets about the immunizations that your baby is due to get at each of these visits. |
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9 to 12 months
Babies generally go for well check-ups at both 9 months and a year.
If your baby is on schedule with his shots, he shouldn't need any at the 9-month visit. You should be sure to schedule
his one-year check-up no sooner than his actual birthday, since some of the 1-year-old shots must be given after a child
turns 1.
If your child wasn't tested for anemia at his 9-month visit, he is likely to be at a year.
Unless your child has a specific need for sooner follow-up, his next visit will most likely be at 15 months of age.
12 to 18 months
Toddlers generally go for well-child check-ups every three months at this age (in other words, at 12, 15, and
18 months).
If your child has received all her immunizations as recommended, then the 18-month visit will mark the last check-up
at which she'll need shots for a couple of years; the next shots, commonly referred to as kindergarten shots, will be
given at 4 to 6 years of age.
Unless your child has a specific need for a sooner follow-up, her next visit will be when she turns 2 years old.
2 years
Pediatricians generally schedule well-child check-ups once a year around the second and third birthdays. During these visits, pediatricians commonly weigh and measure, as well as check for age-appropriate developmental milestones — use of sentences, the ability to climb stairs, and the early interest in scribbling, for example.
3 years
Preschoolers should continue to see the pediatrician annually, even though no immunizations are typically given until 4 to 6 years (unless your child is behind on her shots). During the three-year check-up, the doctor will weigh and measure your child, perform a physical examination, and most likely check blood pressure, hearing, and vision.
4 years
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Once children reach preschool age, they should continue to see a pediatrician annually, even though no immunizations
are typically required until the start of kindergarten. |
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5 to 6 years
Five and 6-year-old check-ups are recommended for all children, not just for entry into kindergarten, but
also so that your doctor can find out about your child's physical, social, and learning accomplishments over
the past year. |
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The question "Why does my baby have to visit the pediatrician so often?" is best answered by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Click here to read the article.