7 – 11 Year Well Child Visit

Next Visit:    

   __ at 8 years of age

   __ at 9 years of age

   __ at 10 years of age

   __ at 11 years of age

   __ at 12 years of age

Immunizations:

   at age 11 

   ____   Tdap (tetanus; diptheria and acellular pertussis)

   ____   meningococcal vaccine

  ____    yearly influenza vaccine

NUTRITION

¨      Learn the Food Pyramid as a family and practice it together.  Remember that our children learn much more from our behavior than from what we tell them to do.

¨      Watch what foods you have in the house.   It’s much harder to eat junk food if it’s not there.  Fruits and vegetables make great snacks! (Click here for a list of healthy snacks.)

¨      Use low fat dairy products.

HEALTHY HABITS

¨      Encourage routine physical activity.  Play ball, ride a bike, take a walk.  Keep moving to keep your heart healthy.

¨      Minimize sedentary activities such as television, video games and computer games.  Choose what you watch wisely.  Encourage children to participate in this decision making with a weekly TV-time budget.  Parents should monitor the shows their children are watching.

¨      See a dentist twice yearly.  Brush teeth twice daily and floss daily.

¨      Talk openly now about the risks of cigarette/alcohol/drug use and set good examples.  Let your children know that they can talk to you about these issues, which they will face soon.  Let them know that you trust them to make wise decisions and begin fostering those decision making skills now.

¨      Read!  Read together, read out loud.  Exercise your brains!

BEHAVIOR/DEVELOPMENT

¨      Establish rules and guidelines and enforce logical consequences if they are not followed.  Help your child to be responsible for his or her actions and the consequences that follow.

¨      Encourage age appropriate decision-making.

¨      Comfortably answer questions about sex.  It is better for our children to learn about this from us, rather than from the media or their peers.  See recommended books below.  Review these in advance before introducing them to your child.  Prepare your child for the changes that will occur during puberty.

SAFETY

¨      Always wear your seat belt.  Children under 12 are safer in the back seat.  Children under 80 lbs may be safer in a booster seat.  Beware of potential dangers from passenger side airbags.  Never ride with someone who has been drinking alcohol.

¨      Always wear a helmet when you bike, roller blade or skateboard.  The pros do.  We aren’t very good at repairing damaged brains!

¨      Sunscreen!  (SPF 15 or above).

¨      Never swim alone.  Learn how to swim if you don’t already know.

¨      Guns are dangerous.  Every 2 hours in the U.S. a gun kills someone’s child.  Guns in the home substantially increase the risk of suicide and homicide.  If you have a gun in your home, we strongly encourage you to get rid of it.  If this is not an option, make certain that the gun is securely locked and stored separately from the ammunition and have family members learn gun safety.  Terrible accidents can happen quickly.

¨      Recognize the risk of leaving your child home alone.  Most children are not developmentally prepared for this responsibility at this age.

FUTURE VISITS

As your child enters adolescence, we will encourage them to begin assuming responsibility for their health.  We will often perform part of the interview and examination with the parents out of the exam room.  A chaperone is available upon request.  It is most helpful if we know of your concerns, if any, in advance.  We maintain confidentiality regarding our discussions with adolescent patients. We will inform parents if an adolescent is posing a threat to him/herself or someone else.  We encourage you to maintain open communication with your adolescent. 

SUGGESTED READING

Caring for Your School-Age Child; Ages 5 to 12, American Academy of Pediatrics

Caring for Your Adolescent:  Ages 12 to 21, American Academy of Pediatrics

It’s Perfectly Natural, Planned Parenthood (a well done book on sex, geared towards pre- and early adolescents)

Your Ten to Fourteen Year Old, Louise Bates Ames, Ph.D.

How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Raising a Child Conservatively in a Sexually Permissive World, Sol Gordon, Ph.D. and Judith Gordon, M.S.W.