Well-Child Care
Please review the following important sections about protecting your child's health.
- Schedule of Immunizations
- Well-Child Care Handouts
- Child Development
- Nutrition and Exercise
- Safety
- Dental Health
- Day Care
- Adolescent Health care
Schedule of Immunizations
Health maintenance and preventative care, such as immunizations, are important in helping to protect your child from serious diseases. All Camino Medical Group (CMG) pediatric patients should follow the recommended guidelines of their personal physician.
CMG Vaccination Schedule
Back to top
Well-Child Care Handouts
Below are patient handouts prepared by CMG health care providers that are given to parents during well-child care visits. They briefly cover nutritional recommendations, developmental milestones, and safety issues that parents should be aware of during specific periods of their child's life.
- 2-Week Visit
- 2-Month Visit
- 4-Month Visit
- 6-Month Visit
- 9-Month Visit
- 12-Month Visit
- 15-Month Visit
- 18-Month Visit
- 24-Month Visit
- 4 Year Visit
- 5 Year Visit
- 3-Year Visit
- 6-10 Year Visit
- 11-13 Year Visit
- 14-19 Year Visit -- For Teens
- Ages 14-19 -- For Parents
Back to top
Child Development
It is every parent's joy to watch their child develop in his or her own way. Your pediatrician monitors your child's progress at each well-child visit and will address any issues. Please use the following link to understand and promote your child's development.
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/growth/, Accessed December 2005
Back to top
Nutrition and Exercise
Iron is an important mineral to maintain red blood cell function and prevent anemia. The iron in fruits and vegetables is called nonheme iron and is absorbed better when taken with a source of vitamin C (such as strawberries, citrus, broccoli, cauliflower or tomatoes).
Foods Rich in Iron (Acrobat file)
Calcium is an essential mineral for proper bone growth and development, as well as the prevention of fractures. Adequate calcium intake during childhood may also reduce the risk of osteoporosis in late adulthood. Note: Low-fat dairy products, including skim milk and low-fat yogurts, are good sources of calcium for overweight adolescents.
Foods Rich in Calcium (Acrobat file)
Recommendations for a healthy and active lifestyle for your children include at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day. Read this handout about Walking with Pedometers for information about physical activity that is fun and for the entire family!
Back to top
Safety
Car Seat Safety Information
Motor vehicle accidents account for the #1 cause of preventable childhood deaths. Click on the following link for more information about car seats from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
http://www.aap.org/family/cps.htm, Accessed December 2005
California Poison Control Web site
Childhood ingestions are common and the California Poison Control Web site has useful information regarding various topics. (http://www.calpoison.org/home.html, Accessed December 2005). The toll-free California Poison Action Line is 1-800-222-1222 and is available 24 hours a day.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Children’s toys, furniture and clothing often have safety issues after their release into the public market. Click on the link to search for recalls and product safety news.
http://www.cpsc.gov/, Accessed December 2005
Backpack Safety
With improvements and additions to school curricula, heavy backpacks are becoming more common for school-aged children. Unfortunately, they can also be a source of shoulder or back pain and posture problems. Click on the link to view the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' information for backpack safety.
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/ fact/thr_report.cfm?T hread_ID=105&topcategory=Children, Accessed December 2005
Back to top
Dental Health
Dental health is a very important aspect of a child's health. Dental cavities are five times more common than asthma, and seven times more common than hay fever in children. It is recommended children begin visiting a pediatric dentist at 3 years of age, sooner if they have any dental issues. General anticipatory guidance for the prevention of dental cavities includes brushing teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste approved by the American Dental Association, drinking fruit juices only with meals and avoiding carbonated drinks for the first 2 1/2 years of life.
Fluoride is an important mineral in the prevention of dental cavities. Children should not only be using toothpaste containing fluoride, but drinking fluoridated water as well. Children without access to fluoridated water should receive fluoride supplements from their doctor. The water fluoridation in the Bay Area is complicated and continually changing. Visit the link below to find out if your community has fluoridated water (note the fluoride map boundaries for the city of Sunnyvale). Consult with your pediatrician or pediatric dentist if you have any questions.
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Water Fluoridation, Accessed December 2005
Back to top
Day Care
More parents are having to return to work after childbirth. Day care can affect your child's development and exposure to communicable illness. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate day care carefully.
Below are some important questions to address as you evaluate a day care for your child.
- What is the provider to child ratio? An ideal size might be one provider to every four infants.
- Do the infants have access to a variety of toys? Exposure to games, songs and conversation help foster language development.
- Does the day care have established cleanliness routines and policies regarding sick children? Are the providers trained in CPR?
- Does the day care perform background checks on its employees? What is the training and experience of the caregivers? Is there a lot of staff turnover? Stable child care provided by high quality providers is the best situation for child care.
- What do other parents think about the day care? Good sources of information are friends, family, local parenting groups and schools.
http://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/search/, Accessed December 2005
Back to top
Adolescent Health care
We're Talking: Teen Health Information. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation's teen Web site has general health information for teens and their parents. The Web site also provides a section where teens can anonymously "Ask the Expert" regarding various health and psychosocial topics that adolescents encounter.
We're Talking Too: Preteen Health Information. The Palo Alto Medical Foundation's preteen Web site offers general health information for preteens and their parents.
Back to top
