Observe National Child Health Day By Scheduling A Checkup
Oct 5, 2020, 9:39 AM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Monday is National Child Health Day – a time to focus specifically on the things your children need to lead a happy, healthy life.
One in six children in the U.S. have either a mental, developmental or behavior health issue.
“As parents and professionals, if we miss those kids early, we’re missing a critical window to intervene,” said pediatrician Ryan Gottfredson of Utah Valley Pediatrics.
He said those visits can inform parents and doctors about the overall wellness of their child, make sure the vaccines are up to date, get a 360-degree view of any potential health issues, and help track growth and development.
“The one thing that kind of helps make everything better is to really focus hard on proper nutrition and exercise and sleep for kids,” Gottfredson said. “It’s not like those things make everything better, but it does make everything somewhat better.”
During the initial days of the pandemic, parents were holding off on a lot of doctor’s visits for their children for fear of infecting them with coronavirus. Gottfredson said there’s a lot less fear now about a basic doctor’s visit that is absolutely necessary for kids.
