How Wellness Visits Can Support Your Child's Mental Health

Parents know that wellness visits are crucial for their children’s health and development. Not only are they an important step in managing physical health, wellness visits allow pediatricians time to assess a child’s mental wellbeing. 

For babies and toddlers, pediatricians will check that brain development is following typical guideposts and work with you if not. Children and teens, however, will mostly be checked through a conversation with their pediatrician about their mental health.

Here are some tips to help prepare you and your child for this aspect of wellness visits: 

Start the conversation with your child.

Before your child’s appointment, it’s a good idea to talk with them about what to expect. Let them know that the pediatrician will ask them questions about their feelings, and that it’s okay to be open with them because their doctor is there to help.

You can even start conversations with your child outside of wellness visits about mental health. The more that parents are able to talk about the topic in an uncritical, honest manner, the more comfortable children will be sharing their own experiences.

Let your child talk privately with their doctor.

As your child gets older, the pediatrician will often include time in a wellness visit to speak with them one-on-one. At that point, pediatricians will have a confidential conversation, screen for depression, safety, social issues, and more. Sometimes these topics can be challenging for a kid to talk about openly in front of their parents. 

It’s necessary to give space to allow this time to occur. These check-ins can both identify and tackle issues and teach children how to talk about their health—a skill they’ll need as they age.

Feeling some apprehension about your child’s one-on-one time with the pediatrician? The American Academy of Pediatrics has written an article explaining why this can be so helpful.

Share with the pediatrician if you have concerns.

If you’ve been noticing that your child is showing signs of stress or anger, that’s something to bring up with their pediatrician. 

In a toddler, that might look like bedwetting after being potty trained, trouble sleeping, clinging or more frequent or intense tantrums. For children and teens, an increase in worrying, struggling with school work or changing in eating habits are a few of the signs to look for.

While these notes are great touchpoints to share before a wellness visit, they can—and should—be given at any point. Your child’s healthcare team is trained in these issues and can determine what the best path for support will be. 

For more resources for your child’s mental health, you can check out The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Emotional Wellness page.