It’s a Dangerous World
But with the recommended shots, your child does not have to live in a bubble.
Parenting is a big job. You may want to keep your child isolated so you know he or she is always safe and healthy. Thanks to immunizations and health screenings, you can keep your child protected.
Early Childhood Well Visits and Vaccinations
It is important for your child get to his or her wellness visits as recommended. These visits are a good chance for you and your child to talk with the pediatrician. At the visit, you can talk about your child’s growth, development, nutrition, current body mass index (BMI) percentile and more. For children 2 years and older, BMI (based on height and weight) is age- and gender-specific.
At these visits, your child will need certain vaccinations. These shots help prevent diseases such as whooping cough. Whooping cough has killed 10 to 20 babies each year since 2010 in the United States. Vaccines also help prevent measles, which is still present in the United States. Measles causes pneumonia, encephalitis and even death.
Vaccinating your child based on the recommended schedule provides the best chance to prevent whooping cough, measles and other serious diseases, such as these:
- Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib)
- Diphtheria
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Influenza
- Mumps
- Pneumococcal disease
- Polio
- Rubella (German measles)
- Tetanus (lockjaw)
- Rotavirus
- Varicella (chickenpox)
Your child’s doctor may suggest other vaccines, too.
Preadolescent Well Visits
When your child is older, he or she should still see his or her doctor each year for a wellness visit. Not only are there some vaccines that need boosters, but there are also screenings that need to take place for tweens.
Starting at ages 11 and 12, your kids should get the HPV vaccine. This vaccine can help prevent several kinds of cancer, including cervical. HPV infections cause cancer in both men and women. Each year, more than 37,000 men and women are diagnosed with cancers caused by HPV infections that the vaccine might have prevented.
- Sources:
- https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/health-management/Pages/Well-Child-Care-A-Check-Up-for-Success.aspx
- https://www.cdc.gov/growth-chart-training/hcp/using-bmi/summary.html
- https://www.hhs.gov/immunization/get-vaccinated/for-parents/five-reasons/index.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/measles/data-research/index.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/measles/signs-symptoms/index.html
- https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/immunizations/pages/Recommended-Immunization-Schedules.aspx
- https://downloads.aap.org/AAP/PDF/periodicity_schedule.pdf
- https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/recommendations.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/about/
- https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/cases.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/hpv/statistics/cases.htm
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