With the school year fast approaching, it’s time to make sure your child gets their annual physical. Not only do many schools require children to get a physical, but addressing medical concerns you have now can actually prevent stress during the school year. Here are some of the key benefits of getting a back to school physical for your child. 

Preventative Care

A physical allows your child to get preventative care services that allow them to monitor health conditions and make sure they are developing healthy. These include blood pressure screenings, height/weight checks, and similar services that evaluate your child’s overall health. Below, we will also explore other preventative care procedures that helps keep your child safe! 

Development Checks

It’s important that your child is growing and developing at a rate that is appropriate given their age and gender. Your annual physical is the perfect time to check in on this and make sure that your child is on track for a long, healthy life. Development checks help flag any outstanding issues with your child’s development and allows a doctor to provide referrals for specialist treatment as needed. 

Medical Vaccinations and Health Review

Your child is going to require vaccines and update ongoing vaccines until they reach adulthood. During a back-to-school physical, urgent care providers can provide these vaccinations and provide other recommendations for other preventive needs. 

Helps School Staff to Prevent Medical Issues

When your children are at school, their teachers and other school staff are responsible for keeping them safe. Schools are required to have an updated physical on file so that teachers can effectively protect your child and other students. For example, teachers could expose other students to health risks such as communicable diseases if they don’t know if your child has been properly vaccines. The information contained within a school and camp physical allows teachers to also protect your child from unique allergy, illness, and injury risks during the school day. 

If school is fast approaching and you are unsure of where to get a physical, consider visiting your local urgent care center. They provide affordable and comprehensive physicals, and they are also very accessible, particularly if you don’t have much time to get a physical done. 

And as always, make sure you visit AFC Urgent Care Watertown for any school and camp physicals that you may need for your child. We can provide physicals for your child at our local walk-in clinic!