As parents, we are experts at knowing when to call the pediatrician for an illness like a high fever, rash, or cough. However, the most important appointments for your child’s long-term health are the ones scheduled when they appear completely healthy—the well-child checkup.
These routine visits, which occur frequently during the first few years of life and yearly thereafter, are proactive, comprehensive evaluations that support your child’s physical, emotional, and social development.
Here are the top 5 reasons why keeping up with these well-child checkups with a naturopathic doctor is one of the best things you can do for your child:
1. Dedicated Time with Your Doctor.
In our practice, we spend much more time with you for a well-child visit than a typical pediatric appointment. First visits are usually an hour long and follow-up visits are typically 45 minutes. This extended time allows us to thoroughly address all of your questions and concerns regarding your child’s growth, development, nutrition, and behavior.
Since these longer visits are baked into our model, you avoid wasting 30+ minutes in the waiting room and/or 15 minutes in the exam room because the doctor is running behind schedule. Your time is just as important as mine!
2. Monitoring Your Child’s Growth.
Regular well-child visits are essential to track your child’s growth along their unique curve, especially in the critical first year of life. Many parents are worried their children don’t eat the right foods, or eat enough of them.
As a naturopathic pediatrician, I provide in-depth education on topics like supplemental formulas, introduction of solid foods, early allergen introduction to avoid food allergies, and targeted nutrient supplementation (Vitamin D, Calcium, Iron, etc.) to ensure optimal growth and development.
3. Tracking your Child’s Development and Behavior.
In recent years we’ve seen a significant push for early intervention as an effective way to improve developmental delays and challenges. It is important to have a trusted partner who can evaluate whether your child is developing along the continuum of what is normal. Not every milestone is met at the same age for all children.
I carefully evaluate your child’s progress at each visit and work closely with you to address any concerns, whether it’s a speech delay, sensory processing issues, or emerging mental health needs. Being proactive in identifying these issues helps us navigate them as a team.
4. Personalized, Natural Approach on Your Concerns.
No cookie cutter treatment plans or blanket recommendations here! Rather than defaulting to quick-fix medications, I take the time to investigate the underlying causes of your child’s symptoms. Whether it’s chronic constipation, recurrent infections, or sleep disturbances, my goal is to identify issues using microbiome and other testing, and then address root imbalances through dietary changes, botanical medicines, and other natural therapies.
If these the issues are complicated, we may need a additional follow-up visit to discuss this in more detail.
5. Vaccine Education and Customization.
Vaccine decisions can be complex and confusing, with CDC schedules conflicting with AAP recommendations. At the same time, vaccine decisions are becoming increasingly more important as we see more frequent outbreaks of preventable illnesses with declining herd immunity. Many parents have questions about the number of vaccines children are recommended to receive, as well as concerns about vaccine reactions.
I see parents and kids who are not planning to vaccinate, as well as those who are fully vaccinated and everyone in between. Every child deserves health care and every parent deserves respect. Time can always be built into well-child visits for an honest and thorough discussion of vaccines recommended at your child’s age to help you navigate those big decisions.
I frequently develop alternative/delayed schedules including supportive supplement protocols that help parents feel more empowered to make the right decisions for their children based on their own assessment of risk balanced with the desire to prepare a child for school entry. I will offer testing for heavy metals should you be concerned about your child’s ability to detox vaccine components and can discuss the effect of MTHFR or other genetic detox SNPs on detoxification, too.
As an out-of-network provider, we do not house vaccines in the office, but we can do so at your request if you’d like us to administer them.
BONUS: Generous Insurance Reimbursement.
Many of my families note great insurance reimbursement for well-child visits since coverage is better for preventive care. If you have questions about coverage we encourage you to reach out to your insurance company and discuss your policy specifically; our admin team is able to provide CPT codes to streamline the conversation with your insurance provider.
Overall, well-child visits are a valuable opportunity to check in not only on your child’s physical health, but also their development, habits, and overall well-being. A little preparation beforehand can help you get the most out of the time together. To make the most of your well-child checkup, consider these tips:
- Write down questions: It’s easy to forget concerns once you’re in the exam room. Bringing a short list of topics to address ensures we can cover what matters most to you and your child, whether it’s sleep struggles, picky eating, behavior changes, frequent colds, or questions about supplements, nutrition, or immune support.
- Review milestones: Think about what your child has been learning and doing since the last visit. New words, motor skills, social interactions, or school challenges can all give helpful insight into how they’re growing and developing.
- Bring context about daily routines: Details about your child’s sleep patterns, diet, screen time, school environment, and activity levels can help paint a fuller picture of their health. Naturopathic pediatric care looks closely at lifestyle factors, so these everyday habits often guide our recommendations. I encourage parents to complete the “Between Visit Questionnaire” that is sent for every follow-up so that any updates are in your child’s chart for my review before, during, and after the visit.
- Share Records or Updates.
If your child has had any recent labs, visits with specialists or other doctors, or changes in medications or supplements, sharing that information can help us coordinate care more effectively. You can share records in the “Documents” section of the patient portal or complete a Release of Records form so we can request your records from other doctors and practices. - Talk to your child: If your child is older, let them know they’re welcome to ask questions or share how they’re feeling. My goal is to enlist their input to help empower them to take an active role in advocating for their own health
Dr. Meghan Kemnec, ND practices at Peninsula Integrative Medicine in the San Francisco Bay Area. Schedule a well-child checkup with Dr Kemnec online or call our office at (650) 485-2758 for assistance in scheduling a new patient appointment. You’ll walk away from your child’s visit with tangible recommendations and a partner to continue working with for years to come.