Children’s Health

Summary

Your child’s health includes physical, mental and social well-being. Most parents know the basics of keeping children healthy, like offering them healthy foods, making sure they get enough sleep and exercise and insuring their safety.

It is also important for children to get regular checkups with their health care provider. These visits are a chance to check your child’s development. They are also a good time to catch or prevent problems.

Other than checkups, school-age children should be seen for:

• Significant weight gain or loss
• Sleep problems or change in behavior
• Fever higher than 102
• Rashes or skin infections
• Frequent sore throats
• Breathing problems

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

NIH MedlinePlus Magazine

• 4 Tips for Keeping Young Athletes Safe
• Sports injury? Finding a Specialist Can Improve Recovery

Treatments and Therapies

• 7 Things to Know about Mind and Body Practices for Children and Teens National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
• Children and the Use of Complementary Health Approaches National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
• How to Give Your Child Medicine American Academy of Family Physicians

Related Issues

• AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) Schedule of Well-Child Care Visits American Academy of Pediatrics
• Getting the Most From a Doctor’s Visit Nemours Foundation
• Helping Kids Get Ready for Surgery Nemours Foundation
• How Often Do Children Need to Take a Bath? American Academy of Dermatology
• How to Prepare Your Child for a Lab Test National Library of Medicine
• Passing Healthy Habits on to Your Children American Academy of Family Physicians

Statistics and Research

• America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
• FastStats: Child Health National Center for Health Statistics
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Specifics

• Are Antibiotics Needed for My Child’s Runny Nose? Q & A Guide for Parents Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Constipation in Children National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
• Coughing (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Ear Infection (Otitis Media) Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Fever (High Temperature) In Kids Nemours Foundation
• Getting the Most From a Doctor’s Visit (For Patents) Nemours Foundation
• Growing Pains (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• How to Take a Rectal Temperature Nemours Foundation
• How to Take an Axillary Temperature Nemours Foundation
• How to Take an Oral Temperature Nemours Foundation
• Keep an Eye on Your Child’s Vision Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Kids and Sleep (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Repeated Infections in Children American Academy of Family Physicians
• Sleep Terrors (Night Terrors) Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Health Check Tools

• BMI (Body Mass Index) Calculator for Child and Teen Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Diagnosis and Tests

• Chest Pain in Infants and Children American Academy of Family Physicians
• Elimination Problems or Constipation in Infants and Children American Academy of Family Physicians
• Fever in Infants and Children American Academy of Family Physicians
• Mouth Problems in Infants and Children American Academy of Family Physicians
• Nausea and Vomiting in Infants and Children American Academy of Family Physicians
• Thermometers: Understand the Options Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

Start Here

• Child Nutrition: MedlinePlus Health Topic National Library of Medicine
• Children: General Health (For Parents) Nemours Foundation

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Child Health National Institutes of Health

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
• Find a Pediatrician or Pediatric Specialist American Academy of Pediatrics
• KidsHealth Nemours Foundation

Reference Desk

• Growth Charts (For Parents) Nemours Foundation

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Hearing Tests (For Parents) Nemours Foundation
• Your Child’s Vision Nemours Foundation

Children

• How the Body Works (For Kids) Nemours Foundation
• NIAMS Kids Pages on Bone, Joint, Muscle, and Skin Health National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Videos and Tutorials

• Nemours KidsHealth: Movies and More Nemours Foundation

Journal Articles

• Children’s Health

Patient Handouts

• The day of surgery for your child Medical Encyclopedia
• Well-child visits Medical Encyclopedia
• When to use the emergency room – child Medical Encyclopedia

Encyclopedia

• When your child has diarrhea Medical Encyclopedia
• Your child and the flu Medical Encyclopedia