Your Family Health Checkup

Get Your Health Checkups, Providers and Insurance On Track for 2010

By Christina Elston

Ask parents what they want most for their families and you’ll find that good health is a universal priority. The beginning of a new year presents an excellent opportunity to take inventory of a few health basics. Here’s how to get your family’s health in order:

Don’t Pass on Checkups

Doctor checkups begin within days of a baby’s birth, with additional checkups at 2 weeks, 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months, then annual visits after that.

Jonathan Winickoff, M.D., a pediatrician and researcher with Massachusetts General Hospital for Children and Harvard Medical School in Boston, says kids who play sports should have their checkups right before their season begins. Otherwise, a good way to remember yearly visits is to schedule them around your child’s birthday.

That goes for you, too, parents. Winickoff says moms and dads also need regular medical care. “And don’t delay seeking help if you have a problem,” he urges. Review vaccination schedules before each appointment to make sure that everyone stays up to date. Bring a record of your family health history with you, as well as a list of questions you need to ask.

Have Healthy Habits

There’s plenty that families can do to stay well between those annual checkups.

Get outside, walk, run and play. Winickoff suggests looking for opportunities to be active together, including walking your kids to school. “That can be a really nice bonding time, and it’s so healthy,” he says. If the school is too far away, drive part way, park and walk the rest.

Prepare and eat healthy dinners together. You can even get hands-on with some important food and nutrition lessons. “I think it’s amazingly educational to have a garden,” Winickoff says. “Some kids think carrots just come from the grocery store.”

Avoid toxins. Everyone knows that cigarette, cigar and pipe smoking is a habit to avoid; experts have recently coined a new term to describe one of its less-visible dangers.