About this topic
Your childs 15-month well child exam is a visit with the doctor to check your child's health. The doctor measures your child's weight, height, and head size. The doctor plots these numbers on a growth curve. The growth curve gives a picture of your child's growth at each visit. The doctor may listen to your child's heart, lungs, and belly. Your doctor will do a full exam of your child from the head to the toes. � �
Your child may also need shots or blood tests during this visit. � �
General
Growth and Development � �
Your doctor will ask you how your child is developing. The doctor will focus on the skills that most children your childs age are expected to do. During this time of your child's life, here are some things you can expect. � �
- Movement � � � Your child may:
- Walk well without help
- Use a crayon to scribble or make marks
- Explore places and things
- Imitate your actions
- Hearing, seeing, and talking � � � Your child will likely:
- Have 3 or 5 other words
- Be able to follow simple directions
- Want your love and praise. Hug your child and say I love you often. Say thank you when your child does something nice.
- Begin to understand "no " �. Try to distract or redirect to correct your child.
- Begin to have temper tantrums. Ignore them if possible.
- Feeding � � � Your child:
- Should drink whole milk until 2 years old
- Is ready to give up the bottle and drink from a cup or sip cup
- Will be eating 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks a day. However, your child may eat less than before and this is normal.
- Should be given a variety of healthy foods. Let your child decide how much to eat.
- Should be able to eat without help.
- Should avoid foods that might cause choking like grapes, popcorn, hot dogs, or hard candy.
- Should have no fruit juice most days and no more than 4 ounces of fruit juice a day
- Will need you to clean the teeth 2 to 3 times each day with a wet child's toothbrush. You may use a smear of toothpaste each day.
- Sleep � � � Your child:
- Should still sleep in a safe crib. Your child may be ready to sleep in a toddler bed if climbing out of the crib after naps or in the morning.
- Is likely sleeping about 10 to 15 hours in a row at night
- Needs 1 to 2 naps each day
- Sleeps about a total of 14 hours each day
- Should be able to fall asleep without help. If your child wakes up at night, check on your child. Do not pick your child up, offer a bottle, or play with your child. Doing these things will not help your child fall asleep without help.
- Should not have a bottle in bed. This can cause tooth decay or ear infections.
- Shots or vaccines � � � It is important for your child to get shots on time. This protects from very serious illnesses like pertussis or some kinds of pneumonia. Your child may need:
- DTaP or diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine
- Hib or Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine
- PCV or pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
- MMR or measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine
- Varicella or chickenpox vaccine
- HepA or hepatitis A vaccine
- Flu or influenza vaccine
Help for Parents � �
- Play with your child.
- Go outside as often as you can.
- Give your child soft balls, blocks, and containers to play with. Toys that can be stacked or nest inside of one another are also good.
- Cars, trains, and toys to push, pull, or walk behind are fun. So are puzzles and animal or people figures.
- Help your child pretend. Use an empty cup to take a drink. Push a block and make sounds like it is a car or a boat.
- Read to your child. Name the things in the pictures in the book. Talk and sing to your child. This helps your child learn language skills.
- Here are some things you can do to help keep your child safe and healthy.
- Do not allow anyone to smoke in your home or around your child.
- Have the right size car seat for your child and use it every time your child is in the car. Your child should be rear facing until 2 years of age.
- Be sure furniture, shelves, and televisions are secure and cannot tip over onto your child.
- Take extra care around water. Close bathroom doors. Never leave your child in the tub alone.
- Never leave your child alone. Do not leave your child in the car, in the bath, or at home alone, even for a few minutes.
- Protect your child from gun injuries. If you have a gun, use a trigger lock. Keep the gun locked up and the bullets kept in a separate place.
- Avoid screen time for children under 2 years old. This means no TV, computers, or video games. They can cause problems with brain development.
- Parents need to think about:
- Having emergency numbers, including poison control, posted on or near the phone
- How to distract your child when doing something you don 't want your child to do
- Using positive words to tell your child what you want, rather than saying no or what not to do
- Your next well child visit will most likely be when your child is 18 months old. At this visit your doctor may:
- Do a full check up on your child
- Talk about making sure your home is safe for your child, how well your child is eating, and how to correct your child
- Give your child the next set of shots
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Fever of 100.4 � �F (38 � �C) or higher
- Sleeps all the time or has trouble sleeping
- Wont stop crying
- You are worried about your child's development
Where can I learn more?
American Academy of Pediatrics � �
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/default.aspx � �
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention � �
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/milestones-tracker.pdf � �
Last Reviewed Date
2015-02-10 � �
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Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care provider 's advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. � �
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Copyright � � 2016 Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information, Inc. and its affiliates and/or licensors. All rights reserved. � �