well-child visits

[tngirl11]

So how important are these visits really? My twins, who just turned 7, haven't been to the doctor in over two years. They never get sick (at least, not anymore, since we overhauled out diet and lifestyle!), and I didn't take them last year because the whole swine flu thing was going on, and I knew the waiting room would be full of sick people. The only real advantage that I see would be in getting their vision checked. I was about their age when I got my first pair of glasses, so I'd like to make sure they can still see well. I'm a bit nervous because I believe they will be due for a shot of some sort. We have always vaccinated on the regular schedule, but for various reasons my thinking has changed in the past year. I really don't want them to receive any new shots, but since we are only just started to get back to "normal" after my youngest son's birth and death, I haven't had the chance to get all my research and arguments in order (or even to dig out their shot records to see what they've had). We are homeschooling this year, so nothing is required from a school right now. Obviously, if we just skip the visit again, it won't be an issue at all, and I will have time to get myself together.
So I guess the question is, would it be terrible to skip the yearly check-up again? Do you always take your kids every year or do you wait until they are sick? I do know that my MIL would just freak out if she knew I was even thinking about such a thing, but she thinks I'm weird anyway, what with all my "natural" living ideas

[tngirl11]

Any thoughts?

[katiecat]

I haven't taken ds for a "check up" since he was 2 and he's now 8. He's only ever been to the doctor a handful of times - always for specific issues. We also vaccinated more or less on schedule until 2 but he hasn't had any since and no one bothers me much when we've gone in for other appointments. If anyone asks I just kind of brush it off.

I agree about the vision test but I'll be taking him to an eye doctor for that soon.

We took him a couple of times when he was 2-3 for ear wax issues (LOL) and then I don't think I took him again until he was 6 and needed a "physical" (very short one) before undergoing general anesthesia for dental work. Then I didn't take him again until this past spring but that is for anxiety issues. I actually have an appointment for him this Friday but, again, it's for a specific issue with his ears/sinuses. That's just us!

[tanyalynn]

Now that I've seen the difference between the vision screening at our pedi's office and the exam at an ophthalmologist's office, I will take the kids to an ophthalmologist. Our pedi was helpful--flagged DS as needing a more thorough test, but DD, who turns out to be somewhat farsighted, was missed (maybe that won't matter, we're doing the wait-and-see approach for her, it's borderline). Our pedi gave us a good rec for an ophthalmologist, so that's valuable (better to find someone good with kids).

As for vaccines, just say "No, thank you." No further explanation is required. But if your current pedi is hard core about vaccination, then you may need to find someone new, but I've found the homeschooling community a good source for healthcare provider recommendations.

We visit our doc when I want something specific from the visit. I can deal with illnesses at home, but when I wanted a more informed opinion on whether DS's speech was hard to understand for age (and then a speech eval referral), and when I wanted vision screenings* and to talk about bloodwork, I visited our pedi.

* Now I'd just go straight to the ophthalmologist for at least 1 vision check, since we now have a good one--I was surprised at how easy it was to miss DS's vision problems.

[midnightwriter]

The only advantage I see is that for the children to know and like their doctor. So when they are sick, there's less stress in the situation.

For a variety of reasons we didn't have a family physician for several years, and it has been a bit of an adjustment for the kids when they needed to see a doctor. They are also very healthy, and there's no real need for the check up visits, but now as we finally have a family dr that we like, I'm taking them more often, just to get used to the office and to get to know the doctor.

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

I really don't want them to receive any new shots, but since we are only just started to get back to "normal" after my youngest son's birth and death, I haven't had the chance to get all my research and arguments in order (or even to dig out their shot records to see what they've had). We are homeschooling this year, so nothing is required from a school right now. Obviously, if we just skip the visit again, it won't be an issue at all, and I will have time to get myself together.

You dont need to make an argument at the Dr. as a matter of fact doing so just sets you up to feel bad and doubt yourself. What I did was just claim religious exemption and said that. Repeat as needed. They cannot legally question you about your religion though they can fire you from the practice if they dont agree.

I stopped all WBC when ds was 4 months and I stopped vaxing and have only started them back up because they are required by the school.