The Doctor Visits Your Child Will Encounter Before Entering Kindergarten

Children need a regular wellness check-up at least once a year. You can arrange all the doctor visits for your child ahead of time because the clinics’ schedules can quickly fill.  

Also, parents can schedule appointments with other doctors that their child will need to see about their eyes, dental, or specific health issues.

These check-ups are aimed to make sure your child’s growth, development, and health are evaluated. 

When a child enters Kindergarten in the U.S., the school may also require documentation of a vision screening, dental visit, or hearing exam. 

Kindergarten program requirements vary in every state. Therefore, verify with your child’s school or school district for more necessary required information.

Parents can request a proper health assessment for their children before starting school and getting their children’s immunizations up-to-date.

Why do your child need doctor visits?

Having your child evaluated by the doctor can help pinpoint developmental delays, aid in getting early interventions for diagnosed health issues, and ascertain your child is healthy.

It can also create a solid foundation of health baseline for your child’s wellness.

Learning is contingent on your child’s vision, hearing, and oral health. Your child may need corrective eyeglasses to help to identify learning materials.



Your child may need dental interventions for proper teeth development and structures. Teeth braces, retainers, and teeth filling. Adjusting to these health plans can affect them tremendously.

Hearing is paramount to a child’s learning. Children learn through listening and hearing sounds. In addition, there’s an interlink between hearing and children’s speech development. Listening skills for children help them learn to write, read and even improve social skills.

Who are the Healthcare Providers that Your Child Needs to See?

Eye Doctor

The eye doctor (optometrist) will examine your child’s eye health at this visit.

Eye check-up schedules recommended by American Optometric Association start at six months of age to a year for eye health baseline assessment in low-risk young children. The second visit happens when your child turns three years old – 5 years old. Third eye doctor visit occurs at age six years old. Then yearly after that.

If your child is categorized as High-Risk for Eye Health Issues, you are encouraged to follow the above schedule plus the recommendations of the eye doctors for close follow-ups.

These eye health assessments are performed to ensure proper eye development is noted, vision problems are identified, early diagnosis of eye issues and treatment plans, and to ensure your child’s learning will be optimum.

The eye doctor will dilate your child’s pupils using a medicated eye drop to see the overall eye health and structures. 

Another eye doctor who checks eye health for high-risk young children is an ophthalmologist. These children are seen and monitored closely with frequent appointments in addition to the regular schedule.

When children fall under the high-risk category, it means they have a significant risk for eye or vision issues. Such risk factors can include:

• Prematurity, Long-term supplemental oxygen use in the NICU

• Babies with Low Birth Weight

• Pregnancy complications of the mother 

• Moms who had difficult labor or assisted labor

• Familial history of eye disorders

• Any visual impairments

• Vision is only on one eye

• Previous eye surgery/injury

• And other eye health problems

These children are given a more comprehensive eye check-up and a thorough eye care plan. Parents are encouraged to keep these eye doctor visits for proper monitoring of children’s eye health.

With my preemie daughter, we visit her eye doctor to monitor her eyes and vision regularly. The same doctor performed retinopathy of prematurity exam before leaving the NICU and succeeding follow-up visits afterward.

Dentist

Oral care and health are essential for your child’s growth and development—time for the dental check-up.

What age does your child need to see the dentist, and how often are the visits?

Based on the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recommendations, your child needs to make the first dental visit around age one to establish a foundation for their dental care. 

Also, the AAPD recommends a check-up every six months to check dental health, prevent cavities and other dental problems. Your child’s pediatric dentist will recommend how often and what dental follow-up schedule is based on your child’s oral health.

When your child is around three-four years old, oral health habits are starting to form. Visiting the dentist can help promote good oral hygiene through healthy routine check-ups and dental recommendations. 

Why do your child’s teeth need to be assessed before school?

Your child’s oral health is significantly linked to overall health and growth. Cavities can appear as early as two years of age. Preventive oral care is a key to keeping your child’s dental health good. 

Schools often note that children with poor dental hygiene or teeth cavities have more absences than their peers with regular dental care. Plenty of school-age children missed school due to high dental-related illnesses.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2000. “The consequences of poor oral health have a negative influence on children’s speech, growth, function, education, and social development.”

Tips for Parents to Keep-up with Children’s Oral Health

1. Have your child brush their teeth twice daily.

2. Choose a toothpaste with added fluoride.

3. Floss regularly.

4. Keep up with every dental check-up (twice a year) unless otherwise recommended by the dentist.

5. Contact your child’s dentist for any oral illness/injuries.

6. Read books about dental hygiene with your child. (Recommended book list at the end of this post.)

Primary Care Doctor

Parents bring their children to see the pediatrician for wellness appointments and sick visits.

The doctor will examine your child: a complete review of any developmental achievement/delay, growth charts, and immunization schedule.

Then, you can expect a routine physical evaluation in this visit. 

In addition, assessing your child’s motor, language, cognitive, and personal skills is performed accordingly. 

These exams are crucial and completed to make sure your child is prepared to enter Kindergarten.

During this visit, the clinic may perform a hearing test and a quick eye reading exam. The clinic nurse will perform these tests on/with your child. Evaluating each eye equally, the clinic nurse will use those tiny chart symbols (♥, +, o, and others) and use a spoon-like vision covering tool.

It’s good to tell your child what expected tests she may encounter in this check-up. However, most times, children also get anxious when they go to the doctor’s clinic. 

By letting children know ahead of time what to expect, it helps alleviate those worries and fears.

Other Specialists

These other specialists consist of medical or other healthcare providers that see your child on an annual or regular basis. Several children may not need other doctor visits before entering Kindergarten; however, it’s good to see these other doctors/specialists for your child.

For instance, if your child has asthma and has a lung specialist managing their care, it is appropriate to have a visit before entering school. With that in mind, you will also need the doctor to fill out the Asthma Action Plan for the school clinic.

This Asthma Action Plan is a health form primarily used by school clinics to help assist and manage any child’s asthma disorder. It tells the school nurse what medication, dose, and frequency of your child’s prescribed inhalers. 

This health form also includes your child’s triggers, their best peak flow reading, symptoms to watch out for, what to do in case of emergency and information about their doctor.

The school nurse or school website will have a downloadable link for this health form. However, if you don’t have it – you can also download this Asthma Action Plan from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The lung specialist will fill it out, sign the form, and then you can bring it to your child’s school clinic.

Health Evaluation of your child is important before entering school through these doctor visits.

Health assessment is vital to maintain your child’s overall health through check-ups and fulfill any particular school requirements for Kindergarten.

Being proactive about your child’s health helps lessen the stress of having to scramble around nearing the beginning of the school year. 

Also, maintaining these doctor visits can help your child keep up with recommended immunizations, address health concerns and evaluate their growth and development.

Setting up appointments for your child’s check-up can also be overwhelming when a clinic has fully booked days. So, make sure to plan ahead of time.

Advocating for your child’s health is one of the many responsibilities that you have as a parent. Bringing your child to the doctor’s clinic for a visit will show your child that health is essential. 

It’s also a great way to build a parent-doctor connection for the proper health management of your child. 

Ensuring good, timely doctor visits for your child can aid in attaining better health, learning optimized, and getting ready for Kindergarten.

Related Post You Might be Interested: Kindergarten Readiness

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What are other doctor appointments that you think need to be included before entering school? Let me know in the comments. 

Also, feel free to email this article to families and friends you know with a child entering Kindergarten. 

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