Going to the Doctor
Background Information & Activities

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Many children feel apprehension about visits to the doctor. Knowing exactly what will happen at the doctor’s office will help to lessen their anxiety. It is important for your children to understand that regular checkups help keep them healthy and safe. Going to the doctor for checkups now could save them many trips to the doctor later. Furthermore, establishing a health plan with a doctor may help them prevent getting sick in the future.

Help your children understand that they might go to the doctor when they are sick or get hurt, but they should also go when they are feeling well. This is the best time for a doctor to make sure they are growing strong and healthy. Children should visit their doctor for yearly checkups to monitor growth and changes and receive the proper immunizations, or vaccinations.

During a check-up, a nurse and a doctor will administer a routine physical examination and various tests, depending on the age and sex of the patient. Health care professionals will record the results of these tests in a health record, which will allow them to monitor the child’s growth and progress over time.

Usually a nurse or health care professional will measure the patient's height and weight, record body temperature using a thermometer, and determine the patient’s blood pressure. Explain to your children that blood pressure measures the heart's health, by checking how hard the heart pumps blood to the whole body. Assure your children that measuring blood pressure does not hurt. First, a special cuff is wrapped around the arm. Then the cuff is pumped with air to make it tighten around the arm. The air is released and the nurse or health care professional reads the measurement on the dial. It takes only a few minutes to complete. The nurse or health care professional will also listen to the patient's heart and listen to the lungs using a stethoscope. The patient will most likely take a vision and a hearing test too.

The doctor does a closer examination. He or she will listen to the heart and lungs again and inspect the ears, eyes, nose, and throat closely with special tools. The doctor might tap different parts of the body lightly with a hammer to check reflexes and test to see how the body communicates with the brain. The doctor will also check the spine, or backbone, to make sure it is growing straight. Doctors may also ask for a urine sample, which they will analyze to check for proper functioning of kidneys and other organs. A urine sample can also indicate possible infections that may not be known to the patient.

The doctor or nurse may also give an immunization, which will protect the patient from getting very sick in the future. Many children are fearful of shots, but you can reassure them that the vaccinations ensure health. It may pinch a little, but imagine how sick they might feel if they did not receive proper immunizations. Plus, it's over very quickly! Some vaccinations require several doses and therefore several visits to the doctor. Other vaccinations only require one dose for the child to be immune to the disease. Immunizations for children might include measles, mumps, rubella; polio, and tetanus.

The doctor may also prescribe medication to the child. She or he should understand that medicine is only for the person to whom it’s prescribed and should only be taken under the supervision of an adult. Doctors prescribe medicine to help health problems, but medication can be dangerous if it’s not used correctly. We recommend watching the Medicine movie for review.

It is important to foster good communication between children and doctors. Doctors need to know about any changes to a child’s health, including sleeping and eating habits. The doctor also needs to know if there have been any stressful incidents in their lives. Encourage your children to ask questions when he or she is getting a checkup. They shouldn't feel embarrassed or scared. Asking questions means learning about and understanding their own bodies. The doctor can work with guardians and children to come up with a health plan to help young patients continue to grow up strong and healthy.

Going to the Doctor Teacher Activities – Click Here!

Going to the Doctor Family Activities – Click Here!

Going to the Doctor Teacher Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Lighten Your Load

For a math activity, divide your students into groups. Have each student record the weight of his or her filled backpack in pounds. You can bring in a bathroom scale or spring scale so students can measure. Then have students in each group add the weights of their backpacks together. How much did each group’s backpacks weigh? You can write their measurements on the board or on a chart.

To extend the activity, students can research at the library or on the Internet to learn how to maintain a healthy spine. Students may learn that carrying heavy backpacks can lead to bad posture. Have students discuss if their backpacks are too heavy and what they can do to lighten their loads and keep their backs healthy.

Going to the Doctor Family Activities

© 1999-2010 BrainPOP. All rights reserved.

Planning for Good Health

Together with your child, set up weekly and monthly goals to stay healthy. You can use a calendar or start a health journal to organize these goals. You can even establish goals you and your child can meet together, such as exercising three times a week, watching less television, or eating more fruits and vegetables. Each week, you can both write in a journal about what you did to meet your health goals. These entries can detail what you ate or did for exercise or how much television the family watched.

Make a Health Record

Though your child’s doctor maintains health records, it is a good idea for your child to keep his or her own records. These can contain information about height and weight. Your child can see how his or her health has progressed over time. How fast does your child grow? You can measure your child’s height and keep track on a large line graph along the wall.

Thump, Thump, Thump

Teach your child how to record his or her heart rate. This can be done by taking the index and middle fingers and pressing them lightly against the carotid artery in the throat. Have your child count the number of heart beats in one minute (or in ten seconds and multiply the number by 6). Do the activity again after your child does an aerobic activity such as jumping jacks or jogging in place. Compare the heart rates together.