School’s back in session

Summer’s over and school is back in session. No matter what grade your child is entering, it’s always a good idea to get an annual exam and sports physical done at the beginning of the year.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, there are many advantages to a well-child exam. It gives you a chance to ask questions about your child’s development.

At wellness visits, your child can get scheduled immunizations to prevent illness. You can also ask your pediatrician about nutrition and safety at home and school.

You can track growth and development and discuss milestones, social behaviors and learning.

It’s also a time to raise concerns. Make a list of topics you want to talk about with your child’s doctor, such as development, behavior, sleep, eating or getting along with other family members.

Regular visits create strong, trustworthy relationships among the physician, parent and child. Well-child visits are a team approach that helps develop optimal physical, mental and social health of a child.

It’s also a time to have your child cleared for extracurricular activities. The AAP encourages all children to get an annual sports physical, whether or not it’s required to participate on a team or extracurricular activity.

A sports physical is an opportunity to address exercise-specific issues, including injuries, nutrition, training and exercise programs and attitudes toward sports participation.

Your pediatrician can also advise your child if he or she is already involved in an exercise and training program. Overuse and overtraining injuries continue to be huge problems among young people.

Cookeville Regional Urgent Care offers sports physicals seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If injuries happen on the field, the staff at Cookeville Regional can also help.