Category: Well Checkups
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Car Seat Guidelines Are Confusing on Purpose (And Your Kid Still Isn’t Ready)
As a pediatrician, I get asked all. the. time: “How big does my baby—toddler—child have to be to get out of the baby seat? The car seat? The booster? The medieval torture device known as the five-point harness?” There is no universal, magical, one-size-fits-all car seat rulebook, and yet somehow parents think I’ve memorized all…
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Your Child’s 15 Month-Old Checkup: Walking, Climbing, and Rejecting Every Reasonable Request
At 15 months, your toddler is becoming more independent, more mobile, and more convinced they should be in charge of literally everything. The 15-month checkup is where we track growth and development, update vaccines, and discuss the exciting new phase of parenting known as: “Why is my child standing on the coffee table?” Growth: Slower,…
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Your Child’s 18 Month Checkup: Tiny Human, Big Opinions
Ah yes, the 18-month visit—also known in some circles as the “Are They Actually Listening To Me Yet?” appointment. At this stage, your toddler has fully entered their “tiny, drunk CEO” era: walking (sort of), climbing (definitely), and making bold, irrational decisions with absolute confidence. We’ll still check the basics—weight, height, head circumference—because while growth…
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Your Child’s 24 Month Checkup: Now With Opinions, Negotiations, and Selective Hearing
Welcome to the 2-year visit—where your child is no longer a baby, not quite a reasonable human, and somehow already capable of arguing with you about everything. As a pediatrician, this is one of my favorite visits, because we’re no longer just tracking growth—we’re evaluating a full-blown tiny person with preferences, opinions, and a surprising…
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Your Child’s 30 Month Checkup: The Last Toddler Tune-Up Before Annual Visits
Welcome to the 30 month checkup, also known as the appointment where your child is no longer a baby, not yet a preschooler, and has somehow developed very firm opinions about the “correct” color of cup. This visit is an important developmental checkpoint. After the 30-month well-child visit, most children who are healthy and developing…
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Your Child’s 3 Year Checkup: Now With Bigger Feelings, Better Stories, and Questionable Logic
Congratulations: your child is 3. They are no longer a toddler in the “barely walking and communicating exclusively through shrieking” sense. They are now a preschooler—a tiny person with opinions, imagination, negotiating skills, and an alarming ability to remember that you promised a cookie three days ago. The 3-year checkup is an important annual well-child…
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Your Child’s 4 Year Checkup: Preschool, Boosters, and Teaching Tiny Humans About Boundaries
This morning I had a delightful 4-year-old burst into my office like a tiny superhero. Her sparkly dress was flapping behind her like a cape, and before I could even say hello, she asked whether I had any “stethoscope toys.”Honestly? Respect. The 4-year checkup is one of those visits where your child is suddenly very…