Helping your child grow strong and healthy is easier with a trusted partner on your team. From newborn care to well-child exams to sick visits and behavioral health support, your primary care team should always be your first phone call when it comes to caring for your baby, child or teen.
Your primary care team is here to help when your child has a fever, sore throat, tummy ache or sprained ankle. Count on them also to answer health-related questions, share wellness and behavior tips and connect you to community resources to help keep your child healthy and focused on being a kid.
Your child’s birthday or the start of a new school year is a good time to schedule vaccines and an annual well-child visit with your primary care team. Don’t forget to schedule a checkup with your child’s dentist each year, too.
Welcome, baby:
Becoming a new parent is wonderful and life-changing, but it can have its challenges, too, especially if this is your first baby. See your primary care team for all recommended visits, including prenatal visits as soon as you learn you are pregnant to make sure that you — and baby — stay healthy and get the best possible start in life.
Click here for some helpful tips designed just for new parents
Well-child visit
- A well-child visit every year helps track your child’s growth and development (height and weight milestones, social behaviors and learning) and allows you to discuss concerns about your child’s physical, mental and social health, sleeping, eating and personal care, and personal safety (things like seat belts, bike or skateboard helmets and gun safety).
- Well visits are also the best time to make sure your child is up-to-date with vaccines, and for screenings for hearing loss, vision problems and other health problems.
- Vaccines or immunizations help protect children from serious and sometimes deadly diseases.
School-age children and teens
Along with reading, writing and arithmetic, it’s also important for school-aged children and teens to learn healthy habits that will stick with them for a lifetime. Nutrition, exercise, stress management — these are all key subjects in the school of life.
School-based health centers
School is like a second home for most teens, and health centers right on campus make trusted care more accessible than ever. Can’t leave work to get your teen to your primary care office?
DIAA sports physicals
If your child or teen participates in school sports, they’ll need a Delaware
Interscholastic Athletic Association (DIAA) sports physical each year.
Make an appointment today with your primary care team and let the games begin!
Don’t have a primary care team yet? Call 302-428-2392 today and we’ll help you choose one near where you live or work.
It isn’t easy being a teen
The adolescent years (12–18) can be especially hard as tweens and teens go
through so many physical, emotional and social changes. Your primary care team
can connect your family with community resources to help make healthy choices
when facing questions about addiction, anxiety, conflict resolution, personal safety,
sexuality and stress management.
If your child is in crisis, call 911.
These psychiatric crisis hotlines can help, as well.
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) - Contact – Delaware, Inc.
(302) 761-9100
1-800-262-9800 – (Toll Free in Delaware)
- Mobile Crisis Intervention Service
New Castle – (302) 577-2484
1-800-652-2929 – (Toll Free in Delaware) - Kent / Sussex Mobile Crisis Unit
1-800-345-6785