Have you ever walked out of the doctor’s office and suddenly remembered something you meant to ask about? This is even more frustrating when the doctor is a pediatrician, and the question was about your child.
Pediatrician Suzanne Christie, MD, FAAP explains how pediatricians work, what they check for during well-child visits, and what parents can do to foster efficient communication with their child’s doctor. While Dr. Christie believes we must be vigilant about protecting our children’s health and safety, she also warns about information overload. Don’t rely on Dr. Internet– when in doubt, ask your pediatrician!
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Getting the Most Out of Your Child’s Visit With a Pediatrician
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Learn more about Suzanne Christie, MD
Suzanne Christie, MD
Suzanne Christie, MD, FAAP, is a Pediatrician and member of the medical staff at MarinHealth Medical Center.Learn more about Suzanne Christie, MD
Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): You want to make the most out of your visit with the pediatrician. So, how should you prepare? Here to tell us more is Dr. Suzanne Christie, FAAP, a pediatrician and member of the medical staff at Marin General Hospital. Dr. Christie, thank you for your time. So, what are the things a parent should do to get the most of a visit with the pediatrician?
Dr. Suzanne Christie, MD, FAAP (Guest): I think the, you know, the well-visit that we schedule on a routine recall basis are really important times for parents to get all of their newborn, well-child questions answered. We spend a lot of time talking about normal newborn and infant child development, about nutrition, about sleep. So, having parents kind of think about questions they might have around many of those issues and come prepared with them to their visits allows us to make the most out of those visits and for parents to feel like they’ve gotten the information that they need and are, you know, well prepared for the next few months until we see them again.
Bill: Right. So, that’s good – normal development, nutrition and sleep – so come prepared with potential questions surrounding those things. And how often should you bring a child to see a pediatrician?
Dr. Christie: So, our regular visits are scheduled primarily around our vaccine and immunization schedule. So, we see our babies a couple days after they leave the hospital and then again at two weeks, two months, four months, six months, nine months and 12 months. That’s how the first year marches out, and then obviously with ill and sick visits interspersed in there as needed, but as far as the well care, that’s the way the visits march out the first year and then after that, it's 15 months, 18 months and two years, and then we go annual from there on out.
Bill: And what is the role of a pediatrician after the baby is a few years old?
Dr. Christie: We continue to monitor growth and development. We check in with other issues – you know – school progress, what's going on with the family, just, you know, safety issues. We call it anticipatory guidance as far as making sure children continue to thrive and then as we hit adolescence, obviously there are more complicated social, emotional issues that we spend a lot of time talking about and delving into during those really important teen-year visits.
Bill: Ummm hmmm. And how long should you continue to bring a child to see a pediatrician?
Dr. Christie: You know, it's really variable office to office. I love seeing my kids as long as they are still comfortable coming to my office. I would say a natural transition time is when they head off to college to transition to a family practitioner or an adult medicine doctor, but I've, you know, just want my kids and teens and young adults to be seen and you know, have a good continuity of care. So, I will see my young adults as long as they want to see here up until about the age of 21. At that point, it is really time for them to move on.
Bill: Okay, that’s good to know. So, during that first year when the baby goes to see the pediatrician most often, do you have any more tips for parents about bringing the baby in comfortable clothes, preparing questions, detailing symptoms? What other tips do you have for that first year?
Dr. Christie: I say those are important ones. Just again, thinking about things that – and I’ll even have parents to keep a list, you know. They’re not the big questions that they are going to be wanting us to call – you know – they’re going to be wanting to call and talk to our office about but just, you know, little things that they were wondering about, little developmental things they might be noticing or, you know, nutrition questions. Those are all, just kind of thinking about the visit ahead of time, even writing down those questions so we really can make the most of the time here in the office.
Bill: And are there certain signs or symptoms that parents should be watching out for that may indicate …ummm…something’s not right here?
Dr. Christie: There're lots of resources available for parents these days – online there're lots of apps that kind of alert parents to what normal development is, and I often will get, you know, parents asking me questions that they have, you know, heard from other friends or read online and maybe their baby is not doing this, you know, certain developmental milestone – is that normal? And so, I think parents are so – there's so much information at their fingertips, which also can be overwhelming at times for parents, but bringing those questions in to me – many and most of the time I’m able to ease their mind about whatever the concern was.
Bill: Okay, well that’s good. And then what are the biggest issues you are dealing with for children in Marin today?
Dr. Christie: That’s a tough question. I think it varies depending on age. I would say, for my teenagers, I would say I see and am constantly surprised by the number of kids that I'm seeing with anxiety, depression, mood issues. That has been concerning to me over my years of practice, just seeing, you know, kids seem to be under a lot of pressure these days, and so, higher rates of you know kids feeling sad -- kids feeling anxious, but I'm happy that I'm hearing about them. I'm happy that they're comfortable talking to me about it, and there are lots of resources for those kids, but I’d say that that sticks out in my mind as a, you know, a frequent -- more frequent -- concern for my teenagers, in particular.
Bill: And do you think things like social media and technology are having an adverse effect on children today?
Dr. Christie: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. What the social pressures on kids related to the media and their online presence are quite a lot for teenagers these days. So absolutely, I think that’s a related issue for sure.
Bill: And what tips do you have for parents regarding that -- if a parent were to ask you about social media, technology, all the gadgets that we have today. Have any advice for parents today that are right in the middle of all that?
Dr. Christie: Yeah, my advice is for parents to educate themselves to know what their kids are on, even, you know, be on the same media sites that their kids are, i.e., Instagram, Snapchat, those kinds of things, so you're aware of what your kids are posting, aware of what their online presence is because kids make mistakes and it's – I think it's important for parents to be involved, especially the younger kids, limiting their access and making sure it's age appropriate, and just trying to be as involved as you can in their kid’s media life.
Bill: And with our active children today, many are involved in several different sports. Any sports-related tips or ways to prevent injury you’d like to pass along?
Dr. Christie: Ummm. So, you know staying active, playing – playing, not specializing. I think there’s a lot of pressure on our kids these days to pick a sport and have one sport at a young age, and I think it's important for a growing body to be moving it and using it in many different ways. So, resisting that, you know, sometimes pressure to just focus on one sport. I think that would be my biggest piece of advice, and kids should be playing. They should be active. Sports shouldn’t be a job. It shouldn’t occupy, you know, hours and hours and hours during their week.
Bill: Ummm hmmm…and if someone is looking for a pediatrician, how should they find one at Marin General Hospital?
Dr. Christie: So, you – there's a great resource on the Marin General website. If you go to maringeneral.org, find a physician, and you can select pediatrician and see the pediatricians that are available.
Bill: That’s wonderful, Dr. Christie. Thank you so much for your time today. For more information, visit maringeneral.org. Once again, that’s maringeneral.org. This is the Healing Podcast brought to you by Marin General Hospital. I'm Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): You want to make the most out of your visit with the pediatrician. So, how should you prepare? Here to tell us more is Dr. Suzanne Christie, FAAP, a pediatrician and member of the medical staff at Marin General Hospital. Dr. Christie, thank you for your time. So, what are the things a parent should do to get the most of a visit with the pediatrician?
Dr. Suzanne Christie, MD, FAAP (Guest): I think the, you know, the well-visit that we schedule on a routine recall basis are really important times for parents to get all of their newborn, well-child questions answered. We spend a lot of time talking about normal newborn and infant child development, about nutrition, about sleep. So, having parents kind of think about questions they might have around many of those issues and come prepared with them to their visits allows us to make the most out of those visits and for parents to feel like they’ve gotten the information that they need and are, you know, well prepared for the next few months until we see them again.
Bill: Right. So, that’s good – normal development, nutrition and sleep – so come prepared with potential questions surrounding those things. And how often should you bring a child to see a pediatrician?
Dr. Christie: So, our regular visits are scheduled primarily around our vaccine and immunization schedule. So, we see our babies a couple days after they leave the hospital and then again at two weeks, two months, four months, six months, nine months and 12 months. That’s how the first year marches out, and then obviously with ill and sick visits interspersed in there as needed, but as far as the well care, that’s the way the visits march out the first year and then after that, it's 15 months, 18 months and two years, and then we go annual from there on out.
Bill: And what is the role of a pediatrician after the baby is a few years old?
Dr. Christie: We continue to monitor growth and development. We check in with other issues – you know – school progress, what's going on with the family, just, you know, safety issues. We call it anticipatory guidance as far as making sure children continue to thrive and then as we hit adolescence, obviously there are more complicated social, emotional issues that we spend a lot of time talking about and delving into during those really important teen-year visits.
Bill: Ummm hmmm. And how long should you continue to bring a child to see a pediatrician?
Dr. Christie: You know, it's really variable office to office. I love seeing my kids as long as they are still comfortable coming to my office. I would say a natural transition time is when they head off to college to transition to a family practitioner or an adult medicine doctor, but I've, you know, just want my kids and teens and young adults to be seen and you know, have a good continuity of care. So, I will see my young adults as long as they want to see here up until about the age of 21. At that point, it is really time for them to move on.
Bill: Okay, that’s good to know. So, during that first year when the baby goes to see the pediatrician most often, do you have any more tips for parents about bringing the baby in comfortable clothes, preparing questions, detailing symptoms? What other tips do you have for that first year?
Dr. Christie: I say those are important ones. Just again, thinking about things that – and I’ll even have parents to keep a list, you know. They’re not the big questions that they are going to be wanting us to call – you know – they’re going to be wanting to call and talk to our office about but just, you know, little things that they were wondering about, little developmental things they might be noticing or, you know, nutrition questions. Those are all, just kind of thinking about the visit ahead of time, even writing down those questions so we really can make the most of the time here in the office.
Bill: And are there certain signs or symptoms that parents should be watching out for that may indicate …ummm…something’s not right here?
Dr. Christie: There're lots of resources available for parents these days – online there're lots of apps that kind of alert parents to what normal development is, and I often will get, you know, parents asking me questions that they have, you know, heard from other friends or read online and maybe their baby is not doing this, you know, certain developmental milestone – is that normal? And so, I think parents are so – there's so much information at their fingertips, which also can be overwhelming at times for parents, but bringing those questions in to me – many and most of the time I’m able to ease their mind about whatever the concern was.
Bill: Okay, well that’s good. And then what are the biggest issues you are dealing with for children in Marin today?
Dr. Christie: That’s a tough question. I think it varies depending on age. I would say, for my teenagers, I would say I see and am constantly surprised by the number of kids that I'm seeing with anxiety, depression, mood issues. That has been concerning to me over my years of practice, just seeing, you know, kids seem to be under a lot of pressure these days, and so, higher rates of you know kids feeling sad -- kids feeling anxious, but I'm happy that I'm hearing about them. I'm happy that they're comfortable talking to me about it, and there are lots of resources for those kids, but I’d say that that sticks out in my mind as a, you know, a frequent -- more frequent -- concern for my teenagers, in particular.
Bill: And do you think things like social media and technology are having an adverse effect on children today?
Dr. Christie: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. What the social pressures on kids related to the media and their online presence are quite a lot for teenagers these days. So absolutely, I think that’s a related issue for sure.
Bill: And what tips do you have for parents regarding that -- if a parent were to ask you about social media, technology, all the gadgets that we have today. Have any advice for parents today that are right in the middle of all that?
Dr. Christie: Yeah, my advice is for parents to educate themselves to know what their kids are on, even, you know, be on the same media sites that their kids are, i.e., Instagram, Snapchat, those kinds of things, so you're aware of what your kids are posting, aware of what their online presence is because kids make mistakes and it's – I think it's important for parents to be involved, especially the younger kids, limiting their access and making sure it's age appropriate, and just trying to be as involved as you can in their kid’s media life.
Bill: And with our active children today, many are involved in several different sports. Any sports-related tips or ways to prevent injury you’d like to pass along?
Dr. Christie: Ummm. So, you know staying active, playing – playing, not specializing. I think there’s a lot of pressure on our kids these days to pick a sport and have one sport at a young age, and I think it's important for a growing body to be moving it and using it in many different ways. So, resisting that, you know, sometimes pressure to just focus on one sport. I think that would be my biggest piece of advice, and kids should be playing. They should be active. Sports shouldn’t be a job. It shouldn’t occupy, you know, hours and hours and hours during their week.
Bill: Ummm hmmm…and if someone is looking for a pediatrician, how should they find one at Marin General Hospital?
Dr. Christie: So, you – there's a great resource on the Marin General website. If you go to maringeneral.org, find a physician, and you can select pediatrician and see the pediatricians that are available.
Bill: That’s wonderful, Dr. Christie. Thank you so much for your time today. For more information, visit maringeneral.org. Once again, that’s maringeneral.org. This is the Healing Podcast brought to you by Marin General Hospital. I'm Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.