Having a healthy and happy start to school positively affects all the lives of children. Health checks to be carried out before school contributes to children's school success and socialization while preventing many diseases that may occur at later ages. Pediatrics Specialist Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar gave information about health checks that are important for children before starting school.
 
Preparations continue while a few days remain before the opening of schools. Health checks rank first among things to be done for our children. Because health problems rank first among the problems that negatively affect school success. Emphasizing that the necessary checks should be performed before school for this reason Yeditepe University Kozyatağı Hospital Pediatrics Specialist Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar reminded us that health problems can cause problems such as lack of interest in class, therefore failure, impaired concentration, learning difficulty, and inability to socialize. She listed the health checks to be performed as follows:

Hearing and Vision Controls

Hearing and vision checks rank first among the health checks to be performed. Preschool children cannot understand whether their senses of vision and hearing are good. Indicating that even if the child cannot see and hear well, they are not aware of that, Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar said the following:
"A decreased hearing or inability to see clearly enough affects the child's success at school. When their hearing is not good, their perception is delayed; when their vision is not good, their reading and writing are delayed. However, parents may not realize this. For this reason, before they start school, it is essential to have the vision and hearing of the child checked and treated, as needed.”

Dental Checks

Another health check that is recommended before school is periodic dental checkups.  Nowadays, since children spend most of the day at school, they meet a portion of their nutritional needs at school during the day. Therefore, not only before starting school but also during their school years, the child's oral and dental health checkups should be performed at regular intervals.

Blood Tests

Explaining that it would be beneficial to have blood tests before starting school, Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar said, "It may also be necessary to check the cholesterol levels of children in the preschool age group and their blood pressure routinely. Pediatric hypertension is not an issue cared about enough in society. However, it should not be forgotten that hypertension can also be seen in children.”

Psychological Checks

Some children may have behavioral disorders or hyperactivity compared to their peers. Therefore, children with such characteristics must also be assessed by a pedagogue or child psychologist before starting school. Prof. Dr. Bakar explained that otherwise, these children might experience more severe socialization problems when they started school.

Vaccines

Stating that the crowded school environment facilitates the spread of infections among children, Yeditepe University Hospital Pediatrics Specialist Prof. Dr. Filiz Bakar said the following in this regard, drawing attention to the importance of vaccines: “For this reason, it is important to repeat certain vaccines administered during infancy. The Ministry of Health administers measles, rubella, mumps, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccines in the first grade of primary school. However, parents can also have them administered privately once the child reaches the age of four. Especially, children with diabetes, chronic asthma or heart diseases may need annual flu vaccination.”

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