Why Your Teenager Still Needs an Annual Check Up (even if they’re always healthy)
This post was sponsored by Unity Consortium as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
Vaccines have come a long way since 1022 A.D., when a Buddhist nun fashioned what many consider the precursor to vaccines in an effort to fight smallpox.
Since then, vaccines have stopped smallpox virus, are close to eradicating the polio virus and have slowed numerous other disease-causing microbes.
We all know that in order to prevent serious illnesses from affecting our children we must take them to the doctor at predetermined periods for vaccination. Parents need to know when it is the most indicated moment for such a shot and against which disease is their child protected.
And while many parents are diligent about this during childhood, it is equally important for teenagers.
As parents we understand that our teenagers have an independent streak. In fact, if it were up to them, I’m sure most teens would be content to have their parents as un-involved as possible.
While some measure of independence and personal responsibility is not a bad thing, the argument could certainly be made for parents to still be involved. Especially when it comes to important things like health.
Now, I’m not saying that all teenagers are incapable of making health care or health related decisions. But, for some, the parental guidance and wisdom may still be necessary. So while we, as parents, might schedule those annual health care check-ups, what are we really looking for?
It goes beyond making sure that growth is on track or monitoring for potential problems.
An annual check-up for a teen should also include recommended vaccines.
But, did you know, that one out of every 4 parents believes that vaccines are more important for babies? Or that more than 1/3 of teens doesn’t know why vaccines are important? That’s some pretty surprising information according to studies from Unity Consortium.
Now, let’s consider this information in the infographic that Unity Consortium provided.
Annual visits are meant to be preventative in nature, right? So, knowing that, why wouldn’t you have vaccines done? Especially something like these recommended vaccines from Unity Consortium:
- Meningococcal-includes two distinct meningococcal disease vaccines (ACWY and B)
- Tdap-tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough) and Td Booster (tetanus and diphtheria)
- HPV-human papillomavirus
- FluÂ
With everything that we, as parents, cannot control; we can at least provide some guidance when it comes to our teenager’s health and well-being. Sure, we might not be able to stop everything from happening. But, at the very least, we can help them make the best informed decision possible.
And that starts with informing ourselves.
The more we know about the importance of vaccines for teens, the better. You can find more information at Unity4TeenVax.org and also ask your teen’s health care provider.
How are you helping your teenager make informed decisions about their health?
Kori
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