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Children who are home schooled are sometimes at a disadvantage when it comes to support of their health care. Among the services that children in public school often receive are regular vision and hearing tests, scoliosis screening tests and if they are in athletics, sports' physical exams.
If your children are homeschooled, it can be even more important that you take them to their yearly well child visits with your Pediatrician to screen for and prevent common problems, since they are likely missing out on many of the preventative health services provided in public school.
It may also be helpful to remind your Pediatrician that your child is homeschooled so that they are sure to do a regular screening vision and hearing test. Since it is often done in school, many Pediatric offices do not routinely screen older kids unless they are complaining of a specific problem seeing or hearing.
It is also easier for homeschooled children to fall behind in their immunizations, since their aren't any school requirements to try and meet. Although most children receive their shots before starting school when they are 4-5 years old, some older kids may not be up to date with all of the current recommendations, especially for the Hepatitis B series of vaccines and the chickenpox shot. It is a very good idea to get all of your shots records together, especially if you have seen more than one Pediatrician over the years, and have your current doctor review your child's shot records to make sure they are current.
Remember that they will need a Td (tetanus) booster when they are around 11 to 12 years old.
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