How to Prep Your Teen for a Doctor’s Visit

Parents can involve their child in preparing for an annual checkup together. It can also be very helpful to brainstorm questions to ask the clinician on the way to a visit, and/or step out of the room for part of a visit so their adolescent has a chance to ask the clinician any questions they may have.

“Time alone” (time during a healthcare visit without a parent in the room) is an established best practice in adolescent care. Time alone should be a regular part of preventive visits starting around age 11 or 12. However, it doesn’t always happen. It’s important to know that 1) time alone is a standard practice recommended by the American Academy of Pediatricians, and 2) time alone with a healthcare provider is part of developing skills and responsibility. Remember, a healthcare professional is legally required to tell you anything concerning about abuse, self-harm, or suicidal thoughts. In fact, a young person might be more likely to share that important information without a parent present – just think back to when you were their age and if you would ask a potentially embarrassing question in front of your parents.

TALK: Toolkit for Adolescent Care supports conversations between healthcare clinicians and teens, and between parents and teens. TALK resources go one step beyond generic advice, like, “Make sure you talk to teens about sex” and offer ideas for starting those actual conversations. The “TALK Tools” are one-page resources parents can access freely online here. Each TALK Tool contains additional resources at the bottom of the page.