How to Prep Your Teen for a Doctor’s Visit
Parents can help their adolescent take increasing responsibility for their healthcare so that their child has the skills and experience to be an effective consumer when they transition to independent healthcare. Parents can begin these conversations as soon as age 7, and by age 11 or 12, parents should feel comfortable giving their child time alone with a healthcare provider to ask questions on their own. No matter what age your child is, it’s essential to remember that one doctor’s appointment (or one heart-to-heart talk) is not enough. [AMZ-177]
The University of Minnesota has developed this TALK Toolkit for Adolescent Care to help healthcare providers and parents keep talking to their adolescent about important topics like vaping, mental health, sex, birth control, and healthy relationships.
Youth
Parents
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.