DD2 is almost 18 months and I am supposed to be making an appointment with the CHN to have her check. But do I have to? It is my second child so I don't need any advice and we aren't concerned about anything, if we were I would take her to a doctor. So is it really important or do people miss these if they feel comfortable enough?
Last time we went to the CHN they said that they weren't really doing the 18 month check anymore..If a mother had concerns then they would want her to of course come in or if you had questions about your child's development then they have some handouts with checklists/questions tthat you could fill in at home to see how your child is going.
My mchn said not to worry, but she will see me around then with bub no 3 so she will talk to me if I have concerns. I agree I would rather see my gp anyway.
I wouldn't say the it's the world's most important thing. With #1 (and while #2 was young) I missed heaps of visits, but to be honest it's mostly because I didn't much like my MCHN, I swapped and then the one I did like retired!
But since I've moved, I really love our MCHN and so we've been/talked on the phone a few times. And, just a little anecdote - I took #2 for his 24 month visit thinking it'd be pretty routine, and she wasn't quite satisfied with his eyes and wants us to see an optometrist - so there are things like that that us mere mortals might not pick up on. You might get free stuff too - at 24 months anyway - we got books for both ours.
So yeah - you don't have to, and I know how inconvenient it can be with 2 kids. But, if you have a good MCHN, it could be worth it.
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How important is the 18th month check?
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