Sending your kid to college? Think about their health too.

For families that are sending their teens to college this fall, summer is full of anticipation and planning. There’s so much to buy and pack and think about that sometimes parents forget to think about something really important: their health.  As parents, we are in charge of our child’s health—their diet, their exercise, their medications and what happens when they get sick. But when teens leave home, we need to be sure they can handle these things, and make good decisions, by themselves. Not that we can’t help out. I get lots of phone calls from my college-aged kids about health stuff, but it’s different when we’re not right there. Besides, this is something young adults need to learn to manage. If your child has a chronic medical problem, it’s particularly important to make an appointment with your doctor and talk about how best to manage this. You’ll want to have copies of important records, and have some conversations ahead of time with a medical person at or near college, so that your child can get the care he or she needs It’s also important to have conversations with your child about what to do and when. Your doctor can help with all of this, including deciding whether you should contact a local specialist. Whether or not your child is usually healthy, here are some tips: Make sure your teen can get health care at college. There are two aspects of this: There needs to be a place to go. Most colleges have some sort of health services, but hours may ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Claire McCarthy, MD Health & wellness Parenting Source Type: news