Routine check-ups can catch hidden health problems in children

Routine health checks can uncover problems children may not know how to report, family doctor Kristi Särgava told ERR’s Terevisioon programme. Checks have revealed vision problems and hearing loss, she said.

In 2025, 40 percent of four-year-olds and 26 percent of five-year-olds attended a routine check-up. Särgava said parents may assume a separate check is unnecessary if a child sees a doctor for a cough or other complaint. But those visits focus on the specific illness and do not provide a full picture of the child’s health.

At a check-up for four-year-olds, a family nurse listens to the child’s heart and lungs, examines their abdomen and movement, discusses speech, preschool, and sleep, and measures blood pressure and visual acuity. Children may not realise their eyesight is weak because they have always seen the same way, Särgava said.

Checks can also identify hearing loss, behavioural concerns, mental health issues and weight problems. Five-year-olds return for similar assessments with a family doctor. The next routine check is when the child starts school, and parents generally attend after schools ask them to do so.

According to the statistics cited in the report, 11 percent of 15- and 16-year-olds attended a routine check-up. Särgava said that even when young people are doing well at school, issues such as mental health, bullying and sleep may go unmentioned at home and may not be immediately visible.