Im not sure if my son's doctor is evaluating him the correct way when he has physicals. They ask questions

Question

about his developement, but they dont really have him do any kind of physical test or mental test. He is 16 months old now

Answer 1

The dr. does not do mental or physical tests on a toddler.  They go by what the parent tells you, because you as a parent know your child best - is he sitting up, grabbing things, saying words etc.  The dr. is relying on you to tell him whether or not he is hitting his milestones.

Answer 2

Our pediatrician never did tests either.  She just asks us how they are doing.  I don't think tests would be very accurate if they tried to do them because kids never do the things they are able to do for strangers.  We always would tell people how smart our little girl was, and when we wanted her to show them what she could do she would be to shy, so I think doctors just trust the parents to watch for the milestones and make sure the kids are doing ok for their age.

Answer 3

He is being evaluated correctly. they don't do physical or mental test on babies and toddlers because their is a wide range of what is considered normal. He is asking you questions about your baby's development because you are the one who knows your baby best. Believe me if he was concerned, he would tell you.

Answer 4

i agree with stef s. i wouldnt do things for ppl i didnt know and was real shy around my doctor.my mom would try to get me to dfo things for her friends and i wouldnt. even the baby i babysit. ive known her sine she was born. she's over 2 now. i havent seen her since befoer she could talk and she wont do anything for me now

Answer 5

What kind of test should they be doing at 16 months???? The best way to evaluate a child at this age is asking the mother. A kid at 16 months is not going to perform anything consistently---trying to get him to do something just doesn't work.

Look at it this way: you know your son can do something because he does it every day, 10 times a day, but when the doctor asks him to do it he doesn't, because a) he's nervous b) he's looking at the butterfly picture on the wall c) he's sleepy 4) he's going through a growth spurt and temporarily less coordinated....etc.

When my kids were that age, I answered a ton of questions and as they got older the doctor started asking them to stand on one foot and hop, etc.

Answer 6

I think the doctor should be looking to you as the person who spends the most time with your child.  If you have concerns, express them.  But there is no exact science to a child's checkup.  Basically, the doctor should be checking for common problems with growth, speech development, motor skills, and keeping immunizations up to date.

If you have a specific concern, check with him/her.  Otherwise, that sounds like a basic well check to me!