As a parent, you monitor your child's well being every day in addition to bringing your child to their regular pediatric check-ups. Several organizations offer free resources on the internet that can assist with assessing your child's health status. Some examples include a child asthma check, a growth chart and a stress check for kids. These tools prove simple to use and are user friendly.
Kid's Asthma Check
If you have a child with asthma, an assessment might prove helpful in determining whether the asthma is appropriately controlled. The American College of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology offer a Kid's Asthma Check for ages 1 to 8 and for ages 8 to14. The questions cover activity, response to medications, daily functioning related to their asthma symptoms and knowledge. Youth ages 8 to 14 answer their own assessment while parents answer the one for ages 1 to 8. It gives a score and outlines next steps for the person answering the quiz to take. For example if the score demonstrates your child's asthma interferes with having fun and interferes with your child's quality of life, it prompts the child to print the assessment, show their parent and make an appointment with their doctor.
Magic Foundation Child Growth Chart
Parents who wonder whether their child falls within normal limits for height and weight may benefit from an online growth chart tool offered by the Magic Foundation. This website provides information on how to properly weigh and measure your child's height. It provides an opportunity for you to look at your child's height and weight plotted on a growth chart. The assessment tool calculates results and gives a description of what percentile your child falls in. For example if he is in the 5th or 95th percentile for weight, his weight is unusually high or low for his age; if he is in the 25th and 75th percentile, he is in the normal weight range. The site assists with interpretation of the results as well as offers a toll free number that you can call to help. If you have concerns about your child's weight or height, you should discuss them with his pediatrician.
Center for Disease Control Stress O Meter
Stress affects the young and old, while children should learn ways to cope with stress. The Stress O Meter lets your child answer questions about social issues, issues at home, emotions, coping, and stress relief measures. In the end, it rates your child's stress and gives them an idea of where they fall. For example, for a child with moderate stress, the site offers information on BAM, also known as Body and Mind, chill tips. The Center for Disease Control features the Stress O Meter sits on a kid friendly site, which has information about nutrition, illness, physical activity and other important health information for kids.
