U8 Examination: What is it and what can my child expect?
Your child is now about four years old and goes to kindergarten. It’s time again for a check-up with your pediatrician. Find out here what awaits you at the U8.
Your child is now about four years old and will probably go to kindergarten . Now the U8 examination is due, especially if you didn’t notice the U7a , because then the last thorough check-up was quite a while ago. Don’t forget to take the yellow health booklet with you this time as well, in which all the results of the examination are entered.
What is examined during the U8 examination?
At the U8, the focus is on language, motor skills and, above all, social development. The “specifications” on what your child should be able to do at this age are only guidelines. You don’t need to worry if it doesn’t master all tasks immediately. In addition, the pediatrician makes sure that all sensory organs are functional. Of course, a thorough all-round check will be made again, during which your child will be weighed and measured, the (genital) organs and bone structure, as well as the cardiovascular system and the skin will be examined. The doctor measures the blood pressure, which should be around 90/60 mmHg for small children.
The urine is also checked for abnormalities to make sure the organs are functioning properly. In this way, among other things, a urinary tract infection can be detected early in the U8, which affects around three percent of girls and one percent of boys up to the age of ten.
social behavior
By the age of four, most children are already playing largely detached from their caregiver. They have learned to share toys and other things with other children. In playful contact with the child, the pediatrician can get an impression of his social and emotional development at the U8. But it is just as important for him to talk to you about everyday situations. How is your little one doing in kindergarten? Having trouble breaking away from you? If you have any problems or abnormalities, you can get helpful tips here.
How far is the language development in the U8 examination?
Perhaps your child can already put their stories in a chronologically and logically correct order. Many children now form “I-sentences” and connect sentences with “and then”. When reading, they listen attentively and ask the typical wh-questions (e.g. who? where? why?). With the help of a standardized test, the pediatrician will check the state of language development in the U8 and also pay attention to language disorders such as stammering or stuttering .
motor skills
Gross and fine motor skills are also put to the test with the U8. Most children now ride tricycles safely and can hold and guide a pen with three fingers. The doctor will conduct minor tests to monitor your child’s coordination, gait, and posture. In this way, possible postural defects can be recognized and corrected at an early stage.
Examination of the sense organs in the U8 examination
A hearing and vision test is planned as part of the U8 to ensure that the sensory organs are functioning well. By now the eyesight should be at 100 percent. You can have a more precise test, which is particularly recommended if poor eyesight occurs frequently in your family, at the ophthalmologist.
You should take advantage of the U8 at the earliest when your child is 43 months old and at the latest by the time they are 50 months old. Otherwise, you will be billed as a so-called iGel service (individual health service).
If the dentist has not already done so, the pediatrician at the U8 will also examine your child’s teeth for tooth decay and discolouration. By now your child should have all twenty milk teeth. If there are no more questions, you’ve made it. The U9 takes place when your child is about five years old.