You remember how Charles Dickens started A Tale of Two Cities? "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . "

That is how I feel about the school physical season, which runs from July through some time in August in most pediatric offices. There are fun things about seeing kids of every age. With teens, I like finding out what they are interested in, and who they are becoming as adults. Teens feel passionately about so many things, and it is really refreshing to learn what they really care about, and to see the things they are already doing to make the world a better place. It is hard not to be lifted up by the idealism many teens bring with them. It is also wonderful to watch parents who are helping their kids become successful and independent adults--I know it is not easy for them to be letting their kids go and sending them out into the world, but it is what their kids need to be successful.

Seeing teens and their parents grow together really is one of the most rewarding things about my job. So what is not to like? It is just that the sheer number of kids coming in can be overwhelming. This is the time of year high schools hand out their forms for sports and other activities, and it is hard to get everyone in for an appointment before school starts. This is just a fact of life in pediatrics, but I think every pediatrician is pretty exhausted by the time school starts up for everyone at the end of August. So if you are visiting your pediatrician in the next few weeks and the office seem a little frazzled, they probably are focused on taking care of all those teenagers.

Since most school physical forms ask for an exam date within the last year, you can always work around the school physical crunch. It is too late to do it this year, but next year you can bring your teens in for their checkups earlier in the summer. If you don't have the school forms at the visit, no problem--you can send them in when you get them and most offices are happy to fill them out for you. Or you can schedule your teen's visits around their birthday. Was your teen born in January? If we do the exam in January, it is still current when the forms arrive in the summer, so we can still fill out your forms. If you have several children, scheduling well visits around each child's birthday lets you focus the visit on that child, and gives you a chance to spend some one on one time with that child before and after the visit.