Child Wellness Plan
Most of what keeps a child healthy happens when they are well: growth measured and plotted, development checked at the right ages, eyes, ears and teeth examined, and vaccines given on time. Below is the schedule of check-ups from birth to 18. A plan that books each one and reminds you is coming soon.
Why Check a Child Who Is Well?
Many childhood problems are silent at first. A check-up finds them early, while they are still easy to help.
"He Looks Fine to Me"
Slow growth, anaemia and high blood pressure rarely show until they are advanced. A growth chart and a simple check show them early.
"She Is Just a Late Talker"
Often true, but hearing problems and developmental differences are easier to help when they are found before age 3.
"We Missed the 9-Month Vaccines"
Missed vaccines are common when life is busy. It is almost never too late to catch up. The doctor plans the catch-up doses at the next check-up.
"Only the Sick Visits Happen"
A check-up leaves time for the questions that do not fit into a visit for a fever: sleep, eating, behaviour, school, screens and safety.
The Wellness Plan: Coming Soon
Limi Children's Hospital is building a child wellness plan for families who want their child's preventive care organised for them. The plan is being built around:
- Growth and development checks at the key ages in the schedule below, with a paediatrician.
- Vaccines on time, with a reminder before each one is due.
- Nutrition advice as your child moves from milk to family food, and through school and the teenage years.
- A call if a check-up or follow-up is missed, so nothing slips.
- Priority booking for plan members.
Prices and the start date are not yet set. To hear first when it opens, call 0813 408 5400 or 0809 059 9995 and ask to register your interest in the child wellness plan.
You Do Not Need to Wait for the Plan
Every check-up and vaccine in the schedule is available now, in a hospital that cares only for babies, children and teenagers. If a check-up finds a problem, more than 30 specialties are under the same roof. Book a well-child check, or read about well-baby and well-child checks and vaccines at Limi Children's Hospital.
Check-Ups from Birth to 18: What Is Checked and When
This schedule follows the national immunisation schedule for Nigeria and the preventive care schedule of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Your child's doctor adds extra visits for a baby born early, a long-term condition, or a concern. Use it wherever your child is seen; print it and keep it with the child health card.
| Age | What is checked | Vaccines and other care due |
|---|---|---|
| Birth, before leaving the maternity unit | Full newborn examination (heart, hips, eyes, palate, spine); weight, length and head size; jaundice; feeding. Hearing screen and oxygen (pulse oximetry) check where available. | BCG, oral polio and hepatitis B. Vitamin K. |
| Around day 3 | Feeding, weight, jaundice, the cord. The mother's recovery. | Any birth vaccine that was missed. |
| 1 to 2 weeks | Back to birth weight; feeding; jaundice fading; cord healed. | — |
| 6 weeks | Full examination: heart, hips, eyes, testes in boys. Growth. Smiling. The mother's health and mood. | The 6-week vaccines, including pentavalent, pneumococcal, polio and rotavirus. |
| 10 weeks | Growth and feeding. | The 10-week vaccines. |
| 14 weeks | Growth. Head control, laughing, following faces. | The 14-week vaccines. |
| 6 months | Growth. Rolling, sitting with support, reaching, babbling. Eyes straight. Starting family foods alongside breast milk. | Vitamin A, then every 6 months until age 5, as in the national programme. |
| 9 months | Growth. Development check: sitting, crawling, babbling, turning to their name. Safety at home as they start to move. | The 9-month vaccines: measles, yellow fever and, in some states, meningitis A. Vitamin A. |
| 12 months | Growth. Standing, first words, pointing. First dental visit. A check for anaemia. Genotype, if not already known. | Deworming from 12 months where advised. Ask about optional vaccines not in the national schedule. |
| 15 months | Growth. Walking. Words and understanding. | Second measles dose. |
| 18 months | Development and autism screening. Words, pointing to show, pretend play. Walking well. | — |
| 2 years | Development and autism screening. Two-word phrases. Growth. Teeth. | Dental check every 6 months from now on. |
| 3 years | First blood pressure check. Eyesight with a picture chart. Hearing. Speech that strangers mostly understand. Growth. | — |
| 4 to 5 years, before school | Eyesight, hearing, blood pressure, growth and body mass index. Readiness for school, toileting, behaviour, sleep. | Check the vaccine record is complete before school starts. |
| 6 to 10 years, every year | Growth and body mass index, blood pressure, teeth. Eyesight and hearing at 6, 8 and 10. Learning, sleep, activity and screens. | Deworming as the school programme offers. |
| 9 to 11 years | Puberty. A cholesterol check once in this age range. Mood and friendships. | HPV vaccine for girls aged 9 to 14. |
| 12 to 14 years, every year | Growth spurt, puberty and periods. Blood pressure. Eyesight at 12. Hearing once. Mood and emotional health. Time alone with the doctor. | Catch up any missed vaccines. |
| 15 to 18 years, every year | Blood pressure, body mass index, eyesight at 15, hearing once. Mental health, alcohol and drugs, sexual health (in confidence), sport. Preparing to move to adult care. | A second cholesterol check between 17 and 21. |
For the exact vaccine names and the dates they fall due for your child, use our vaccine schedule tool. To see what your child should be doing at each age, use the milestones checker.
What Happens at a Check-Up
- Measuring. Weight, height or length, and head size for babies, plotted on a growth chart so you can see the trend.
- Talking. The paediatrician asks about eating, sleep, behaviour, play, school and anything that worries you.
- Examining. Heart, chest, tummy, hips, eyes, ears, teeth and skin, and from age 3 a blood pressure check.
- Checking development. Movement, speech, understanding and social skills, compared with what is expected at that age.
- Vaccines. Any that are due are given at the same visit, unless the doctor advises waiting, and recorded on the child health card.
- A plan. What is going well, anything to watch, and the date of the next check.
Getting Ready for a Check-Up
- The child health card and any vaccine records.
- A list of your questions, however small.
- Any medicines or supplements your child takes, including herbal ones.
- For school-age children: recent school reports, and any notes from teachers.
- Your HMO or NHIA card, if you have one.
More in what to bring.
Vaccination Planner: Your Child's Dates
Enter a date of birth and get every due date on Nigeria's routine schedule, with phone reminders.
Interactive tool Interactive toolMilestone Checker: What Most Children Do by Each Age
From 2 months to 5 years: what most children do by each age, and when "not yet" is worth asking about.
Interactive toolQuestions Parents Ask
When will the wellness plan start?
The start date is not yet set. Call to register your interest, and the team contacts you when the plan opens.
How much will it cost?
Plan prices are not yet set. Check-ups and vaccines are booked and paid for one visit at a time now; ask the care team about costs.
Does my HMO cover check-ups and vaccines?
Some plans do and some do not. Ask your HMO, and ask the care team to check your cover with you. See paying and HMOs.
We have missed some check-ups and vaccines. Is it too late?
Almost never. Bring the child health card to a check-up and the doctor will plan the catch-up vaccines and any checks that were missed.
My child has a long-term condition. Do they still need check-ups?
Yes. Children with asthma, sickle cell disease, a heart condition or a developmental difference need the same growth checks, vaccines and eye, hearing and dental checks as other children, alongside their specialist care.
My baby was born early. Is the schedule different?
Vaccines are given by age from birth, not from the due date. Development is checked against the corrected age (from the due date) until about age 2. Babies born early often have extra follow-up; see our newborn and NICU care.
Want Your Child's Check-Ups Planned Ahead? Call to Register Your Interest.
If your child is seriously unwell, do not book and do not wait for a message reply. Come to Limi Children's Hospital now, day or night, or go to the nearest emergency department if you cannot get here quickly. Have someone else drive if you can, so you can watch your child, and call 0813 408 5400 on the way so the team can prepare. See the signs that mean go now.