At what age can I stop seeing a pediatrician and start seeing a general practitioner?

As your child gets older and starts into adolescence, it may be time for you to consider switching from a pediatrician to a general practitioner or other specialist. However, sometimes you feel comfortable with the pediatrician who has treated your child from toddlers until now. So, can you still go to the pediatrician even though the child is already a teenager? Or when do children actually have to stop seeing a pediatrician? Check out the reviews.

Can you go to a pediatrician when your child starts to enter adolescence and even adulthood?

When your child starts to reach adolescence, they will face hormonal changes and have different health problems when they were children. If you're looking for answers as to when your child should stop seeing a doctor or move from a pediatrician to another specialist, according to Cora Breuner, a professor of pediatrics and adolescent medicine at the University of Washington's Seattle Children's Hospital, the answer depends.

Maybe you feel that the pediatrician you go to when your child is sick is very reliable. They know all stages of a child's development, including the child's medical history up to their teenage years, and it is likely that the pediatrician will be better prepared to deal with a teenager.

According to David Tayloe, Former President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, most pediatricians still have teenage patients aged 18 years, up to the age of 21 years. It is at this age that children or adolescents are considered to have entered the transitional age into adulthood.

David Tayloe considers that at the age of 18-21 years, pediatricians have an important role in preparing children or adolescents, both physically and emotionally related to hormonal changes.

Pediatricians can be "special talk friends" for children specifically about health, because children have known pediatricians for a long time. For children who have certain medical conditions, such as a weak heart, the pediatrician can prepare a specialist doctor that best suits the needs of each child.

When is the right age when children should stop seeing a pediatrician?

Some teenagers may find it strange that they have to go to the pediatrician when they are sick. Coming to the pediatrician when they are young can cause discomfort for them. The atmosphere of a pediatrician whose patients are dominated by babies, toddlers and young children, makes your child feel strange having to come to the pediatrician when their height increases.

If your child is ready to stop seeing a pediatrician or switch doctors, you should listen to them. However, it is important to pay attention to whether the health facility closest to your home has a specialist that your child needs.

Children who keep coming to the pediatrician when they enter adolescence or adulthood are not a problem, as long as the child feels comfortable with the pediatrician to talk about health problems both physically and mentally.

However, if the pediatrician is no longer relevant to address the health problems experienced by children due to limited health facilities or other factors. You should consider stopping to see a pediatrician.

The most important thing before you decide to still go to a pediatrician or stop seeing a pediatrician because of the age of the child is getting older. It's good, you consult with the pediatrician first, whether your child still needs a pediatrician or needs to move to another specialist doctor.