U8 examination

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The U8 examination is a preventive measure for children between the ages of 46 and 48 months, i.e. a U examination at the age of 4. The doctor checks whether the child's language and motor skills have developed appropriately for their age. He also tests hearing and eyesight. Read everything about the U8 examination, what your child should be able to do at this age and which vaccinations are due.

What is the U8 exam?

The U8 examination takes place at the age of four. It is a particularly comprehensive preventive medical check-up in which the child's linguistic, motor and social skills as well as their state of health and their hearing and eyesight are tested in detail. The costs for the provision are covered by the statutory and private health insurance companies.

What does the U8 do?

As always, the doctor discusses the behavior of their child with the parents and whether they have noticed anything unusual. He asks her whether the child is already dry, how he sleeps, or whether he is defiant. It is also important how they behave in kindergarten with other children and whether they have difficulties separating from their parents.

In the actual examination, the doctor measures the body height, weight and blood pressure and listens to the heart, lungs and stomach with the stethoscope. The doctor also does a hearing and eye test during the U8 examination. Unless already done at the dentist, he looks at the milk tooth status. The child also has to give a urine sample, which is tested for blood components, protein, sugar and bacteria, among other things.

Here are a number of exercises designed to test gross and fine motor skills:

• draw simple shapes, for example a circle or a square
• cut paper with children's scissors
• to stand on one leg
• jump with both legs at the same time

The child has also made great progress linguistically in the last few months. The doctor will talk to you a little to test your vocabulary and your ability to talk about your own experiences. The parents also receive a questionnaire on the social behavior of the child, which the supervisor in the kindergarten should fill out. Special vaccinations are not recommended at this age. However, vaccinations that have been missed so far should be made up for.

What is the significance of the U8 examination?

If the parents did not take part in the U7a examination at the age of three, two years have passed since the last check-up. That is why the child is thoroughly examined from head to toe during the U8 examination. If it turns out that the child has not yet reached an age-appropriate level in its development, the pediatrician recommends various support options to the parents, for example speech therapy or occupational therapy. If there are abnormalities in the hearing or eye test, a referral to a pediatric ENT or ophthalmologist makes sense after the U8 examination.

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