A Rough Guide for Parents
Becoming a parent brings a mix of excitement, questions, and, quite often, a level of uncertainty. However, if you’re starting a family, you’re not on your own. One professional you’ll hear from early on is a health visitor. However, many parents aren’t sure exactly what they do or how they can help. The good news is that, essentially, health visitors are there to support you and your child. It’s also important to understand that they are not there to judge you. Instead, health visitors play an important role in helping families feel informed, confident, and well-supported during their child’s early years.
In this guide, we’ll explain exactly what a health visitor does, when families will see them, and how they can support parents and children from birth and throughout the early years.
What Is a Health Visitor?
A health visitor is a qualified nurse or midwife who has completed additional specialist training in child health, development, and family wellbeing. Each family will have a named health visitor allocated to them.
In the UK, health visitors work as part of the NHS and support families from pregnancy through to when their child is around five years old. Their role focuses not just on a child’s physical health, but also on their development, emotional wellbeing, and, just as importantly, the overall health and wellbeing of the family.
What is the Role of the Health Visitor?
Health visitors support families in a wide range of practical and emotional ways. Their role is varied, but at its heart, it’s about the health and wellbeing of the whole family. For the mums and dads they visit at home, they are firstly there to help them adjust to becoming new parents. They will offer guidance, answer questions, and provide support and reassurance, which are so crucial during the early stages of parenthood when everything can feel so new. For babies and young children, they are there to facilitate the best possible start in life.
Health visitors are also well-connected, working closely with other groups, children’s centres, and professionals. As such, they’re well-placed to identify when additional support might be helpful and guide you towards other services and resources that can help families and their little ones.
When Will a Health Visitor Visit?
New parents usually have contact with a health visitor at several key points during their child’s early years. These may include:
- An antenatal visit (before your baby is born)
- A new birth visit (around 10–14 days after birth)
- A 6–8 week review
- A 9–12 month review*
- A 2 to 2½ year review*
* The health visitor, or a member of their support team, will also give families an ‘Ages & Stages Questionnaire’ (‘ASQ-3’) before the two reviews indicated. Usefully, these give families the opportunity to undertake some of the home-based activities referenced in the questionnaire, thereby allowing them to provide appropriate feedback later at the in-person reviews. That said, if there are any areas of the questionnaire that parents are unable to complete confidently, the health visitor can help. For children attending nursery, playgroup, or childcare at the time of the 2 to 2½ year review, it’s also possible that a childminder or childcare keyworker will help with input in addition to the health visitor.
Families are also able to contact their health visiting team at any time, including between scheduled visits, if they have any questions or concerns.
Learn more about what the various health and development reviews entail here.
What Happens During a Health Visitor Appointment?
Health visitor appointments are typically relaxed and informal. They are often carried out in the comfort of the family home, or sometimes at a local clinic, depending on the area and the stage the family/child are at.
During a visit, your health visitor will ask how you and your baby or child are doing. They’ll talk to you and offer advice about your child’s feeding (breastfeeding, bottle feeding, weening, etc.), sleep (including safe sleep positions and common sleep challenges), vaccinations, and daily routines. They’ll observe your child in the home setting and are likely to carry out basic measurements, for example, to record your child’s weight, growth, height, and head circumference. They’ll also check your child’s development, such as movement, communication, and social interaction. They can offer guidance on behaviour as your child grows. They may offer advice on home safety and accident prevention too. For you as parents, they’ll also be there to support your mental health and emotional wellbeing. Importantly, they will, of course, also answer any questions you may have. The aim is to provide tailored support, open conversations and reassurance where families need it.
Will Health Visitors Judge You?
It’s a common worry, but no, health visitors are not there to judge your parenting, and there is no “test” for you to pass during a visit. Their role is not to assess you but instead to support families and help their children thrive. Should you ever be unsure or worried about something, being open with your health visitor will help them support you more effectively. They also understand that every family is different, so there is no single “right” way to do things.
So, while health visitors do have a responsibility to ensure children are safe and well cared for, for the vast majority of families, visits are simply about offering guidance, reassurance, and invaluable, practical help. For many parents, this can make a real difference.
The Red Book
We mentioned earlier that the health visitor is likely to record metrics like your child’s weight and height. Such information is recorded in a little red book. Officially called a Personal Child Health Record (‘PCHR’), this is more commonly referred to as ‘The Red Book’. It’s a useful place to record metrics and milestones in your child’s development. Health visitors and other professionals, like GPs, can write in it — as well as parents. It’s the perfect place to record a child’s milestones, medical history, details of any vaccinations and tests your child has had, and so on. Take it with you whenever you visit a GP, baby clinic, or other healthcare/medical setting with your child.
When Should You Contact a Health Visitor?
You don’t need to wait for your next scheduled visit if something is on your mind. For example, you might want to contact your health visitor if:
- You have concerns about feeding
- Your baby or child is struggling with sleep
- You’re unsure about your child’s development
- You’ve noticed changes in behaviour
- You’re feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or low
Reaching out early can often provide reassurance or help you address small concerns before they become bigger worries.
Supporting Your Child’s Development Together
Alongside the support of your health visitor, a nurturing nursery environment can play an important role in your child’s development — nurturing new skills and helping them grow in confidence, communication, and independence. If you’d like to learn more about how Little Cedars Day Nursery supports children and families, feel free to get in touch or peruse more of this website. Whether you have a quick question or a more complex concern, we are here to support both you and your child every step of the way.
A Childcare Place at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham
Little Cedars Nursery, in Streatham, offers a fabulous start for babies and children under five. We provide an all-year-round weekday childcare service in a warm, welcoming environment. At Little Cedars Nursery, every child is valued and nurtured, so they become the very best version of themselves in readiness to begin school. The high-quality childcare setting has a good Ofsted rating and supports free childcare hours for eligible children aged from just 9 months. We’re located in Streatham, near Streatham Common, Streatham Hill, Streatham Park, Tooting, Furzedown, Balham, Norbury, and Colliers Wood.
To get started on a nursery application for your child, or to find out more, please choose an option below:
Are you pregnant, or a parent with a child under four? If so, your family may be eligible for free healthy food, milk and vitamin supplements. In England, some of these free items are available under the ‘Healthy Start’ scheme, which we’ll explain in this quick-start guide.
Eligible individuals can get the following, absolutely free:
The infant formula milk:
These free vitamin supplements are important for pregnant women, breastfeeding mums, babies and young children because many are deficient in them at this stage in their lives.
In order to be eligible for Healthy Start vouchers, you need:
