Back-to-School Visits: An Opportunity to Support Healthy Growth

Back-to-school season brings an increase in annual well-child visits and sports physicals, creating a timely opportunity for healthcare providers to assess more than school readiness. These visits offer a chance to review a child’s growth, development, and everyday health behaviors with families.

They are also an opportunity to start supportive conversations that can help families build lifelong healthy habits.

Why These Conversations Matter

About 1 in 3 children and adolescents in the United States lives with overweight or obesity,¹ increasing their risk for conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, sleep problems, and poor mental health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends addressing healthy growth early rather than waiting to see if children “grow out of it.”² Supportive conversations, practical guidance, and evidence-based treatment can make a meaningful difference.

For many families, the annual back-to-school visit with their child’s healthcare provider is the ideal time to begin.

Make the Most of the Visit

Families are looking for practical guidance, and evidence-based tools can help make conversations about healthy growth more comfortable, collaborative, and productive.

Start with the 5-2-1-0 Conversation

The 5-2-1-0 Healthy Habits Worksheet offers a simple, nonjudgmental way to talk about everyday behaviors. Together, families and providers can discuss:

• 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day
• 2 hours or less of recreational screen time
• 1 hour of physical activity every day
• 0 sugar-sweetened beverages

Instead of focusing only on what needs to change, use the worksheet to identify what is already going well and one area the family may need to work on.

Use the Readiness Ruler

Not every family will be ready to make the same changes at the same time. The Readiness Ruler can help by asking a simple question like:

“On a scale from 1 to 10, how confident are you about making this change?”

Then follow with:

“Why did you choose that number instead of a lower one?”

This motivational interviewing tool encourages families to recognize their own strengths and motivation while helping them choose goals that feel realistic and achievable.

Resources for Providers

A brief conversation during a visit can be the beginning of meaningful change. Greaux Healthy offers practical evidence-based tools to help providers start these conversations and support families over time.  

The Greaux Healthy Provider Resource Library is designed to support healthcare providers with practical, evidence-based tools to improve care for children and families. By signing up, providers gain access to a wide range of resources tailored for clinical use and patient education, including the 5-2-1-0 Healthy Habits worksheet.

The Greaux Healthy Childhood Obesity Prevention, Evaluation and Treatment Toolkit translates the 2023 American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Obesity into easy-to-use resources for busy healthcare providers.

Inside you’ll find:

• Assessment and treatment guidance aligned with the 2023 AAP Clinical Practice Guideline
• Motivational Interviewing tools and techniques, including the Readiness Ruler
• Resources for ongoing family support