Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – But, your kids just got out of school for the summer!

Officials with Memorial Health say despite that, now is the time to schedule and get your kids into the doctor for their back-to-school physicals.

It’s a relatively easy procedure for the kids, according to Pediatrician Dr. Mackenzie Heywood, on the WTAX Morning Newswatch.

“Back to school physical is relatively the same for most ages, doing kind of a head-to-toe check-in to see how things are going, and checking in to make sure there’s no behavioral concerns — that the families have concerns about how they’re learning in school — and just making sure that they are set up to start the school year in a good start for success,” said Heywood.

Heywood says, though, if your child is in athletics, a sports physical is a good idea and required at most schools.  That involves some different exams compared to the annual physical.

However, the typical school physical can vary somewhat, depending on age.

“Depending on what year they are going in to, we may need to do a little bit more vision screening, catch up on vaccinations,” said Heywood.  “In general, it’s just a good opportunity to really check in on your child’s health and make sure that they have all the forms they need for school — including if they have allergies or asthma, making sure that they have their emergency action plans the school will need.”

Action plans, Heywood says, are specific plans if a child has a medical issue at school, so that school staff don’t have to call a parent or doctor or 911, and can just do an immediate treatment.