 It's that time of year again for parents to start thinking about back to school health screenings for their kids. Whether they need a sports physical or their first year in kindergarten shots, it's important to send your child back to school healthy. Doctors say it's essential for children at any age to have their vaccinations and physicals so any health problems can be diagnosed and treated early. Make sure that their hearing and vision is normal. To make sure that they're healthy, that they're growing like they should for smaller kids. It's important to make sure that they're developing like they should and learning the skills that they should be learning as they get older. And for some of the older kids, it's important because they don't come into the doctor for other reasons. Through medical assistance, local health care providers offer child and teen checkups to growing county residents up to the age of 20. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.