The child’s health

Last updated: 21/12-2023

There are many different places to turn to when questions of the child’s health are involved.

A child and her mother attending an appointment with a doctor at a medical care centre.

Child health care centre

Child health care centres (Barnavårdscentral, or BVC, in Swedish) provide health examinations and vaccinations for your child. BVCs offer health care to all children up to the age of 5 or 6. As a parent you will be given support and advice on parenting and about your child's development, behaviour and illnesses. You can ask questions about just about anything – from concerns about your child's health and development to various everyday problems such as food and sleeping.

If your child becomes ill and needs medical care you should turn to your medical care centre.

In many places the child health care centre or BVC is part of a family centre.

Family centre

A family centre is a place that offers different types of support for families. It has a midwifery ward, a child health care centre and an open preschool. You can also get counselling and support from the social services. Sometimes parent groups are organised under a supervisor, where you can meet with other parents several times to discuss parenting.

Children and youth medical offices, BUM, are specialised offices for children and young people to and including age 17.

When what is involved are occasional illnesses in otherwise healthy children, BUM will accept children up to the age of twelve months.

Folktandvården (the Public Dental Service) is a regional dental care service. Its task is to provide regular and comprehensive dental care to all children and young people until the year they turn 21.

The region's obligation to provide dental care for young asylum seekers ends when they turn 18, unlike for young people with a residence permit.

Brushing children's teeth

It is a good idea to begin toothbrushing as soon as your child gets their first tooth. If your child gets used to toothbrushing early, it will be much easier to make it a habit.

All children in Sweden are offered and recommended vaccinations against several different diseases. Children are vaccinated in order to give them good protection against serious diseases.

Children up to age 18 who have not been vaccinated in accordance with the vaccination program must be offered supplementary vaccination.

School health services are available at your child's school, and work to support pupils' learning, development and health. The school's head teacher is responsible for school health services.

School health services give pupils access to a school doctor, nurse, counsellor, and psychologist, as well as to special learning initiatives.

School health services must offer every pupil a health appointment with eyesight and hearing examinations, and vaccinations.

If your child needs help and support for mental ill health, you can contact the school health services or a medical care centre first. Your child may be offered specialist care if necessary. If your child is under 6 years old, you can contact the child health care centre for advice. From the age of 13, the child can also personally contact a youth advice centre.

Psychological ill health is a comprehensive concept which includes both less serious psychological problems and more serious symptoms.

Depression exhibits itself in various ways depending on how old one is. Children and young people who are depressed do not always become noticeably dejected. It is commoner, for example, that they become irritated or angry.

BUP (Barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin, child and youth psychiatric services)

BUP looks after those children and young people who have the greatest need of psychiatric support or care. They receive young people up to the age of 18; if you're older you turn to adult psychiatric services.

Youth clinics are available for young people from about age 12-13 to and including age 25. The visits are free.

At youth clinics it is possible to receive conversational support for a person who feels bad and needs someone to talk with. It can also involve questions about the body or about sexuality or preventive means.

There is a website called youmo.se that has information about the body, sex and health in several languages. Youmo.se is intended for young people aged 13-20. Youmo.se also has contact details for all youth advice centres in Sweden.

As parents of a child with a functional impairment you have a right to support from the society. You must seek most of the interventions yourself.

What support a family is entitled to depends on the type of functional impairment the child has and how much it affects the child's everyday life. Responsibility for providing support is shared between the municipality and the region where the child is resident.

Sometimes students with functional impairments need to go to different schools which are adapted to their needs.

Child rehabilitation

Child rehabilitation accepts children and young people with comprehensive and life-long functional impairments.

The rehabilitation interventions may be advice, support and treatment as well as prescription and testing of assistance methods.