2 to 3 Years

By following the recommended schedule and fully immunizing your child by 2 years of age, your child should be protected against 14 vaccine preventable diseases. If your child missed a vaccine, this is a good time to catch-up or receive additional vaccine doses to maintain full protection.

Between 2 and 3 years of age, your child should visit the doctor once a year for check-ups.

Children should receive flu vaccination every flu season. This is also a great age to teach your child about hand hygiene and how it helps to stop the spread of germs.

Protect your child against the flu with the vaccine, check out Children, the Flu, and the Flu Vaccine.

Get tips to prepare yourself and your child for their well-child visit.

Record your child’s vaccines, growth, and developmental milestones using the Well Child Visit Tracker [2 pages]. Learn more about developmental milestones at Learn the Signs. Act Early.

Keep Your Child Up-to-Date

Every dose of a vaccine is important for best protection against infectious diseases that are threats today and can be especially serious for infants and very young children. Help your child maintain immunity against potentially harmful diseases by staying on track with the recommended vaccine schedule.

If your child has missed or skipped one or more of the recommended vaccinations, you can download the Catch-up Immunization Scheduler, an online tool that can help you quickly determine the vaccines a child age 6 years and younger needs. You only need to enter your child’s date of birth.

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Risks of Delaying

Vaccines can help protect infants and children by providing immunity early in life, before they are exposed to life-threatening diseases, like measles, whooping cough (pertussis), or polio. Children do not receive any known benefits from following schedules that spread out or delay vaccines. Delaying vaccines puts children at risk of becoming ill with preventable diseases. By following the recommended schedule and fully immunizing your child by 2 years of age, you can protect your child and others from potentially serious disease.

Find out how the childhood immunization schedule is set to protect your child.

Find out what vaccines your child needs and when with the Recommended Immunizations for Children from Birth through 6 Years Old [2 pages].

Learn about the risks and responsibilities if you choose not to vaccinate your child [2 pages].

Preschool Vaccination

As you help your kids get ready for school, make sure they're fully vaccinated. Typically, your child needs a certificate of immunization to enroll in a new school. Your doctor's office or health clinic should be able to give you a record of your child's immunizations.

Your state may also require children entering school to be vaccinated against certain diseases, such as pertussis. If you're unsure of your state's school requirements, check with your child's doctor, your child's school, or your health department.

Making sure that children of all ages receive all their vaccinations on time is one of the most important things parents can do to ensure their children's long-term health — as well as the health of friends, classmates, and others in the community.

Get tips on how to keep and find your child's vaccine records.

Find out your state vaccination requirements for childcare and schools.

Find out what vaccines your child needs and when with the Recommended Immunizations for Children from Birth through 6 Years Old [2 pages].

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