Child Health Booklet Singapore
Jennifer Curtis
The CHB acts as a central repository for vital health information, including birth data, growth metrics, development milestones, and immunization records. Any clinic or hospital visits can also be documented, ensuring a comprehensive health record in one accessible location.
Stay informed with the latest updates within the CHB. The revised version incorporates the National Childhood Immunization Schedule (NCIS) effective since November 1, 2020. This schedule outlines immunization requirements from birth to age 17, ensuring your child is protected against vaccine-preventable illnesses.
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Child development refers to the continuous but predictably sequential biological, psychological and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence. Developmental surveillance should be incorporated into every child visit. Parents play an important role in the child's developmental assessment. The primary care physician should educate and encourage parents to use the developmental checklist in the health booklet to monitor their child's development. Further evaluation is necessary when developmental delay is identified. This article aimed to highlight the normal child developmental assessment as well as to provide suggestions for screening tools and questions to be used within the primary care setting.
There are several visits to the polyclinic that your child will need in the first five years. Growth and development checks, hearing and vision testing, and immunisations are carried out at prescribed intervals by our doctors and nurses. To view the full listing of childhood immunisation and developmental screening services that we offer, please click here.
Prior to each visit, please take time to fill in the pre-screening developmental questionnaire in your child's health booklet. Your information will help us understand your child's progress and the areas to focus on during the clinic visit.
You may also access the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) Parenting Resources website for resources that are supported by various experts on topics ranging from pregnancy to child health, behaviour, and language development.
Certain visits will require the nurse to ensure your child is able to achieve a specific milestone.
You may refer to the above Childhood Immunisation & Developmental Assessment Schedule for more information.
Immunisation is an essential part of keeping your child healthy. The National Childhood Immunisation Schedule (NCIS) outlines the recommended immunisations for children in Singapore. By following the NCIS, you can ensure that your child receives the necessary vaccinations to protect them against serious diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella.
Keeping your child safe is a top priority. Creating a child safety checklist can help ensure that your home is a safe environment for your child. Additionally, teaching your child about safety rules and providing them with appropriate safety gear can help prevent accidents and injuries.
By following these tips, you can help ensure that your child maintains good health and wellbeing. Remember to also seek medical treatment if your child shows any symptoms of illness or developmental delays.
If you have lost your health booklet, you can obtain a replacement by visiting any polyclinic or private clinic in Singapore. You will need to bring along your identification card and pay a small fee for the replacement.
You can check your blood group by visiting any polyclinic or private clinic in Singapore. A blood test will be conducted to determine your blood group. You can also check your blood group through the HealthHub portal if it has been recorded in your health records.
With user inputs, HealthHub can develop into a must-have companion for healthy living. Since its launch, over 56,000 Singaporeans have downloaded the app to receive health-related information and use online services to manage their health conditions better.
This includes the National Electronic Health Record, which integrates and shares medical records nationwide to support the seamless delivery of patient care, and the National Immunisation Registry, which monitors and ensures that every child gets immunised at the appropriate time.
In a continued effort to help Singaporeans take ownership of their health, HealthHub recently extended its service to enable care receivers to grant designated carers access to their personal medical records and appointments.
This feature, which was developed following public feedback, will reduce time needed for record keeping and appointment tracking, and will provide convenience and administrative support for about 210,000 regular carers of family members and patients.
When a child is born in Singapore, the birthing center will usually assign them a pediatrician. This doctor will be available to look after them until their teenage years. However, patients are under no obligation to stick with them if they wish to switch medical professionals. Some parents prefer to go to a family doctor instead.
Children in Singapore generally have positive health outcomes. However, like other economically advanced countries, it has seen a sharp increase in obesity rates in recent years. Only 56% of children in Singapore have a healthy diet (as of 2021), while around 40% hit global targets for physical activity.
Singapore General Hospital shows how the outpatient fee tiers work on its website and that expats must pay significantly more. Local polyclinics offer lower prices for children, however, these only apply to citizens.
Specialists perform childhood development screenings, a series of tests to check that little ones are meeting their health milestones. They do these through well-baby and well-child visits. While the government encourages these check-ups, they are not mandatory.
The only mandatory vaccinations in Singapore are measles and diphtheria. However, the Ministry of Health strongly recommends several other childhood inoculations. Generally, pediatricians will administer these shots when children are very young. Once they reach school age, jab roll-outs will usually take place at school.
The Ministry of Health recommends taking your child to the dentist for the first time when they are between 6 and 12 months old. As usual, prices for public healthcare vary for citizens, permanent residents, and expats.
While Singapore is a world leader in many aspects of healthcare, its mental health treatment is still lagging. In 2023, the first-ever study of mental health in Singaporean teenagers took place, finding that one in three reported depression or anxiety.
There are also local charitable initiatives to help children and teenagers with their mental health. The Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society (THK) offers services including developmental aid, learning support, and therapy.
The Singaporean government is very keen on preventative healthcare initiatives. In recent years, it has focused much of its efforts on the threat of childhood obesity. For example, the Integrated 24-Hour Activity Guidelines offer advice on the amount of exercise that children should do from infancy to the age of seven.
Parents can find plenty of government guidance online at Parent Hub, part of HealthHub. The latter also offers plenty of tips to help children adopt a healthy, balanced diet. In addition, the state has also issued Guidance on Screen Use in Children (2023), which gives parents firm advice as to how many hours of screen time their young ones should have.
The authorities in the Lion City usually issue advice, rather than regulations; however, Singaporean culture tends to involve a lot of respect for the government. This can be seen in the way that, for example, nearly all locals give their children non-mandatory vaccinations.
Persons Aged 60 Years and above, Medically Vulnerable, Residents of Aged Care Facilities
After completing at least two initial doses, medically vulnerable person, residents of aged care facilities and individuals aged 60 years and above are recommended to receive an additional dose of the updated vaccine around one year from their last dose. They can start to to receive it from five months after their last dose.
Individuals who wish to receive their vaccination may book an appointment at a participating General Practitioner (GP) clinic using this link, or at selected polyclinics through the HealthHub booking system. Alternatively, individuals may walk into any Joint Testing and Vaccination Centre (JTVC) without an appointment.
Please refer to gowhere.gov.sg/vaccine to locate vaccination sites that carry your preferred vaccine.
Persons Aged Between 6 months to 59 Years
Persons aged 6 months to 59 years who are healthy have a lower risk of severe disease. Nevertheless, eligible persons in this age group, in particular, healthcare workers, as well as household members and caregivers of medically vulnerable individuals, are encouraged to receive an additional dose around one year (and no earlier than five months) after their last dose to enhance protection. The nearest vaccination site and the type of vaccine offered at each site are listed at They may book an appointment at a participating GP clinic using this link, or at selected polyclinics through the HealthHub booking system. Alternatively, individuals may walk into any JTVC without an appointment.
We strongly recommend that you receive the mRNA or Novavax/Nuvaxovid vaccines for your COVID-19 vaccinations in view of the lower efficacy of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine.
Should you choose to receive the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine instead, you may do so at selected participating General Practitioner (GP) clinics offering the vaccine. Please call the clinic beforehand to make an appointment. Please visit for a list of the GP clinics offering the vaccine.
For now, Sinovac-CoronaVac continues to be included under the National Vaccination Programme (NVP)*. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna have successfully obtained full registration. However, if there is no application for Sinovac-CoronaVac to be fully registered, NVP will lapse for Sinovac-CoronaVac, by 30 September 2024. Nevertheless, Sinovac-CoronaVac will continue to be available at private clinics which have applied to use it under the Special Access Route (SAR).
*Under the National Vaccination Programme, vaccination is free for all Singaporean Citizens, Permanent Residents, Long Term Pass holders and certain Short Term Pass holders.