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(Oklahoma News Service) As kids head back to school, doctors say there are a few ways parents can prepare for the transition. One important item on the checklist is getting a checkup at the doctor.

Well child visits allow the opportunity for physicals, if kids are playing sports during year for instance, and mental health check-ins as well.

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Dr Ryan Brown is a pediatrician with Oklahoma University Health, in the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. He said doctor visits can help with things parents might forget too.

"You don't want to have a kid that's supposed to be on medication at school and then school starts and you're like, 'Oh, I forgot to get it,'" said Brown. "And now he's going one or two or three weeks during the school year, without the medication that he needs to do well at school."

Brown said scheduling dental appointments and eye exams are also important.

Dr Rhonda Randall - Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at UnitedHealthcare - said re-establishing routines for kids is critical as well, noting that sticking to schedules in the morning and at night is stabilizing.

"Do you have family dinners on a regular basis? I recognize that you can't do that every night," said Randall. "Everyone's busy and sometimes running in different directions, but doing that as often as possible really does create a routine that's predictable and healthy for the child."

Brown said parents should be open and listen to their kids. He said those first few weeks can be awkward and stressful.

"Letting the kids know it's okay to be scared, it's okay to feel like you're not accepted that first week or two," said Brown. "Like, 'Oh, I don't know. They don't like me,' or whatever. Everybody has those emotions, and give it more time."