Unew version of the child and adolescent health record [1, 2] came into force on 1is January 2025.
This 123-page health notebook has five main chapters:
- generalities;
- perinatal period;
- advice to parents and adolescents;
- medical surveillance;
- sections for professionals.
Color codes allow each user (health professionals, parents, children or adolescents) to find their way more easily:
- in blue-green: parts to be completed by health professionals;
- in purple: parts containing information intended for parents;
- in orange: parts containing information intended for children or adolescents.
The list of useful telephone numbers during childhood has been completed. In addition to the historic numbers (15 [SAMU]112 [numéro d’urgence européen]), the following numbers are mentioned:
- emergency number for deaf or hard of hearing people: 114;
- hello childhood in danger: 119;
- national suicide prevention number: 3114;
- victim or witness of harassment: 3020;
- victim or witness of domestic violence: 3919.
Information and recommendations for monitoring the overall health of children and adolescents
Updates…
The prevention messages intended for parents, already developed during the previous edition, have been updated, in particular on the following points :
- advice for raising your child without violence ;
- the tables relating to the introduction of foods (pages 16 to 18) ;
- advice on children’s sleep ;
- advice on using screens ;
- benchmarks for detecting neurodevelopmental disorders.
…and new features
QR codes linking to official sites complement the information and recommendations provided in this notebook (for example, QR code to tabac-info-service.fr, sante.gouv.fr or the digital health space monespacesante.fr) .
The new health record includes new identification tools:
- exposure and use of screens : introduction of questions to make it easier for health professionals to identify screen misuse from the age of 3 months to adolescence;
- physical activity: introduction of questions on practicing physical activity by the child from 2 years old until adolescence;
- adolescence: introduction of specific questions aimed at identifying endometriosis in girls or the psycho-affective state of adolescents including the identification of harassment situations.
A new compulsory exam at 6 years old
In the part relating to medical surveillance, the 20 medical examinations are detailed (8 days, 2e week, 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 4 months, 5 months, 8 months, 11 months, 12 months, between 16 and 18 months, between 23 and 24 months, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years, between 8 and 9 years, between 11 and 13 years, between 15 and 16 years) including the new compulsory medical examination at the age of 6 years [3].
The new exam, which corresponds to entry into primary school for a majority of children, targets the following objectives:
- strengthen prevention, particularly in terms of sensory screening and developmental disorders;
- carry out the booster vaccination against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis recommended at 6 years of age;
- create an additional opportunity for dialogue with families.
Identification of neurodevelopmental disorders
In accordance with the recommendations of the High Authority for Health and as part of the 2023-2027 national strategy for neurodevelopmental disorders, the health record includes the grids from the booklet for identifying signs of unusual child development in medical examinations. mandatory, and a QR code to the addressing form and the list of coordination and orientation platforms (PCO).
Vaccination tracking
Pages 116 to 120 concern child vaccination monitoring:
- compulsory vaccinations (pages 117 and 118);
- recommended vaccinations and other vaccinations and boosters (pages 119 and 120).
A dematerialized notebook in 2026?
The dematerialization of the health record should be integrated by the end of 2026 into the child’s digital health space (My health space).
The health record will remain available in paper format, provided to the maternity ward by the departmental councils.
