Bright Futures

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Bright Futures is a national health promotion and prevention initiative, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics and supported, in part, by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)​, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)​. The Bright Futures Guidelines provide theory-based and evidence-driven guidance for all preventive care screenings and well-child visits. Bright Futures content can be incorporated into many public health programs such as home visiting, child care, school-based health clinics, and many others. Materials developed especially for families are also available.​  

 Features
  • For Professionals

    • Bright Futures Implementation Tip Sheets

      These NEW and UPDATED tip sheets offer practical advice to help you integrate the Bright Futures approach, tools and resources into your daily practice.Learn more

    • Bright Futures Tool and Resource Kit, 2nd Edition NEW!

      Completely updated Toolkit corresponding with the Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition, with key documents that work as an integrated system to assist a health care professional carry out an efficient Bright Futures health supervision visit.Learn more

    • Bright Futures Guidelines

      At your fingertips, this manual provides the most respected recommendations for the top 12 areas of child development in 1 volume, along with the most up-to-date well-child supervision standards by visit. PDF versions are now available for reference.Learn more

    • Medical Screening Reference Tables

      The tables provide an easy-to-use reference table for each Bright Futures well-child visit. Each table compiles the relevant history, risk assessment questions, and action to take if the risk assessment shows a positive result.Learn more

    • Bright Futures Webinars

      Make sure to sign up for the latest Bright Futures webinars beginning in April 2017. Learn about the revised and updated Bright Futures Guidelines, 4th Edition from the editors themselves. Learn more

    • Bright Futures EQIPP Courses

      These courses are designed to help physicians interpret the Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents into everyday practice, with practical suggestions for implementation.Learn more

    • Implementing Bright Futures in Public Health

      Professionals can hear recorded audio stories of Bright Futures implementations and read highlights of how Bright Futures is being used by state agencies as the standard for well-child care and as essential content throughout many public health programs. Learn more

    • Performing Preventive Services

      Designed to accompany Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 3rd Edition, this manual provides effective ways to deliver the preventive services that are suggested in the Guidelines.Learn more
  • For Families

    • The Well-Child Visit: Why Go and What to Expect

      This NEW handout, The Well-Child Visit: Why Go and What to Expect, helps families prepare for their regular check-ups. This tip sheet is available in English and Spanish.Learn more

    • Bright Futures Activity Book—Available in English and Spanish

      To encourage parent-child interaction, the Bright Futures Activity Book provides a fun, informative, and interactive overview of the 10 themes from the Bright Futures Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 3rd Edition.Learn more

 Highlights and Announcements

  • February 13, 2020

    NEW ONLINE COURSE – Milestones Matter: Don’t Underestimate Developmental Surveillance
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    The AAP offers a FREE online     PediaLink course that highlights the importance of developmental surveillance as an essential component of the new recommendations in the clinical report titled, “Promoting Optimal Development: Identifying Infants and Young Children with Developmental Disorders Through Developmental Surveillance and Screening.”  This course will help pediatricians recognize the value of early identification and intervention when developmental delays are suspected, and to identify the key surveillance and screening steps to incorporate into practice. Participants are eligible for 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and 1 Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 2 points.​

  • February 12, 2020

    Conversations About Care Podcast – New Episode

    The Conversations About Care Podcast, created by AAP Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight in partnership with Bright Futures, highlights pragmatic and lively conversations between health care providers about important themes. They identify practical, practice related strategies associated with healthy childhood weight and share resources to support patient-centered care within the changing landscape of medicine and social norms.

    In this conversation Sandy is joined by Natalie Muth, MD, FAAP, a dual-board certified pediatrician, registered dietitian, obesity medicine physician and a lead author of the AAP policy titled "Public Policies to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption in Children and Adolescents". Dr. Muth is also the current Chair of the AAP Section on Obesity. Sandy and Natalie discuss current recommendations and strategies for addressing sugary drink consumption with families in a primary care setting. They also discuss national policy and advocacy recommendations that are on the horizon.

    To listen, visit the podcast webpage https://ihcw.aap.o​rg/Pages/Podcast.aspx. ​

  • February 12, 2020

    Empowering Families to Make Healthier Food Choices through WIC

    As part of the Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight Webinar Series, we are excited to announce the “Empowering Families to Make Healthier Food Choices through WIC" webinar. The webinar will provide understanding of WIC and how it is related to obesity prevention, eligibility criteria, current data trends, as well as explain ways pediatricians can partner with WIC to facilitate enrollment and improve care for patients.

    Faculty for the webinar include Darlena Birch, MBA, RDN, Elisabet Eppes, MPH from the National WIC Association and Sandra Hassink, MD, FAAP as the moderator.

    The webinar will take place live on Thursday, February 13, 2020 at 1p.m. ET.

    If you are unable to attend live, recording of the webinar will be posted on IHCW website here.

    Registration link: https://aap.webex.com/aap/onstage/g.php?MTID=e215342f68d7108f30f282c6d61ba4395 ​

  • February 12, 2020

    “Early Child Nutrition: From Birth to Two Years" Webinar

    Join us for a Healthy Childhood Weight Webinar Series webinar with Dr Heather Hamner, the author of the article titled “Dietary quality among children from 6 months to 4 years, NHANES 2011–2016" that was published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Dr Hamner will highlight key findings from the article and her other research work. Additional discussion will focus on implications for pediatric care as well as policy implications.

    Faculty: Heather Hamner, PhD, MS, MPH (CDC), Sandra Hassink, MD, FAAP (AAP), Carol Dreibelbis, MPH (1000 Days)

    The webinar will take place live on Wednesday, February 26 2020, at 12p.m. ET.

    If you are unable to attend live, recording of the webinar will be posted on IHCW website here.

    Registration Link: https://aap.webex.com/aap/onstage/g.php?MTID=e68bed4bbf17d1589c352cba5fa168f5f ​

  • February 12, 2020

    2020 Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule Now Available

    The 2020 recommended childhood and adolescent immunizatio​n schedules have been approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

    See the full AAP policy statement online in Pediatrics.


  • February 12, 2020

    Family Media Toolkit Offers Free Posters and Hand-outs on Media Use in Children

    Technology is a big part of families' daily lives, and parents are looking for realistic ways to manage media and devices at home. That's why the AAP, led by the Council on Communications and Media, developed the Family Media Use Plan Tool, to offer parents an interactive tool to help guide their children's media use. And in partnership with Common Sense Media, we are bringing those recommendations to pediatricians in a form perfect for waiting rooms and exam tables with the Family Media Toolkit. Please download, print and use these free resources, available in English and Spanish.​

  • February 12, 2020

    AAP 'Developmental Surveillance' Video, Free Resources on Learn the Signs. Act Early. Website ​

    Need help setting up systematic developmental surveillance in your practice? You and your team can learn more about surveillance from AAP's surveillance video as well as how to best integrate it into your practice from CDC's "Learn the Signs. Act Early." resources. You can find the video and several FREE resources at www.cdc.gov/ActEarly/HealthCare. ​

  • February 7, 2020

    AAP recruiting for new E-Cigarette ECHO

    The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) E-cigarette and Vaping ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) serves as a forum for pediatricians, other physicians, and nonphysician clinicians from pediatric primary care practices to address youth e-cigarette use. Using evidence-based clinical interventions, this ECHO will help pediatric clinicians prevent youth initiation and support youth who are already addicted to e-cigarettes. Participating pediatricians will have the opportunity to earn American Board of Pediatrics Part 4 Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit (pending approval) as well as continuing education credits. The program will meet monthly from April – September 2020. Pediatric practices who are interested in improving delivery of e-cigarette support services to adolescents in clinical practices must apply by February 28 .  For more information please see our E-Cigarette Project Flyer and to apply please visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ecigC1. 

  • February 6, 2020

    AAP Substance Use Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) ECHO​

    Join our learning collaborative to help implement and sustain best practices for addressing substance use in adolescents, ages 11 through 21 years.

    To register, please complete this online application by February 14, 2020.

    The American Academy of Pediatrics is recruiting primary care practices to join a 7-month learning collaborative aimed to educate and support primary care providers on adolescent substance use screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) approaches. 

    This program uses the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) modelTM, a telementoring platform that leverages video conference technology to connect subject matter experts with primary care teams in local communities, fostering an “all teach-all learn" approach. This Substance Use SBIRT ECHO will incorporate quality improvement work and will meet monthly from February-August 2020. Participating pediatricians will have the opportunity to earn up to 25 Part 4 Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points, 6 MOC Part 2 points, and 7.o AMA PRA Category 1 Credits​TM (available at no cost).​

    Please contact Shannon Limjuco, ECHO Manager at slimjuco@aap.org or Eileen Glasstetter, Substance Use and Prevention Initiatives Manager at eglasstetter@aap.org for any questions.

  • January 29, 2020

    American Academy of Pediatrics Spina Bifida Webinar Series

    Spina bifida is the most commonly occurring complex congenital birth defect and has been associated with increasing survival rates. This free webinar series​ addresses important care guidelines, and highlights the critical role of pediatricians, subspecialists and other clinicians in caring for individuals with spina bifida. The first webinar in the series focuses on understanding all the body systems and the impact of spina bifida, while providing an overview of the medical and non-medical issues associated with spina bifida. The second webinar highlights the greater role primary care pediatricians can assume in supporting children with spina bifida, and their families, with an emphasis on the valuable role of both the primary care medical home and sub-specialty clinicians in coordinating effective treatment for individuals with spina bifida. Each of the webinar modules are eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 2.

    Learn more and access the webinars by visiting the American Academy of Pediatrics Spina Bifida page.

    For more information, contact Nkem Chineme at nchineme@aap.org. ​

  • January 21, 2020

    Pediatric Providers & Census 2020

    Date: Wednesday 2/19/2020

    Time: 2:00 pm ET/1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT

    Registration link: https://aap.webex.com/aap/onstage/g.php?MTID=e9c4b5db86b29736330ce74c4c8378742

    Join the Council on Community Pediatrics as we learn more about the upcoming 2020 Census. The census count determines how federal funding will be distributed for services and benefits each year. Many go uncounted, particularly young children. As trusted messengers, pediatricians are uniquely positioned to let families know why they should fill out the census form and ensure that everyone is counted.  Participants will learn:

    • What's at stake in the 2020 Census.
    • What service providers can do between now and the Census.
    • Where to find resources.

    Presenters:   Deborah Stein, Network Director of Partnership for America's Children & Deanna Behrens, MD, FAAP

    Please note this webinar does not offer CME or MOC credit. For more information, please contact Dana Bennett-Tejes, dtejes@aap.org.  ​

  • January 8, 2020

    Immunization Social Media Toolkit Recruitment

    Would you like to build support for immunizations, ensure FAQs from your patients' families are answered by you and other trusted sources and free up time in your patient office visits? Is your practice looking to develop or expand its social media presence? You can save time and remain the key source of vaccine information for your patients and families by using the recently-updated AAP Immunization Social Media Toolkit to share resources, videos, memes and more.

    The AAP seeks up to 20 pediatric practices willing to partake in a virtual learning collaborative for 12 weeks, from February to May, 2020.

    In return, your practice will receive:

    • $500 as compensation for your time.
    • Support from the AAP in setting up and using your social media account(s).
    • Access to AAP-member social media experts!
    • The satisfaction of helping other practices start or improve their social media immunization messaging!

      If interested in the learning collaborative please complete this brief questionnaire by January 22nd.  Contact Katie Milewski at kmilewski@aap.org with any questions. Please note we are looking for no more than 20 practices. It is possible not all applicants will be included, as space is limited.

  • January 8, 2020

    ​Policy: Principles of Financing the Medical Home for Children

    A well-implemented and adequately funded medical home not only is the best approach to optimize the health of the individual patient but also can function as an effective instrument for improving population health. Learn more about this policy in AAP News.

  • January 6, 2020

    ​January is National Mentoring Month

    Celebrate mentorship this month by getting involved in the AAP Mentorship Program. We are currently in need of pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists to be mentors. How much you get involved in the program is up to you. You can participate in a formal mentor relationship or do more "flash" mentoring through one-time emails, calls or responding to forum posts. This opportunity, along with many others, can be found on the AAP Volunteer Network.

  • January 6, 2020

    ​AAP opposes federal policy that leaves some flavored e-cigarette products on the market

    Under the policy, cartridge-based menthol products and all flavors in refillable tank-based products will be allowed to remain on the market. AAP President Sara "Sally" H. Goza, M.D., FAAP, called it a "major missed opportunity that will still leave young people at risk for addiction." 

 BRIGHT FUTURES/AAP PERIODICITY SCHEDULE (UPDATED MARCH 2019)
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Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care in Practice​

 About Bright Futures Video

 CORE PRACTICE TOOLS
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Access Core Tools for Each Well-Child Visit

  • Previsit Questionnaires
  • Visit Documentation Forms
  • Parent/Patient Education Handouts
Learn More

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 Screening Time Online Course


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