Well-child care can be a positive influence on parent-child relationships when social, psychological, and emotional health are stressed. Because of its brevity, the traditional well-child visit does not offer adequate opportunities to address these issues. A group format, in which four to six parent-infant pairs meet, changes the character of the child health maintenance visit. Advantages of group visits include increased time for patient education, more active parental participation, greater time for the physician to observe parents and their children, and more reassurance for parents that they and their children are normal. Problems of group visits are those of space and scheduling. Few pediatric offices have ideal space for group visits, so many visits take place in cramped quarters. Siblings can be disruptive to the group and should be excluded. A dedicated receptionist and an efficient nurse are essential if the groups are to run smoothly. Because the visits last one to one-and-one-half hours, only one group visit can be scheduled during a half day. Although parents of varied socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds benefit from group visits, this format appears to be most acceptable to white, middle-class families. The content of group visits is somewhat dependent upon parental questions and concerns; however, the physician must be careful to include important issues that do not usually arise spontaneously. These topics usually include safety, disease prevention, and anticipatory guidance. Although group visits may not fit every practice, the format does offer to both obstetricians and pediatricians some exciting possibilities. The increased patient-provider contact and the increased patient participation help establish better rapport, better educate families about health, and hopefully, will produce better babies.
当强调社会、心理和情感健康时，健康儿童保健对亲子关系可产生积极影响。由于传统的健康儿童访视时间较短，无法提供足够的机会来解决这些问题。一种由四到六对母婴组成的小组形式改变了儿童健康维护访视的性质。小组访视的优点包括有更多时间进行患者教育、家长更积极参与、医生有更多时间观察家长及其子女，以及让家长更确信他们和孩子都很正常。小组访视的问题在于空间和日程安排。很少有儿科诊所拥有适合小组访视的理想空间，所以很多访视都是在狭小的空间里进行。兄弟姐妹可能会干扰小组，应予以排除。如果小组访视要顺利进行，需要有一名专门的接待员和一名高效的护士。由于访视持续一到一个半小时，半天内只能安排一次小组访视。尽管不同社会经济和文化背景的家长都能从小组访视中受益，但这种形式似乎对白种中产阶级家庭最为适用。小组访视的内容在一定程度上取决于家长的问题和关注点；然而，医生必须注意纳入一些通常不会自发出现的重要问题。这些话题通常包括安全、疾病预防和预期指导。尽管小组访视可能并不适用于所有诊所，但这种形式确实为产科医生和儿科医生提供了一些令人兴奋的可能性。增加医患接触以及提高患者参与度有助于建立更好的融洽关系，更好地让家庭了解健康知识，并且有望孕育出更健康的宝宝。
