Skills

• Dresses with little (buttons and laces) help.

• Brush teeth with little help

• Walks along a low wall or curb.

• Rides a tricycle.

• Hops and jumps on one foot.

• Names 4 colors.

• Builds a tower of 10 blocks.

• Throws a ball overhand.

• Copies a cross or a circle.

• Speaks understandable in 4-5 word sentences and can tell a story about day’s activities.

• Manages daytime toilet needs. May be dry at night.

• Plays cooperatively with others for 15-30 minutes.

• Offer a wide variety of foods, including healthy snacks. Leave cut up fruits or vegetables low in the refrigerator for snacks. Limit high-fat foods and concentrated sweets such as candy, chips, soft drinks, or juice. I can prepare my own cereal if bowls and spoons are kept low and if milk is kept in a small pitcher.

• Talk about healthy choices at the grocery store as you choose your foods. Let me make choices from several acceptable alternatives for snacks and drinks.

• Sit down to family meals when you can. This is a good time to build family closeness, talk about the day, and catch up on feelings and activities. Try to keep meals positive.

• I can set and clear the table with supervision. I like to help. Include me in preparing the meal when possible.

• Brush my teeth twice daily using a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with fluoride on a soft toothbrush. Parents still need to supervise brushing and may need to brush once a day to make sure I brush the back teeth as well. Flossing still requires adult help, too.

• Dental visits are needed every 6 months.

• Regular or frequent thumb or finger sucking should be discussed with my doctor.

• Show affection for other members of the family. Encourage good relationships between my sisters and brothers. Acknowledge conflict, but do not allow hitting, biting, or other violent behavior.

• Handle anger constructively in the family. Model good behavior.

• Try to spend 15 minutes of individual time with me, listening and doing something I enjoy.

• Parents need adult time without children. Trade baby-sitting with a trusted relative or friend. This may make parenting less stressful and more fun.

• Remember to enjoy and treasure the fun things I say and do. It’s easy to become caught up in the daily hassles.

• Read to me at least 20 minutes a day. Keep reading even after I can read for myself. Let me see you read as well.

• Limit TV to an average of 1 hour per day. Watch quality shows. Talk with me about what you see and how it makes you think and feel.

• I usually need 10 hours of sleep a night and a nap in the afternoon, though I may be growing out of that nap.

• Establish a bedtime routine such as bath, brush teeth, story, hugs and kisses, and bedtime. I am comforted by routines. Limit night TV or vigorous play just before bedtime.

• I should be able to stay in my bed at night.

• Establish and enforce exact, firm, consistent rules for safe behavior.

• Never let me stay alone in a car.

• Keep poisons, matches, and alcohol out of reach and out of sight. Keep the poison control number near your phone (1-800-POISON-1).

• Test smoke alarms and change batteries twice a year.

• It is best if guns are kept out of homes with children. If this is not possible, all guns should be stored unloaded and locked, with ammunition kept separately.

• Keep your house and car smoke free.

• Teach first and last name, address, and phone number.

• Chose caregivers carefully. Discuss with them your attitudes about discipline and behavior. Do not allow spanking or hitting for discipline. Make unscheduled and unannounced visits to my daycare.

• Always use a booster seat (until I am 80 pounds or the car seat straps fit appropriately).

• Have me wear a bicycle helmet when I’m riding a tricycle or bike.

• Teach neighborhood, playground, and street safety skills. Always supervise play near streets and driveways.

• Never leave me alone in or around swimming or wading pools or in the bathtub.

• Teach me to swim, but don’t expect me to be "drown-proof." I will still need supervision.

• Be positive. Praise me for cooperation and accomplishments. Catch me behaving well and acknowledge it. Positive discipline teaches me to discipline myself. Spend time with me doing something we both enjoy.

• Encourage me to talk about my experiences with friends, daycare, and family relationships.

• Read with me and discuss feelings and reactions with the characters.

• Establish and enforce consistent, clear, firm rules for safety.

• Try to ignore negative behaviors that do not hurt others (such as whining).

• Set developmentally appropriate limits. When setting limits, try to distract me from undesirable behavior. Use gentle restraint or remove an object from me until I can control myself.

• Talk about body parts and sense of naughtiness, but recognize that "sex talk" is private about should be discussed at home.

• Teach me to manage anger and resolve problems without yelling or violence. Be a good role model.

• Encourage assertiveness without excessive aggression.

• Provide some type of structured learning environment for me. Try day care, Head start, preschool, Sunday school, or a playgroup.

• Parenting classes and support groups are available for free or at low cost. These boost skills and confidence.

• I can now appreciate some natural consequences – for example, no dinner means that I am hungry at bedtime, throwing toys means broken toys that will get thrown away.

• All immunizations should be complete for school attendance with this well child visit. I may need booster or new vaccines as the teen years approach.

• Dress without help.

• Know is or her own address and phone number.

• Count on fingers.

• Recognize most letters of the alphabet.

• Play make-believe and dress-up.

• Print some letters of the alphabet.

• Use four to five word sentences and use past tense.

• Know common colors.