THE THREE YEAR VISIT

The Three Year Visit

At the Three Year visit, we will:

• Take your child’s height and weight
• Perform hearing and vision tests
• Take blood pressure

GUIDANCE

Congratulations! You have helped your little one make it through the terrible twos! Even though they will still whine and throw a fit, despite all the great parenting and disciplinary skills you have developed over the last year, you should see the frequency of these outbursts decline. Keep up with feeding your toddler whatever the family is eating so they get all the vitamins and nutrients they need to continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Picky eating is normal for kids of any age. It’s not unusual for it to take 7-16 times of trying a new food (even if it’s a food they liked before) before your toddler will eat it on their own.

Development: At this age, your child will be more helpful with feeding and dressing themselves. And, now that they are speaking in sentences, get ready for a word explosion. A three-year-old’s brain is a sponge, constantly absorbing word and language skills, as you may have noticed from the way they try to say everything you do. So, the more you interact, talk and explain everything you are doing with your toddler, the better vocabulary they will have when they start Pre-K. Make sure you are still reading and singing with your child as much as possible. Help to grow their language skills by letting them tell you a story using pictures in a book, even if it doesn’t match with what the words are saying. In the evenings, encourage your little one to talk about everything they did that day, what friends they played with, where they went…etc.

Physical Activity: Now that your toddler is mobile, (sometimes too mobile) encourage exercise and physical activity throughout the day. By keeping time in front of a television, tablet, phone or computer to less than two hours a day, your child will be sure to get enough physical activity and stimulation to help their body and mind grow. And if they appear to be a blossoming tech genius, find games and activities that you can do as a family on the tablet or smart phone. Make physical activity a family affair as well by going on regular walks together. The more regularly family physical activity is incorporated into your little one’s life, the more likely they will be to keep exercise a priority throughout life.

Safety: Remember all that talk about how active and mobile your three-year-old is? Well, that also means a whole new world of home safety you need to be aware of. If your child sees you using a kitchen utensil, or anything for that matter, they are going to try to copy you. The same goes for when you go into that cabinet full of cleaning supplies, or open and close a window. Make sure to keep cabinets locked and climb-able furniture away from windows to prevent falls.