Well Check-Up / 3 Year Olds

DIET/NUTRITION

Children should drink no more than 24 ounces of milk each day, although less milk is ok if they have 2-3 servings of other dairy products. Because toddlers are often picky eaters, mealtime can be a struggle if your child does not want to eat what is served. Continue to offer your child foods from different food groups every day, including fruits and vegetables. Don’t be alarmed if your child refuses a certain food more than once. Many children will eventually try something that they have refused as many as 10 times in the past! Limiting juice intake to no more than 4-6 of 100% fruit or vegetable juice can improve appetite and prevent cavities. If your child refuses to eat at mealtime, you may have to allow him to get down and leave his plate for later. Let him know that when he gets hungry, he may try again to eat his meal, but try to avoid giving him sweets or snacks if he fusses again later. More than anything, mealtime should be pleasant, so try to establish simple rules and sit down together as a family and relax.

DEVELOPMENT

Most three year olds can alternate feet when going up steps, pedal a tricycle, copy a circle, undress completely, and dress themselves partially. Vocabulary usually includes more than 200 words from which they should be able to make 3 word sentences and use pronounces (I, you, me, she, he, etc.) correctly. Your child’s language should be around 75% understandable to a stranger. In addition, at this age children should be able to play well with others, including sharing toys and taking turns. It remains important to read to your child every day.

BEHAVIOR/DISCIPLINE

Provide clear and easy to understand rules for your child and make consequences consistent for bad behavior. Praise for good behavior often works better than punishment for bad behavior, but make sure you carry out whatever penalty you have discussed for broken rules, so your child learns that bad behavior will not be tolerated and takes your rules seriously. Using time-outs at this age is often effective with the general rule being one minute of time-out for each year of age.

DENTAL CARE

At this age, it is very important regularly to clean your child’s teeth at bedtime, using a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with fluoride. It is important for an adult to go over all the teeth, especially the back teeth, to make sure all are cleaned. By age 3, all children should be visiting the dentist every 6 months.

POTTY TRAINING

Some three year olds are already potty-trained and some have not yet shown much interest. If your child is already working on it, give lots of praise and encouragement for any effort. If your child has not yet shown interest, consider getting a special potty or potty seat and letting him sit on it with clothes or a diaper on until he gets used to it. Talk often about how “big girls” and “big boys” use the potty and consider reading a book or watching a video about potty training. When your child begins to have luck with urinating when sitting on the toilet, take him often and try to give him the chance to empty his bladder before having an accident. It takes time before kids get comfortable sitting on a toilet and until they understand what is supposed to happen when they sit there, and it takes more time before they can tell an adult ahead of time that they need to use the potty. Most children become dry during the daytime weeks or months before they are dry at nighttime. Be positive and patient during this process and remember that all children are different and will potty train at different ages.

SAFETY

Children should remain in the backseat with a car seat with 5 point restraints (straps that come over their shoulders and hook together in a latch between their legs) until they are at least 4 years old and 40 pounds. Three years olds can be forward-facing and should always ride in the backseat. Teach good behavior from an early age by requiring your child to wear a helmet if he rides a tricycle or bicycle. Make sure smoke detectors work in the home and change the batteries at least twice yearly. Use sunscreen with SPF greater than 30 and insect repellent when necessary. Never let a child out of your sight near any water.