Five and Six Year Old Visit

School Readiness

• Talk to your pediatrician about any concerns you have about school readiness.  If you child has special needs, you may have already been receiving services.  If not, make contacts with your school system to discuss what is available to help your child.

• Prepare your child for school by driving by the school building, touring the school, preparing supplies and talking about new routines.

• Predictable routines, including bedtime are important during school years.  Teach your child to prepare for school the night before.  Have a place where things that need to go to school with the child can be found.

• Set aside time each day to review what has happened in school, or to help your child organize any homework assignments.

• Talk to your child about relationships with other children.  Be aware of any bullying that might be occurring at school and report it to the teacher.

• Teach your child how to handle conflict at school by talking it out, going outside to play, or walking away.  

• Be sure before or after school care is safe and positive.

• Be involved with your child’s teacher and school.  Make it a habit now to attend parent teacher conferences, school open houses, and other school functions.

Parenting

• Talk with your partner about routines and traditions you liked as a child.  Decide which traditions you will observe with your family.  Your child will look forward to these times.

• Show affection in your home.

• Be a positive ethical and behavioral role model for your child.  Model anger management by talking through problems.  Do not allow hitting, kicking, biting, or other violent behaviors.  

• Teach your child the difference between right and wrong.  The goal of discipline is to teach appropriate behavior, not to punish the child.

• Children should be assigned chores to teach them responsibility.  Chores should be easily accomplished and age appropriate.

Nutrition

• Your child should eat breakfast.  This will help them learn and be successful in school.

• Help your child make appropriate food choices.  Aim for five servings of fruits and vegetables.  Choose whole grain cereals and bread. 

• Limit high fat and low nutrient foods, such as candy, junk food, fast food, and sugary drinks.

• Make sure your child gets enough calcium.  Children ages 4-8 need about two cups of low fat milk each day. Low fat yogurt and cheese are a good alternative to milk.  Limit or avoid fruit juice.

• Fresh fruit is a good choice for snacking.   Keep cut up vegetables and pick up snacks like raisins to have on hand.

Exercise

• Encourage at least an hour of physical activity every day.  It doesn’t have to be all at one time.  Encourage your child to do something every day that makes him sweat!

• Limit TV and computer time or match every 30 minutes of TV time with 30 minutes of physical activity. 

• Be aware of violence and inappropriate content in video games or on TV.

• Encourage physical activities with the whole family.

Safety

• Begin to teach your child safe street habits.  Stop at the curb.  Look left and right and then left again.  Your child is still too young to cross without a grown up watching.

• Make sure your child has a safe place to wait for the school bus.  Adult supervision is important for getting on and off of the bus.

• The backseat continues to be the safest place for your child to ride, until age 13.  The child should be in a belt positioning booster seat until the safety belt fits well, usually when the child is 4 feet 9 inches tall.

• Be sure your child wears appropriate safety equipment when biking, skating, skiing, snowboarding or horseback riding.  Never let your child ride in the street.  If you cannot afford a helmet please ask someone at Southern Indiana Pediatrics.

• Now is the time to teach your child to swim.  Your child should always be supervised when swimming and should never swim in fast moving water.

• When boating, be sure your child is wearing a US Coast Guard approved life jacket at all times.

• Be sure that swimming pools have a four sided fence with self closing and latching gates.  

• Continue to use sunscreen before your child goes outside to play or swim.

• Teach your child that the parts of their body under a swim suit are private and they are the only one in charge of them.  Teach them to tell a parent or another adult if someone tries to touch them or asks them to touch.  Teach your child is never appropriate for someone to ask them to keep a secret from you.

• Check smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and have a working fire extinguisher in the house.

• Practice an escape plan from your house in case of fire.  Teach your children to “stop, drop and roll” if their clothing would ever catch on fire.

• Keep matches and lighters away from children.

• Do not expose your child to second hand smoke.  Keep your house and car smoke free.  If you smoke and want to quit, please ask us for resources.

Oral Health

• Your child may now be able to brush without supervision.  Brush teeth twice per day.  Teach your child to floss at least once per day.

• Visit your dentist twice per year.

• If your child has special needs talk to your pediatrician and dentist about how to promote good oral health.

• Seek dental attention for any accidental injury to the teeth.