Important information about your 4 year old child
Family
Go out to parks, museums, or libraries as a family. Timeouts should be used as quiet time for your child in a neutral area of the house (one minute for each year of age) with no toys or distractions. Do not talk to them when they are in timeout. Explain to them afterwards why they were in timeout. If timeouts do not work, use reward charts or praise behavior, or take away toys for unacceptable behavior.
Development
Children imitate their parents, so it is important to model good behavior for your child. They may have frequent changes in emotion, so praise them for being sensitive towards the feelings of others. Read together everyday and let your child play with other children. Prepare your child for school; sing together the ABCs, teach them their colors and how to count to 10. Speak to your child using clear words and sentences. Talk to your provider if you are interested in preschool or Head Start for your child.
Health
Limit TV and screen time to no more than 1 hour a day. Have your child play outside every day instead of watching TV. Do not allow your child to eat in front of a screen (phone, tablet, TV) and no TV in the bedroom. Take your child to the dentist every six months and make sure they are brushing their teeth twice a day. You should brush their teeth after them until they are seven years old. Limit how much juice they drink. Juice has a lot of sugar and can cause cavities. Teach your child to wash their hands often. At this age, your child’s curiosity about genitals is normal but not in public. If they are exploring in public, gently redirect, and do not make them feel ashamed.
Nutrition
Your child should eat 3 meals with 2-3 healthy snacks a day. Allow your child to decide on how much to eat. Avoid using sweets and snacks as rewards for good behavior; it can cause bad habits. Offer healthy snacks like veggies, fruits, turkey/cheese roll-up and plain or vanilla yogurt (avoid snacks like yakult or danonino). Give your child less than 16 oz of low-fat milk a day. Limit their juice to 4oz a day and no sodas.
Safety
Your child should still be sitting in the back seat of the car. Your child should always cross the street with an adult. Remove any guns from your home, or keep guns and bullets locked separately. Teach your child about “stranger danger”. Tell them that no adult should ask them to keep secrets and no one should touch/see their private parts. Your child should wear a helmet when riding a bike.
Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222
After Hours and Weekends
After 4:00 PM and before 8:00 AM
For medical advice when People’s is closed call After Hours Nurse line at 512-478-4939
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