30 Months Archives - People's Community Clinic

Tips for your 2.5 Year Old Child

HELP ME BE HEALTHY.

Look for signs that I’m ready to start using the toilet. I will let you know when I’m ready. If you wait until I’m ready to start teaching me to use the toilet, it will be much easier for both of us. I will let you know I’m ready when I can:

Stay dry for a few hours after emptying my bladder.
Tell you, “I’m wet” or “I have to use the potty.”
Pull my pants down and up.
Understand and follow your directions when you tell me “Go into the bathroom,” “Wipe,” or “Pull up your pants.”

At first, I may not even go when I sit on the toilet. I need time to get used to sitting on the toilet first. Be patient with me. There are books at the library about toilet training that could answer many of your questions.

TAKE CARE OF MY TEETH.

It may be time for my 6 month dentist visit. Regular visits help me keep my teeth healthy and keep little cavities from becoming big cavities. Remember to brush my teeth every day and limit my sweet drinks and snacks.

FEED ME OFTEN, I GET HUNGRY OFTEN.

I will usually eat three meals and two or three snacks a day.
Snacks that are good for me are cheese, yogurt, juice, unsweetened cereal, fruits, and vegetables cut into small pieces, or part of a sandwich. Don’t give me a lot of soft drinks, cookies, and candy. Sport drinks aren’t good for me either.
I’m teaming what foods taste like. There will be some foods that I don’t like now. There are some foods you don’t like either. If I’m a picky eater, I might try a new food if you give me a very small serving I’m more willing to try a new food if I know you won’t force me to eat it. I like it when you give me a taste of the food from your plate.

HELP ME BE SAFE.

Teach me what to do if someone is touching me in a way I don’t like. I’m the boss of my own body. If I don’t like the way someone is touching me, I should tell you right away.
When you cook on the stove, turn the pot handles to the center of the stove. Don’t leave spoons or other things hanging over the edge of a pot. I can pull on the handles and spill hot liquid over me.
When I do have an accident, such as touching a hot oven and burning my fingers, help me understand what happened. Explain that if I touch the oven when it is hot, I will get burned.
Empty ashtrays. You don’t want me playing with cigarette ashes.
Empty drinking glasses and take away drink cans.
Look at the toys in my toy box. Are there any broken toys? Fix them or throw them away. Do any toys have sharp edges? Be sure all my toys are safe for me to use.

PLAY WITH ME, IT HELPS ME LEARN.

Read me stories every day. I like to pick out my favorites. I like to hear them over and over again. I like to have my very own books.
Sing songs like “London Bridge” and “Ring Around the Rosie.”
Play “Copy Me” games in front of the mirror.
Let me help you around the house. I can pick up my clothes and toys or put napkins on the table. Give me a job to do.
Help me learn the names of new people, colors, feelings, animals, planes and other things.
Listen to what I say, even if it doesn’t make sense to you.

THINK ABOUT PRESCHOOL FOR ME.

Now is the time to start looking for a preschool for me. You can look in the phonebook yellow pages under the heading of schools, preschools, or child care to find a list. You can also call the Day Care Information Line at 1-800-862-5252. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services also has a statewide list of regulated child care facilities on their website at www.txchildcaresearch.org. You can get this list also by calling 2-1-1. Not all parents want to use preschool. They may want to think about the Mother’s Day Out Program.

WATCH HOW I GROW.

I’m learning what is important to me.
If there are some things on this list I can’t do yet, talk to my doctor or nurse. To find a nearby Early Childhood Intervention program, call the DARS Help Line toll-free at 1-800-628-5115.

Watch for me to:

Point to different body parts, either on me or one of my dolls.
Say my own name.
Stand and balance.
Put on some clothes that are easy to get on.
Run and jump. When I jump up, I can get both feet off the ground at the same time.
Point to a picture and name something in the picture.
Say two-word phrases like “Play ball”‘ or “Want drink.”
Ask you questions.
Understand and do something you ask me to do, like “Get the doll and bring it to me.”

You might notice that I also:

Say new words, but I may not know the meaning of them.
Eat the same food you eat. I like mine cut into small pieces that I can eat safely with my own little spoon.
Ask to go to the toilet sometimes.

Important information about your 30 month old

Family

Arrange play dates for your child. Timeouts should be used as a quiet time for your child in a neutral area of your home (one minute for each year of age) with no toys or distractions. Explain to your child why they are in timeout but do not talk to them during timeout. All family members should agree on how to discipline your child. Remember to praise your child for good behavior.

Development

Read to your child every day and take them to the library. Make sure to be a good role model for your child. Encourage play with other children but supervise your child; they are not yet ready to share toys. Make sure your child is getting 1 hour of exercise a day. Listen when your child speaks and repeat what they say using correct words to help. Be patient and let them finish their sentences.

Health

Begin toilet training when your child is ready. Change your child often so they learn when his/her diaper or pull-up is dirty. Have them wear clothes easy to take off. Let your child read books on the toilet to help them feel comfortable. Make sure your child washes their hands regularly. They should brush their teeth twice a day using a small amount of fluoride toothpaste. Limit TV and screen time to no more than 1 hour a day. No eating in front of the screen (phone, tablet, TV). Make sure your child is watching educational shows. Your child should sleep 11 to 14 hours a night.

Nutrition

Feed your child 3 healthy meals with 1-2 snacks a day. They should be drinking from a sippy cup, not a bottle. Daily snacks should be fruits, vegetables, turkey/cheese roll-up, and plain or vanilla yogurt (avoid snacks like yakult or danonino). Offer low-fat milk instead of flavored milk. Do not give more than 4oz of 100% juice a day. Never use sweets as a reward. Eating as a family can help you be a good role model of healthy eating for your child.

Safety

Your child should always sit in a backward-facing safety seat until they are ready for a booster seat and should always be sitting in the back. Put sunscreen on your child when playing outside. Make sure your child wears a helmet when riding a bike. Remove/lock up firearms in your home. If you suspect your child put something poisonous in their mouth, call Poison Control. Be sure to have smoke detectors in your home and change batteries every six months. Keep your child in arms reach when they are swimming or in the bath.

Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222

Questions for the nurse? Call 512-478-4939 Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. After 4:30 pm and on weekends, call the Seton Call Center at 512-324-3461.

Download PDF here.

Gun Safety

Gun Safety is Important!

Did you know that one-third of all families in American that have children also have guns?

Teach your children that they should not touch guns.

If they see a gun, they should leave it alone and tell an adult.

Talk to your child about the difference between real and fake or toy guns.

Real people can get hurt or killed if real guns are used.
The guns on TV and in video games are fake and people are pretending or not real.
Some toy guns look very real. Even adults can’t always tell the difference.
The best rule is not to touch any guns.

Parent talking to child about gun safety If your children play at another home, talk to the parents about gun safety.

Treat every gun as if it were loaded.

Always store guns unloaded.

Lock guns in a rack or safe, and hide the keys or combination.

Store bullets away from guns and keep them locked.

Don’t keep guns in your home if someone in your family may be violent, or has a mental illness or severe depression.

Potty Training

Wait until your child is ready. He or she:

knows the words “pee, “poop,” “wet,” “dry,” “potty. “
knows what the potty is for
likes clean dry diapers better than wet ones.
comes to you when he or she is wet or dirty.
shows the need to pee or poop: jumping, holding himself, squatting.
starts to wake up from naps dry.
goes off alone to pee or poop.

Get some things you will need:

A potty chair that sits on the floor.
Books to read like, Once Upon a Potty, Everybody Poops, The Potty Book.
Treats and stickers for rewards.
“Big boy” or “big girl” pants.

Training toilet

Practice going to the potty.

When your child wakes up dry from a nap.
About 20 minutes after eating.
When they seems to need to pee or poop (by the way their face looks, or by the way they move).

Say, “Let’s go use the potty.”

Walk the child to the potty.
Take off diapers or pants.
Read a story or sing a song so they can sit for a while.
If the child wants to get up, let them. Do not make them to stay there.
Practice for only about 5 minutes.

Say “Good job!” when he or she tries.

Give rewards for using the potty.

How to keep your child in one piece

WALK SAFE.

Always look both ways when you cross the street. Hold hands in streets and parking lots!
Always wear white clothes when you walk at night.
Never play by the curb, at a bus stop, or by railroad tracks.

RIDE SAFE.

Car crashes are the biggest danger for children 5 to 15 years old.
Always wear seatbelts!
Always put young children in safety seats.
Never ride in the back of a pick-up!

PLAY SAFE.

Always wear a helmet when you ride a bike.
Always wear a lifejacket on a boat or by water.
Never leave a child alone in a tub or pool.

There are some dangers in your child’s world, and you can help them be safe.

Your Guide to Raising a Healthy Eater

Having young children is one of the hardest and most rewarding times of your life! Between working and taking care of your family’s needs, it’s sometimes easy to forget to make sure everything is on track. That’s where this guide comes in handy. Written with information from doctors, nutritionists, and moms who have been there, this is a great guide to help your child become a healthy eater. The more your kids grow, the more you will want to know!

In this guide, you will learn:

Helping Your Child Develop Healthy Food Habits

Healthy Foods for a Healthy Plate

Physical Activity for your Child

Behaviors That Help Families Stay Healthy

Download Guide

Protect your children from lead poison

LEAD IS POISON TO:

Red Blood Cells
Kidneys
Reproductive Organs
Bones
The Brain
Even Children Who Are Not Born Yet!
Children, Especially Under the Age of 6

LEAD IS FOUND IN:

Some Peeling Paint
Batteries
Lead Pipes
Bullets and Lead Weights
Folk Remedies
Food Grown in Contaminated Soil
Lead-Glazed Pottery or Pewter Dishes

YOU CAN PROTECT YOUR CHILD!

Have your child’s blood tested for lead.

Peeling Paint

Cover areas that have peeling paint with paneling, wallpaper, or sheet-rock
Do not remove peeling lead-based paint yourself. Lead dust can be deadly if you breathe it in.

Food

Feed your child three healthy meals and two nutritious snacks each day. Your child’s stomach absorbs more lead when it is empty.
Give your child foods high in iron (like beans, fortified cereals, and raisins) and calcium (like milk, yogurt, and cheese). Calcium and iron help keep lead out of your child’s blood.
Wash fruits and vegetables before eating. Wash hands before meals.

Other

Do not use water from the hot tap for drinking, cooking, or preparing infant formula.
Do not cook or store food in cans, pottery, ceramics, or leaded crystal. Some cans have seams made with lead. Some pottery (including Mexican beanpots), ceramics, and crystal also contain lead.
Do not let your children play near abandoned autos or with automobile batteries or radiators.
Plant grass and shrubs over bare dirt in the yard.
Damp-mop floors often and clean surfaces with a strong household cleaner.

Who can I call if I have questions about lead?

Your local health department
Your doctor
Texas Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at 1-800-588-1248

The 5 FIND Elements of Serve and Return

The early years of a child’s life are important because their brains are growing. The experiences that a child has affects how their brain grows. One of the most important things adults do to support healthy brain development is called Serve and Return. Children serve when they do something, say something, or look at something. Adults return the serve when they respond. It’s these everyday moments that promote healthy brain development in young children.

Woman and child playing with a dandelion

Sharing a Child's Focus

This happens when you notice a child’s serve, and get interested in what they are doing, seeing, or feeling.

Noticing serves helps you identify a child’s interests and needs, and gives you an opportunity to respond.

Mother and father helping baby eat a banana

Supporting and Encouraging

You give support when you comfort a child, provide them with something they want or need, or help them do or understand something.

You encourage a child when you praise them, play with them, or acknowledge them.

Returning serves with support and encouragement strengthens your relationship with a child.

Naming

Naming happens when you provide a word or label for what a child is doing, seeing, or feeling.

Returning serves with naming helps build language. Naming feelings helps children learn about their emotions and how to cope with them.

Man holding out a blue ball to young child

Back and Forth

Once you return a serve with support, encouragement, or naming, interactions often go Back and Forth. Waiting for a child to respond gives them time to come up with their own ideas and responses.

These longer interactions build thinking, language, and social skills.

Baby crawling on ground with woman behind him encouraing

Endings and Beginnings

This happens when a child shows you they are all done with one activity, they serve by showing interest in something new, and you join them in the new activity.

Child led Endings and Beginnings encourages a child to explore their environment, and can help transitions go more smoothly.

Logo for People's Community Clinic

Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND) is a strengths-based, video coaching program for parents and other caregivers of young children.

To participate in FIND offered at PCC, contact: Celina Nance 512-684-1749

Domestic Violence is a Crime

Domestic Violence is a Crime

It may begin gradually as verbal or emotional attacks. It can start when your pregnant or when your baby is born. However, domestic violence is not okay.

What is Abuse?

Emotional Abuse
- Constant criticism and jealousy
- Making you feel bad and blaming you for when you are not at fault
- Being lied to, punished, or threatened
Isolation
- Preventing you from seeing friends or family
- Your partner is very jealous of anyone else in your life
Threats
- Your partner threatens your family, friends, pets, or property
Economic Abuse
- Your control over money or income is threatened
Physical Abuse
- Pushing, slapping, kicking, biting, restraining, use of weapon against your, or having things thrown at you
Sexual Abuse
- You are forced to have sex or your partner refuses to practice birth control
Property Destruction
- Smashing, destroying, stealing, or damaging things you value

Truths About Abuse

No one deserves abuse
Domestic violence is not mutual – it is not just an argument or a lover’s quarrel.
People who stay in abusive relationships do not enjoy violence – leaving is not simple, some people are too frightened while others hope the abuse will stop.
Abuse can be found in all parts of the community – people from any social group can be abused.
There is no excuse for violent behavior – violence is a choice, the abusive person is responsible for their actions.

If You are a Victim or a Survivor of Abuse

You are not to blame for another person’s violence.

You have the right to a safe, healthy relationship.

You deserve to be treated with respect.

Make a safety plan in case you need to leave quickly.

Establish contacts with friends/family to go to in an emergency.

Consider getting a protective order to protect yourself.

A pregnant belly being cradled by female hands

Abuse and Pregnancy

For 1 of every 3 women who are abused, the first abuse happens during pregnancy

An unhealthy relationship is not just physically hurtful. All abuses are dangerous to your well being and the well being of your unborn child.

Being abused before or during your pregnancy increases your risk of miscarriage, anemia, infections, bleeding during the first two trimesters, and having a low birth weight baby.

One hand reaching out and grabbing another in support

Reach Out for Support

You are not alone. Support and help are here.
Call the Safe Place 24 hour help line: 512-267-7233
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-700-7233
Austin Police Department Victim Services: 512-974-5037
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services: 1-800-252-5400
United Way Capitol Area: 211.
Dial 911 in an emergency.

This brochure is based on information provided by Safe Place.

Choosing the Right Seat for Your Child

REAR FACING CAR SEAT

Children under the age of 2 years should ride in an infant-only carrier-type rear facing car seat in the back seat.
Convertible car seats can also be used, but the rear facing setting should be used for children under 2 years old and under the maximum requirement for rear facing.

Illustration of a rear facing car seat

FORWARD FACING CAR SEAT

Forward-facing car seats are for children between 2-4 years old and 40-80 pounds.
Forward-facing car seats should only be used in the back seat.

Illustration of a forward facing car seat

BOOSTER SEAT

Booster seats should be used with children after age 4 and over 40 pounds.
Booster seats must be used with the adult lap and shoulder belt.
Booster seats should only be used in the back seat.

Illustration of a booster seat

SEAT BELT

Seat belts can be used after age 10 and your child is 4’9” tall.
Lap belts should be positioned low over the hips and tops of thighs.
Shoulder belt should cross the center of the shoulder and chest.

Illustration of a seat belt in a car

ALL children younger than age 13 should ride properly restrained in the back seat.

NEVER place a car seat in the front passenger seat.

For additional information and assistance contact EMS Car Safety Checks and Infant Safety Education at 512-972-7233 or www.atcems.org.

For other car seat check option call Dell Children’s Medical Center 512-324-8687 or Safe Riders 1-800-252-8255.

Never leave a child alone in a car!