At Peninsula Pediatrics, we don’t just help your children when they’re sick; we help them, and your whole family, stay well all the time.
Over the last year of your child’s life you have likely noticed a tremendous increase in vocabulary and in the ability to understand what your child is saying. Your three year old will use speech, non-verbal communication and motor skills to navigate and modify their environment. Three year olds are fun, creative, imaginative and curious by nature. They ask a lot of questions and lots of “why?”You may start to feel like you are living with little lawyers who always have creative (albeit not always reasonable) solutions to every problem. Children this age are beginning to grasp the concept of consequences and a sense of right and wrong. Even though your little one has a lot more language, behavior at this age continues to often feel unpredictable. Three year olds have strong opinions and big feelings. Offering small choices such as, “ would you like to wear the train pajamas or the elephant pajamas,” allows children to feel that they have more agency and are included in the decision making process. Children will start to have increased cooperative play. This means they will play together with another child rather than playing with two separate toys in the same physical space (parallel play.) You may hear a lot of “ I want to do it by myself.” Three year olds are exerting their independence and can be more involved in daily activities like getting dressed and feeding themselves.
Pre-visit Questionnaire
Before your visit, you will receive a link to the following questionnaires
PEDS-DM: This questionnaire is a standardized developmental screening that you will receive at all your little one’s well visits from ages 5 weeks to 5 years.
At this visit you should expect your child to
- Have their height and weight measured
- Have a complete physical exam
- Have their vision checked using an instrument based screening tool (Read more about how this works and why it is important)
- Have their blood pressure taken
- Have their hearing checked (Read more about how this works and why it is important)
What vaccines or screening tests should I expect at this visit
There are no vaccines at this visit. The exception is during flu season when the flu vaccine can be given at your child’s well-visit.
Safety and parenting tips
- Provide positive reinforcement. Notice when your child is behaving kindly and praise the behavior.
- Provide your child with the opportunity to make choices and have a say in appropriate decision making processes.
- Encourage interactive games and take turns during cooperative play.
- Continue to avoid choking hazards such as popcorn, whole grapes and circular shaped hotdogs. The safest way for your child to eat is seated and supervised.
- Observe your child when playing outdoors. In the water, always be within arm’s touch of your child. Have a designated adult as a water watcher. On a boat or in a body of water always have your child wear a coast guard approved life jacket.
When is my little one’s next visit?
At this point your child will be seen yearly for their check-ups. If anything comes up in between, you can always reach out to us and/or make an appointment to come in.
