4 Year Visit from Bright Futures Handout Edited By Mark Simonian MD

Getting Reading for School
1. Ask your child to tell you about her or his day, friends, and activities
2. Read books together each day and ask your child questions about the stories
3. Take your child to the library and let him or her choose their own books
4. Give your child plenty of time to finish sentences
5. Listen to and treat your child with respect
6. Model apologizing and help your child do so after hurting someone's feeling
7. Give your child a chance to play with other children their age
8. Consider enrolling your child in a preschool

Your Community
1. Stay involved in your community
2. Use correct terms for all body parts as your child becomes interested in how girls and boys are different
3. Teach your child how to be safe with adults
4. No one should ask for a secret to be kept from parents
5. No one should ask to see private part parts except your child's doctor with supervision
6. No adult should ask for help with his private parts

Healthy Habits
1. Have relaxed family meals without TV
2. Create a calm bedtime routine
3. Have a child brush his or her teeth twice a day with a toothpaste with fluoride
4. Spit out or swallow toothpaste but do not rinse with water

Safety
1. Continue to use safety seat until 8 years of age in the back of all vehicles
2. Never leave your child alone in the car, home, or yard
4. Do not permit your child to cross the street alone
5. Store guns and weapons safely from your children
6. Supervise play near streets and driveway

TV and Media
1. Be active as a family
2. Limit TV time to no more than 2 hours a day
3. Discuss the TV programs you watch as a family
4. No TV in the bedroom
5. Create opportunities for daily play
6. Praise your child for being active

What to Expect at the 5 and 6 year Visit