About this topic
Your childs 2 1/2-year well child exam is a visit with the doctor to check your child's health. The doctor measures your child's weight, height, and head size. The doctor plots these numbers on a growth curve. The growth curve gives a picture of your child's growth at each visit. The doctor may listen to your child's heart, lungs, and belly. Your doctor will do a full exam of your child from the head to the toes. ‚
Your child may also need shots or blood tests during this visit. ‚
General
Growth and Development ‚
Your doctor will ask you how your child is developing. The doctor will focus on the skills that most children your childs age are expected to do. During this time of your child's life, here are some things you can expect. ‚
- Movement ¢ ˆ ’ Your child may:
- Jump with both feet
- Be able to wash and dry hands
- Help when getting dressed
- Throw a ball
- Hearing, seeing, and talking ¢ ˆ ’ Your child will likely:
- Start using I, me, and you
- Know many body parts
- Follow 2 or 3 step directions
- Feelings and behavior ¢ ˆ ’ Your child will likely:
- Enjoy being around other children. Prevent fights over toys by having two of a favorite toy.
- Test rules. Help your child learn what the rules are by having rules that do not change. Make your rules the same all the times. Use a short time out to discipline your toddler.
- Respond to distractions to correct behavior or change a mood.
- Have fewer temper tantrums, mostly when hungry or tired.
- Feeding ¢ ˆ ’ Your child:
- Can start to drink lowfat milk
- Will be eating 3 meals and 1 to 2 snacks a day. However, your child may eat less than before and this is normal.
- Should be given a variety of healthy foods. Let your child decide how much to eat. Your child should be able to eat without help.
- Should have no more than 4 to 6 ounces of fruit juice a day. Do not give your child soda.
- May be able to start brushing teeth. You will still need to help as well. Start using a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with fluoride. Brush your child's teeth 2 to 3 times each day.
- Sleep ¢ ˆ ’ Your child:
- May be ready to sleep in a toddler bed if climbing out of a crib after naps or in the morning
- Is likely sleeping about 10 hours in a row at night and takes one nap during the day
- Potty training ¢ ˆ ’ Your child may be ready for potty training when showing signs like:
- Dry diapers for longer periods of time, such as after naps
- Can tell you the diaper is wet or dirty
- Is interested in going to the potty. Your child may want to watch you or others on the toilet or just sit on the potty chair.
- Can pull pants up and down with help
- Shots or vaccines ¢ ˆ ’ It is important for your child to get shots on time. This protects your child from very serious illnesses like pertussis or some kinds of pneumonia. Your child may need some shots if they were missed earlier. Talk with the doctor to make sure your child is up to date on shots.
Help for Parents ‚
- Play with your child.
- Go outside as often as you can. Throw and kick a ball.
- Make a game out of household chores. Sort clothes by color or size. Race to pick up toys.
- Give your child a tricycle or bicycle to ride. Make sure your child wears a helmet when using anything with wheels like skates, skateboard, bike, etc.
- Read to your child. Rhyming books and touch and feel books are especially fun at this age. Talk and sing to your child. This helps your child learn language skills.
- Give your child crayons and paper to draw or color on. Your child may be able to draw lines or circles.
- Here are some things you can do to help keep your child safe and healthy.
- Schedule a dentist appointment for your child.
- Put sunscreen with a SPF30 or higher on your child at least 15 to 30 minutes before going outside. Put more sunscreen on after about 2 hours.
- Do not allow anyone to smoke in your home or around your child.
- Have the right size car seat for your child and use it every time your child is in the car. Seats with a harness are safer than just a booster seat with a belt.
- Take extra care around water. Never leave your child in the tub alone. Make sure your child cannot get to pools or spas.
- Never leave your child alone. Do not leave your child in the car or at home alone, even for a few minutes.
- Protect your child from gun injuries. If you have a gun, use a trigger lock. Keep the gun locked up and the bullets kept in a separate place.
- Limit screen time for children to 1 to 2 hours per day. This means TV, phones, computers, or video games.
- Parents need to think about:
- Having emergency numbers, including poison control, posted on or near the phone
- How to distract your child when doing something you don 't want your child to do
- Using positive words to tell your child what you want, rather than saying no or what not to do
- The next well child visit will most likely be when your child is 3 years old. At this visit your doctor may:
- Do a full check up on your child
- Talk about limiting screen time for your child, how well your child is eating, and how potty training is going
- Talk about discipline and how to correct your child
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher
- Has trouble walking or only walks on the toes
- Has trouble speaking or following simple instructions
- You are worried about your childs development
Where can I learn more?
American Academy of Pediatrics ‚
http://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/Pages/default.aspx ‚
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ‚
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/milestones-tracker.pdf ‚
Last Reviewed Date
2015-02-02 ‚
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Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care provider 's advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
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Copyright ‚ © 2016 Wolters Kluwer Clinical Drug Information, Inc. and its affiliates and/or licensors. All rights reserved. ‚