About this topic
Your childs 5-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:
- Be able to skip
- Hop and stand on one foot
- Use fork and spoon well. May also be able to use a table knife.
- Draw circles, squares, and some letters
- Get dressed without help
- Be able to swing and do a somersault
- Hearing, seeing, and talking ¢ ˆ ’ Your child will likely:
- Be able to tell a simple story
- Know name and address
- Speak in longer sentence
- Understand concepts of counting, same and different, and time
- Know many letters and numbers
- Feelings and behavior ¢ ˆ ’ Your child will likely:
- Like to sing, dance, and act
- Know the difference between what is and is not real
- Want to make friends happy
- Have a good imagination
- Work together with others
- Be better at following rules. Help your child learn what the rules are by having rules that do not change. Make your rules the same all the time. Use a short time out to discipline your child.
- Feeding ¢ ˆ ’ Your child:
- Can drink lowfat or fat-free milk
- Will be eating 3 meals and 1 to 2 snacks a day. Make sure to give your child the right size portions and healthy choices.
- Should be given a variety of healthy foods. Many children like to help cook and make food fun.
- Should have no more than 5 to 6 ounces of fruit juice a day. Do not give your child soda.
- Should eat meals as a part of the family. Turn the TV and cell phone off while eating. Talk about your day, rather than focusing on what your child is eating.
- Sleep ¢ ˆ ’ Your child:
- Is likely sleeping about 10 hours in a row at night. Try to have the same routine before bedtime. Read to your child each night before bed. Have your child brush teeth before going to bed as well.
- May have bad dreams or wake up at night.
- 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:
- DTaP or diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine
- IPV or polio vaccine
- MMR or measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine
- Chickenpox or varicella vaccine
- Flu or influenza vaccine
Help for Parents ‚
- Play with your child.
- Go outside as often as you can. Visit playgrounds. 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.
- Play simple games. Teach your child how to take turns and share.
- Make a game out of household chores. Sort clothes by color or size. Race to pick up toys.
- Read to your child. Have your child tell the story back to you. Find word that rhyme or start with the same letter.
- Give your child paper, safe scissors, glue, and other craft supplies. Help your child make a project.
- Here are some things you can do to help keep your child safe and healthy.
- Have your child brush teeth 2 to 3 times each day. Your child should also see a dentist 1 to 2 times each year for a cleaning and checkup.
- 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. Make sure your child cannot get to pools or spas. Consider teaching your child to swim.
- 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:
- Enrolling your child in school
- How to encourage your child to be physically active
- Talking to your child about strangers, unwanted touch, and keeping private parts safe
- Talking to your child in simple terms about differences between boys and girls and where babies come from
- Having your child help with some family chores to encourage responsibility within the family
- The next well child visit will most likely be when your child is 6 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 to promote physical activity
- Talk about discipline and how to correct your child
- Talk about getting your child ready for school
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Fever of 100.4 ‚ °F (38 ‚ °C) or higher
- Has trouble eating, sleeping, or using the toilet
- Does not respond to others
- 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. ‚