Skills to Pratice this Month
- Insure that your child receives medical care when he is sick.
- In the months leading up to your child's entrance into kindergarten, it is important that he is well and in optimal health.
Activities
Talk to your child about what happens at the doctor’s office and why it is important to visit a doctor when you are sick. Discuss what the doctor might do at a visit and answer any questions your child might have. At a check-up a nurse or doctor might:
- Measure weight and height
- Look at throat, ears, and eyes
- Listen to heart and lungs
- Take blood pressure
- Take temperature
- Check reflexes
- Look at back and spine
- Give a shot
Encourage your child to pretend to be a doctor and treat her patients: dolls, stuffed animals, Mom or Dad. Your child may express fears or questions she has about being sick and doctor visits while playing that she might not otherwise bring up.
Make sure your child knows how to accurately describe how she is physically feeling. Talk to her about how she feels when she is well and right down these words then talk about how your she might feel when she is sick and write down these words. Help your child to come up with more specific words to express how she feels when she is sick. For example, instead of saying "I feel bad" or "I'm sick" she could tell you and the doctor that her throat is sore or she feels nauseated. Being able to describe the symptoms she is having will help parents and the doctor to better treat and diagnose illnesses.
Make sure you clearly understand your child's school's policy on sick children at school so that you will know when she can go to school and when she must stay home from school. Also, make sure you understand what constitutes an excused absence from school and what does not.
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