5-Year Visit - 5 Years Features - Guiding Your Child Through The Middle Years

Name: ______________________________

Date Of Visit: _______________________

Weight: _________________________

Height: ______________________

Ask for an update on your child's health
Do a physical exam on your child
Check your child’s blood pressure, hearing, and vision
Ask about possible exposure of your child to lead and test for lead, if indicated
Discuss your child's risk of anemia (iron-poor blood) and test for anemia, if indicated
Ask about your family's history of heart disease and test cholesterol levels, if indicated
Possibly check a urine sample from your child
Ask about possible exposure to tuberculosis (TB) and test your child, if indicated
Recommend one or more immunizations: MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis/whooping cough), polio
Give you an opportunity to ask questions

Your child's growth and nutrition
Your child’s behavior and development
Any concerns about your child's language, hearing or vision
How best to prepare your child for school
Your child-care arrangements before and after school
Any other concerns you have

What he thinks about going to school
What he likes to do for fun
Who his friends are and what they like to do when they play together

Always use a car seat or booster seat, which is safest for your child when it is in the back seat.
Make clear rules for safe behavior that all caregivers consistently enforce.
Discuss pedestrian (walking), bicycle, playground and stranger safety with your child.
Be sure your child brushes his teeth at least two times each day, including just before bed.
Take your child to the dentist regularly (every six months) to check his growing teeth. Talk with your dentist about dental sealants for your child.
Limit high-fat foods and sugary foods and drinks, such as candy, juice or soda.
Praise your child for good behavior and for all of his accomplishments.
Take time to listen to your child. Show respect for him; make him feel that what he says is important.
Teach your child family rules, respect for authority, and the difference between right and wrong.
Expect your child to start being curious about sex, and answer his questions using simple and correct terms.
Make sure your child gets enough sleep.
Encourage regular physical activity.
Limit television and video watching to one hour per day. Watch programs with your child and discuss them.
Read books with your child.
Prepare your child for school. Meet with his teachers and tour the school with him before school starts.

Based on health supervision guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and from Bright Futures, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under the direction of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.