Get texts about your baby's first year from text4baby.
Well visit Bright Futures handouts from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Dental care
- Infancy: 2-5 days, 1 month, 2 month, 4 month, 6 month, 9 month
- Toddler: 12 month, 15 month, 18 month, 24 month, 2.5 year old
- Child: 3 year old, 4 year old, 5-6 year old, 7-8 year old, 9-10 year old
- Adolescent: 11-14 year old, 15-17 year old
- Handouts for kids: 7-8 year old, 9-10 year old, 11-14 year old, 15-17 year old, 18-21 year old
- Vaccines: see vaccines link for schedule
- Labs: routine blood work at 9-12 months and/or 15-18 months, 9-11 years old, and 16 years old
Dental care
- Routine dental visits are twice a year, can start at 12 months (or at least bring the child to the office with an older sibling or parent to become more familiar with the dental office)
- At 4-6 months you can wipe off the gums with a wet towel
- After 12 months brush teeth twice a day with smear or rice grain size of toothpaste WITH FLUORIDE
- When your child can spit out the toothpaste (at 2-3 years old), use a pea size amount of toothpaste - don't rush this, coating the teeth with fluoride toothpaste is actually very good for the teeth anyway
- Just to switch up the resources, instead of going to the usual CDC, kidshealth.org, or AAP websites, here are some tips from Sesame Street!
Activities to do with your kids
- For new parents, download pandora and get "toddler radio" to learn nursery rhymes and songs to sing to your new baby (not for the baby to listen to).
- For new babies: use white index cards and make high contrast patterns with a black marker, show them to your baby since they can only see contrast for a few weeks. That's why many infant toys are zebras and bees.
- Check out stay-at-home toddler activities or google "montessori at home" for ideas on how to entertain and educate your child. Look for ideas using things you already have at home, don't fall for fancy gadgets or materials you have to purchase. Construction paper and stickers, pots and pan, and water go a LOOOONNGG way!
- Go to the park
- Don't plan too many activities and organized sports for your kids, they also need time for free play too. Let kids be kids!!
- Check out the Delaware County library website for lots of kid friendly programs from infant story times to toddler music sessions to lego clubs to teen book clubs and gaming nights (well, afternoons)!
- On that note, read to your kids. Every day.