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12-Month Well Child Check

Safety

• Your child probably loves to play in water, whether that is in the pool or bathtub. He always needs adult supervision within arm’s reach when in or near water of any kind. A child can drown in any amount of water. Pools should be completely surrounded by a fence that separates it from the house and has a self-locking gate.
• Now that your child is walking, there is another level that they can reach. Make sure your house is baby-proofed at least as tall as your child can reach. Be aware of stairways and other rooms in which your baby might get hurt. They may also be able to get to other objects that can cause burns, such as stovetops and hot liquids.
• You may now put your child in a forward-facing car seat if he weighs more than 20 pounds. Continue to place him in the back seat every time he rides in the car. Make sure the seat is installed correctly. Never leave your child alone in a closed car, even with the A/C on.
• Many ordinary things in your house can be poisonous to your child. Be sure to keep all cleaners, chemicals and medications out of sight and out of reach. Keep cabinets locked or latched to prevent exploration injuries. If your baby does eat or drink something that could be poisonous call the Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222 if he is conscious. It is important not to make your baby vomit.
• Keep all firearms and ammunition locked separately in a secure place.
• To prevent a sunburn, keep him out of direct sunlight, dress him in clothes that cover the body, and use children’s sunscreen of at least 30 SPF.

Feeding & Nutrition

• Continue breast feeding if desired. You can give your child whole milk – they need the extra fat for continued brain development – but limit it to 16-24 ounces a day. He should drink water the rest of the day. Encourage him to use his sippy cup by not offering a bottle or only giving water in a bottle.
• Mealtimes are a great social interaction time for the family. Meals with toddlers can be lots of fun, but also frustrating. Since they’re still learning to feed themselves with utensils, toddlers are quite messy. You should be offering them 3 healthy meals and 2 scheduled snacks a day. Often toddlers will have a decreased appetite because they are not growing as rapidly. They might also be picky eaters and only like a few different foods. It can take several tries to get a toddler to like a food.
• Avoid foods that are choking hazards like popcorn, grapes, hotdogs, nuts and hard candies.

Health

• Any smoke in the house is dangerous to kids. We encourage parents never to smoke around their baby, and to not to smoke at all for their own health.
• A regular sleep schedule and bedtime routine will encourage healthy sleep patterns. He should still sleep between 8 and 12 hours through the night along with 1-2 naps during the day.
• Continue to brush your child’s teeth twice a day with a brush. Use infant toothpaste without fluoride once a day and fluoride toothpaste once a day. You can prevent cavities by never putting them to bed with a bottle or cup.

Development

• Your toddler can understand much more than he can say. This can sometimes lead to frustration and tantrums. They often can speak a couple of words now or in the next few months. Continue to encourage him to use his words. Play games that help him learn his words, body parts and familiar people.
• Talking with and reading to your child will help his language development. Books can be a part of every activity throughout the day. Your child’s library can expand to books with familiar activities and things. Help your child learn the names of the objects by letting him find them.
• Your child likely is walking or will be shortly. You may notice that his feet turn in or he has bowlegs. Both are normal and will “correct”. He will enjoy pushing things around like push toys and mini grocery carts. He will also start to do pretend play, so encourage him to play with toys of all kinds, shapes and uses.

Discipline & Behavior

• Children thrive when they have limits and a routine, but they still need to fulfill their exploration needs. Setting limits for important safety related things and being consistent with enforcing them will help your child.
• Redirection from dangerous activities, brief explanations of why the action is forbidden and brief (up to one minute) “time-outs” can be effective. Rewarding good behavior reinforces it, ignoring bad behavior discourages it.

Immunizations

• Pneumococcal (PCV7)
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
• Chickenpox (Varicella)
• view chart

Next Visit – at 15 months of age