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18-Month Well Child Check

Continue to put your child in a forward-facing car seat in the back seat. Make sure the seat is installed correctly. Never leave your child alone in a closed car, even with the A/C on.
Your child is at an age of great exploration and curiosity about the world around him. 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 child 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 him vomit.
Exploration can also lead to climbing at this age and can lead to falls. Be aware of stairways and other rooms in which your child might get hurt. They may also be able to get to other objects that can cause burns, such as stovetops and hot liquids.
Keep all firearms locked in a secure place. The key location should be hidden from the child and the ammunition should be locked separately from the firearm.
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.
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.

Continue to give your child whole milk, but limit it to 16-24 ounces a day (at mealtimes). He should drink water the rest of the day. He should only drink from a sippy cup. This will help prevent tooth decay.
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.

Any smoke in the house is dangerous to kids. We encourage parents never to smoke around their child, and to not to smoke at all for their own health.
A regular sleep schedule and bedtime routine will promote healthy sleep patterns. A familiar blanket or stuffed animal can help at bedtime. He should still sleep around 12 hours at night along with 1-2 naps during the day.
Continue to brush your child’s teeth twice a day. 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.
Limit the amount of television your child watches. Encourage activity to prevent against obesity. You can model healthy living activities.

This is still a time of rapid language development. Continue to encourage him to use his words. You can expect your child to have 10-20 words. Children usually start combining words into phrases by age 2. Play games that help him learn his words, body parts and familiar objects and people. Play music, sing songs and simple nursery rhymes with your child.
Talking with and reading to your child will help his language development. Books can be a part of every activity and work very well in routines. Help your child learn the names of the objects by letting him find them in the book.
Children become more active in climbing, running and playing with a ball. He will also start to pretend play, so encourage him to play with toys of all kinds, shapes and uses. Coloring and painting can be a fun activity to help develop fine motor skills.

Rewarding good behavior reinforces it, ignoring bad behavior discourages it.
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.
Your child will be trying to become independent in many things he does. Have your child help you carry out activities throughout the day. This will help him learn new words and feel important. Give clear messages at his level about what he can and can’t do. Brief (up to one minute) “time-outs” can be effective. Temper tantrums are common at this age; they are best treated by ignoring them. Try to catch your child being good.

Next Visit – at 24 months of age