Mercy Network
Mercy Family Clinic
Pediatric and Adolescent
Six Years
Promotion of Social Competence
- Continue to set appropriate boundaries and other limits
while encouraging and promoting the growth of your child’s
independence. Your six year old is eager to act independently,
but he is not yet able to make wise decisions consistently.
Before he goes out into the community alone, be sure that he
remembers safety rules and understands them well enough so
that he can adapt them for different situations.
- Provide opportunities for your six year old to socialize
with other children in playgroups, school functions, or other
community activities. It is important for you to meet your
child’s friends and their families.
- Encourage your child to begin to assume responsibility for
his clothes, toys, chores, and health habits.
- Enlarge your child’s experiences through trips to
parks and other places of interest.
Parenting
- Encourage your child’s independence and self-responsibility.
Establish rules to be followed at home such as bedtime rituals,
television watching, chores such as setting the table for meals
and helping clean afterwards or keeping her bedroom neat.
- Ensure that your child gets adequate sleep. For children
6-10 years of age, the suggested bedtime is 8-9 PM.
- Limit television watching to an average of one hour per
day of appropriate programs. Watch the programs together and
discuss them.
- Set limits and establish consequences for unacceptable behavior.
Ensure that your child understands the difference between right
and wrong. Teach her how to manage anger and resolve conflicts
without violence. Encourage self-discipline and impulse control.
- Praise your child for cooperation and accomplishments.
- Encourage your child to talk to you about her school, friends,
or observations. Encourage her to express her feelings. Answer
her questions.
- Spend individual time with each child doing something you
both enjoy. Show affection and pride in each child’s
special strengths and use praise liberally. You are your child’s
role model in terms of activities, values, attitudes, and morality.
- Broaden your child’s experiences through trips and
visits to parks, zoos, museums, and other places of interest.
- Encourage reading and other hobbies. Obtain a library card.
The family can make routine trips to the public library. Consider
enrolling your child in community youth sports. Encourage biking,
running, and swimming as a family.
- Participate as a family in school and community organizations
and activities.
- Advocate for community programs and facilities for children.
- Find out what you can do to make your community safer. Advocate
for and participate in a neighborhood watch program.
Injury Prevention
- Enforce consistent, explicit, and firm rules for safe behavior.
- Your child should be supervised by an adult whenever he
is in or near water. She should learn how to swim.
- Electrical tools, firearms, cigarettes, matches, lighters,
alcohol, poisons, medications, and toxic household products
locked up. Use safety caps on medication. Lock up ammunition
and guns in separate locations. A trigger lock is an additional
important precaution.
- Continue to wear a seat belt in the car at all times.
- Teach you child to put on sunscreen before he goes outside
to play or swim.
- Reinforce with your child the safety rules for bicycles.
Ensure that your child wears a bicycle helmet when riding a
bicycle. Also, set a good example by wearing a helmet when
you ride a bicycle.
- Instruct you child not to talk to or accept food from strangers.
Teach him what to say and do when answering the phone or the
door. Your children should be instructed to tell you if they
are touched in a manner that seems inappropriate or unpleasant.
- Test smoke detectors to ensure that they work properly.
In case of a fire in the home, you should have a plan of escape.
Nutrition
- Offer small portions of nutritious foods at three regular
meals and two snacks per day. Let your child decide from these
nutritious foods, what and how much to eat. Provide the opportunity
for your child to choose five servings of fruits and vegetables
daily.
- Make an effort to create a pleasant atmosphere at mealtime
with table conversation that includes opportunities for your
child to participate.
- Supervise tooth brushing twice a day with a pea-size amount
of fluoridated toothpaste.
- Ask your dentist what to do with accidental loss or fracture
of teeth.
- Schedule a dental appointment for your child every six months.
Return to Health Care Tip
For physician referral or health
information call:
Mercy Family Health Line
641.422.7777 or
1.800.468.0050
