Preschooler Health Promotion

by 36 months

• walking, running, climbing, jumping

• walk up stairs using alternative feet

• ride a tricycle, walk on tiptoes, balance on one foot

• stacks up to 9 blocks and copy a circle

• CIRCLE + TRICYCLE

By age 4

• skips and hops on one foot

• catches a ball

• uses scissors

• laces shoes

• copy and draws a square and stick figures

• SQUARE and SCISSORS

By age 5

• skips on alternate feet, jumps rope, learns to skate and swim

• ties shoes, uses pencils, can write their own name and copy a triangle or diamonds

• TRIANGLE + TIE SHOES

Eriksons Stage

• industry vs inferiority

• In this stage, children learn to cope with the new social and academic demands, mastering skills and developing a sense of pride in their accomplishments.

• Failure to complete a skill leads to feelings of inferiority and self-doubt.

• praise attempts at trying new skills not perfection

Freud

• Oedipal: a child's feelings of desire for their opposite-sex parent and jealousy towards their same-sex parent, occurring in the phallic stage of development.

Piagets

Preoperational; children start to think symbolically and learn to use words and pictures to represent objects. They are egocentric and struggle to see things from different perspectives.

Magical thinking

• children may think their thoughts or wishes made bad things happen such as a hospitalization

• reassure the kid that they are not responsible for bad things occurring and that hospitalization is not a punishment

Kolhbergs

• pre conventional: avoid punishment and fairness is important to them

Body Image

• cuts, scrapes, IVs, injections may cause the child fear that they may bleed out due to poor understanding of anatomy

• PRIORITY: provide Bandaids after procedures to help alleviate fear and promote healing.

Time

• instead of saying a certain time use terms such as after your nap, after eating ,etc to help preschoolers understand schedules better and create a sense of routine.

Social Comparison

• the process by which children evaluate their own abilities, characteristics, and status by comparing themselves to others, often leading to changes in self-esteem and body image.

• Priority: praise effort, trying and improvement

Play

• associative play, imitation such as dress up, imaginary playmates, mutual play w parents

• with imaginary playmates this can be a source of comfort however do not allow for scapegoat behavior (“my friend split the juice I didn’t”)

• with playing doctor; do not punish children are curious instead provide age appropriate discussions and anatomy books

Aggression

• Aggression in children can manifest differently based on gender; boys often display physical aggression through acts like kicking or hitting, while girls may engage in relational aggression characterized by name-calling and social exclusion.

Speech problems

• stuttering can occur try not to finish the sentence, interrupt kids, or look frustrated instead maintain eye contact, listen to them and give them time to finish

Injury Prevention

• Never allow the preschooler to play with matches or lighters.

• The preschooler needs to be taught what to do in the event of a fire or if clothes catch fire; fire drills need to be conducted.

• Guns need to be stored unloaded and secured under lock and key; the preschooler needs to be taught to leave an area immediately if a gun is seen and to tell an adult.

• The preschooler needs to be taught never to point a toy gun at another person.

• Teach the preschooler that if another person touches their body in an inappropriate way, they need to tell an adult.

• Teach the preschooler to avoid speaking to strangers and to never accept a ride, toys, or gifts from a stranger.

• Teach the preschooler their full name, address, parents' names, and telephone number.

• Teach the preschooler how to dial 911 in an emergency.

• Keep the Poison Control hotline number available.

Pedestrian Safety

• look both ways

• stay near their car

• hold parents hand