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YEAR 3

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DIET:
This may be going better. At the very least, you may experience times when vu can't seem to fill your child up before he goes back to his same old "picky" habits. Review diet guidelines in 2 Years, page 21. Your child needs 16 oz of dairy products per day averaged over one week. For example, he may get 20 oz. today and 12 oz. tomorrow. Remember that 1 slice of cheese =4 oz. and yogurt and cottage cheese have calcium, too. Ice cream also counts toward this total daily intake. If all else fails, other foods which contain calcium in smaller amounts include: green vegetables, orange juice with calcium, Hawaiian Punch with calcium, sardines or baby shrimp in a can, a multivitamin with calcium, and Turns Yes, Turns!) with calcium.

SLEEP:
Your child should be sleeping in a bed and should still be taking a nap. Re­rr.ember, he needs to take a break from you as much as you need a break from "rim! You may need to call naptime a "rest period." If your child only needs a nap every other day, try putting colored stickers on a calendar and "check" the calen­dar every day. (Hint: use the calendar to your advantage and place stickers on days when you know he'll need a nap!) Your child may start to have bad dreams
r become fearful of monsters, etc. Consult the Parent Advice Line (PAL) at 251-1000 for further information or visit your local bookstore or library.

VOIDS:
Most children are toilet-trained by this age. Remember, some kids aren't dry at right until age 7 - 8, especially if one of his parents wasn't dry when they were young. Continue wearing Pull-Ups (less laundry to do). Remember, your child can't help this. Relax! Limiting fluids won't help this stage pass any faster. How­ever, you might try putting your child on the potty again before you go to bed.

SAFETY:
Remember that children weighing 20 lbs. -40 lbs. must sit in forward-facing car seats. Children over 40 lbs. must sit in booster-style car seats until they out­uow them. All car seats should be placed in the back seat to avoid danger from air bag deployment. As for biking, be sure your child has helmet for bike and trike riding. (Parents should wear helmets for bicycling, too!) If you can start this habit when your child is young, you can influence a lifetime of bike-riding safety. Keep up your guard! You've almost made it through the toddler years!

DENTAL:
Have your child see his dentist regularly. Your child may be able to brush his teeth himself. However, we recommend you do a "good brushing" every few days.

STOOLS:
If your child has problems stooling, here are a few suggestions:

• Make sure when on the potty that your child's feet can touch the ground. It's physically very hard to stool with your feet in the air! Get a step or go back to the little, training potty.
• Go to the Dollar Store and buy 10 "prizes." Tape them on the wall in view of the potty. Tell your toddler that if he poops in the potty, he will get to pick a prize. This works most of the time.
• If your child intentionally soils his pants, gently have him help you clean it up so they realize that this kind of cleanup is twice as much work as going on the potty.
• Buy new underpants when your child stops having accidents. DEVELOPMENTAL:

You're now able to understand about 75% of what your child says. Please remember that stuttering is normal at this stage in language development. Avoid telling your child to slow down, he will usually grow out of this. Also, children at this age frequently leave their sentences unfinished. Again, they'll grow out of this. Socially, your child can now play well with others. You may want to discuss the possibility of preschool with your doctor. Also, it is normal for your child to have imaginary play friends. As for motor skills, your child can pedal a trike (wearing a helmet), color (not in the lines) and complete simple art projects. Most children are not yet able to use scissors.