Preschoolers (3-5 years)

Vitamin D helps your baby use calcium to build and maintain strong bones.

Tamariki (children) at 3 to 5 years of age are busy, are interested in new things and enjoy being active. Learn more about keeping your child safe and healthy.

Watch a video to see 3 different whānau share their stories about the rewards and challenges of being parents. We hear how the Well Child Tamariki Ora nurses give them support and advice about caring for your child from 1 to 5 years of age.

Find out about looking after yourself after baby is born and how your whānau (family) and partner can support you.

Communication skills are strongly linked to the development of reading and writing. The better a child's conversational skills now, the easier it will be for them to understand what they read later on.

Find out about how children's communication skills usually develop by the age of 5. Check some activity suggestions to encourage communication from 5 years. Use the language that you are most familiar and comfortable with.

Find out about how children's communication skills usually develop by the age of 4. Check some activity suggestions to encourage communication from 4 years. Use the language that you are most familiar and comfortable with.

Find out about how children's communication skills usually develop by the age of 3. Check some activity suggestions to encourage communication from 3 years. Use the language that you are most familiar and comfortable with.

Hearing is a critical part of a child's communication development so it's important to identify any loss as early as possible.

Rewards can really motivate a child to improve their behaviour. They work best when given soon after the behaviour, not days later.

Tamariki (children) with restless legs may feel discomfort in their legs when trying to fall asleep. If your child has restless legs, find out how to manage it.

Night terrors are scary to watch but usually harmless to tamariki (children). The most important thing to do when your child has a night terror is to keep your child safe.

If your child feels anxious about sleep or staying in their bedroom, the 'checking method' might help.

If your child is anxious about going to sleep, the ‘camping out’ method may help. Sit on a chair or camp bed next to your child’s bed and gradually move further away as your child learns to fall asleep on their own.

For tamariki (children) who find it hard to stay in their bedroom or who call out, a bedtime pass may help.

Putting tamariki (children) to bed when they are not tired can lead to bedtime struggles. For some tamariki, it helps to start with a bedtime close to when they usually fall asleep, then gradually make it earlier.