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A Six-Year-Old School Age Child
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By , About.com Guide

Updated May 10, 2007

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Six-year-olds can sing songs, listen to stories, shares things spontaneously, recognize and print letters, and know their phone number and address.
A six-year-old coloring.

A six-year-old coloring.

Photo (c) Daniela Andreea Spyropoulos
Obesity in kids has reached epidemic levels. Experts estimate that 15 percent of kids are overweight and another 15 percent are at risk of becoming overweight. And two thirds of these overweight kids will become overweight adults.

Who or what is to blame for the rise in childhood obesity?

It depends on who you ask, but likely causes include kids not getting enough physical activity, spending too much time watching TV and playing video games, getting too many calories from juice, fruit drinks, and soda, and eating a lot of fast food, unhealthy meals, and oversized portions.

Of course it isn't easy, especially if the parents themselves are overweight, but teaching our children to make healthier choices, especially as they go off to school and become more independent, is essential if we want them to be healthy and avoid the health consequences of being overweight.

What You Need To Know About Your Six-Year-Old

  • Encourage your child to be curious, explore and take on new challenges.
  • This is a good age to start some chores.
  • Teach stranger awareness.
  • Use a belt-positioning booster seat in the back seat until your child is about 80 lbs and 4'9" and correctly fits in the car's own lap/shoulder belts and never place your child in the front seat of a car with a passenger side airbag.
  • At the 6 year old checkup, you can expect a complete physical exam, a review of feeding and sleep schedules, measurement of your child's height, weight and blood pressure. Your child will also receive his Varivax booster (if he hasn't had chickenpox), if he hasn't had it already, and any other shots she is missing. A screening vision test and hearing test will also likely be done.
  • Common School Age Problems

Six-Year-Old School Age Topics

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