3-Year-Old Child

Visiting the doctor isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time. But it can be even scarier for toddlers, who don’t understand why all that poking and prodding is necessary.

To help ease her fears, try playing patient and doctor and home. Buy a toy doctor’s kit and explain what each of the tools do. You can even pretend to be sick and ask your toddler to look in your mouth, take your temperature and listen to your heart.

By now, your child may be starting to notice that a doctor’s visit usually includes a shot or finger prick — something that may cause a lot of pre-checkup jitters.

If a flu shot is on the docket for this month’s 3-year well-visit and your toddler has some vaccine fears, don’t hide the information from her. Explain that there will be a quick pinch on the arm, but that the pain will be over in a second.

When you’re holding her on your lap, try to stay calm. Losing your cool will only cause her to panic too. If it helps, bring her favorite stuffed animal or blanket along.

Now that your toddler is 3 years old, she may be ready to give up her nap altogether. But there’s a wide range of normal when it comes to the no-nap milestone. Most kids chuck their midday snooze somewhere between the ages of 3 and 4, but some tots savor their siesta until well into kindergarten.

Whatever you do, don’t give up on naps too quickly. As much as your toddler might resist going down for a nap, young children still need that restorative daytime sleep.

If your child seems cranky or hyperactive after going nap-free for a few days, you might want to reinstitute the nap and try to drop it once she’s a little older.

There may be a lot going through your toddler’s mind, but that doesn’t mean she’s likely to remember it all.

In fact, it’s perfectly normal for toddlers to draw a blank when it comes to recalling most aspects of their day — like who they sat with at lunch, for example, or what craft they made.

Another reason for her absentmindness: She’s so focused on the stuff that matters to her — like the TV show she wants to watch right now — that she doesn’t have time to try to recall the less important parts of her day.

Guaranteed that as she grows, so too will her capacity for recalling details. And when that happens, be prepared to hear all about them — a million and one times.

Want to graduate from mommy-and-me classes? Now that your toddler is 3, she may be ready for yoga (yes, really!).

When choosing a class, make sure the instructor has been certified by a legitimate organization like the Yoga Alliance and has experience working with young children. Some poses, like headstands, put too much pressure on little necks and shoulders, and should only be done by adults.

Just remember to keep your expectations realistic. Stick to simple poses, and don’t put pressure on your tot to get them “right.” What matters most at this age is that she has fun.

Not all biting is done in anger — even bigger kids can bite when they become overly excited or just want to get their point across — but since it can hurt another child, it can result in a suspension or getting kicked out.

If your child did the chomping, avoid getting defensive or reaching out to the parents of the child on the receiving end of the bite.

At home, explain that biting, like hitting, is never allowed, and be prepared to dish out discipline — a three-minute time-out, for example — when your toddler breaks the rule.

Up until the age of 3, children usually don’t show a preference for being right- or left-handed. Now that your child may be starting to favor one hand over the other, however, you may be wondering whether there’s anything you can do to influence the process.

In short, no. Hand preference likely develops before birth, so you can’t control whether your child will be a leftie or a rightie — nor should you try to.

Statistically speaking, your child will probably be right-handed (85 to 90 percent of the population is). Only around 10 to 15 people are left-handed, and still fewer (about 1 percent) are ambidextrous.