In this video, we meet Ria and Barry and their two children, Ocean and Kārearea. Ocean is 3 and Kārearea is 4. Find out how Ria and Barry care for their children and keep them healthy and safe. Erika, a Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse has advice on the best things you can do to help your child learn and develop.
transcribeTranscript
Title: Your Child: Three to Five Years. Episode 12 of 15.
Title: Ria & Barry’s Whānau
[Shots of Ria and Barry’s home.]
Ria (voice-over): It's not easy, but it's worth every moment. It's definitely one of the hardest things you'll ever do – being a parent – but it also has the best rewards.
[Shot of Kārearea and Ocean.]
Title: Kārearea, 4 years old; Ocean, 3 years old
[Interview with Ria and Barry.]
Ria: Kia ora koutou. Ko Ria tōku ingoa. Nō Porirua ahau. Ko tēnei te wāhi tipuaki ai ahau.
Barry: I'm Barry. This is my partner, Ria. We have two beautiful children. Ocean, he's three. Kārearea, she's four.
Ria: In our home, we create a safe environment by putting the toxic products up high, so the kids can’t reach them.
[Shot of Ria and Barry’s fenced section and vegetable garden.]
Ria (voice-over): We also have a fully-fenced section so the kids can't run out onto the road. It's really important that we keep our tamariki healthy, because we believe that for them to be the best that they can be in life, they need to be physically and mentally fit.
Barry (voice-over): We don't really eat junk that much. We just try and get fruit into them.
Ria (voice-over): We also have a garden, where we get most of our leafy vegetables.
Barry (voice-over): Stuff that you can mash up so they don't know it's there!
[Interview with Erika.]
Title: Erika Ware, Well Child Tamariki Ora Nurse
Erika: Kia ora. I'm Erika, and I'm a Tamariki Ora (Well Child) Nurse. The best advice that I could give at this age would be to spend as much time together doing things, so that children are learning at the same time, as well as you're there supervising them, letting them do stuff, and that's the best way to learn, to have fun, and be safe together.
[Barry fastens Ocean’s helmet, and rides a skateboard with him.]
Barry (voice-over): The stuff that I mainly do with the kids is the more active stuff on their bikes and skateboards.
[Ria draws with Kārearea.]
Ria (voice-over): Kārearea likes to draw, so I’ll sit with her and draw, and we'll learn how to spell her name. Just having those things there to provide an outlet for them to be creative.
[Ria and Barry play with their children.]
Ria (voice-over): They light up when they're with mum and dad, and mum and dad are interacting with them. It doesn't have to be anything special or grand. It's just being with them. When just dad and the kids are playing around on the floor, just tickling and horseback riding – dad's the horse! The kids jump on.
[Ria prepares vegetables.]
Barry (voice-over): So with their teeth, we stay away from real sugary stuff. It's just a real treat. We get them to brush their teeth, and then we'll do it afterwards just to make sure it got done properly. But still trying to get them to figure out how to do it.
[Interview with Erika.]
Erika: The best practice you can do is supervising your children when they brush their teeth, and making sure that they brush morning and night. Using a soft toothbrush with a smear of family fluoride toothpaste is recommended.
[Interview with Ria and Barry.]
Ria: Our Tamariki Ora (Well Child) Nurse rang me and organised for me to see the B4 School Check Nurse.
[Interview with Erika.]
Erika: It involves a hearing and a vision test. They see us. There's a questionnaire that parents need to fill out. And it also involves pre-school teachers doing a bit of an assessment.
[Ria and Barry play with their children.]
Ria (voice-over): Our goals for our children are for them to be happy and healthy, and to enjoy their childhood, so we try and make memories as much as we can by creating fun things as a family that we do together.
Barry (voice-over): Our goals for when they're older – just pretty much do what they really want to do in life. That’s pretty much it.
[Interview with Ria and Barry.]
Ria: We also work really hard on trying to develop their character. So we do that by going to the river and talking about the taiao and the environment, and how it's really important that we take care of it. That's something that's important to us, it's important to our children, and it's important for their children. Te reo Māori is also a strong aspect, a strong part of the taiao, so we really try and incorporate that because it gives them a strong sense of identity. It gives them a stable foundation for them to stand on and grow into confident people.
Title: Our thanks to the families and health workers who appeared in this video for the Ministry of Health.
From 3 to 5 years
"It's not easy, but it's worth every moment. It's definitely one of the hardest things you'll ever do – being a parent – but it also has the best rewards."
In the video, we hear from Erika, a Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse. She explains ...
"The best advice that I could give at this age would be to spend as much time together doing things, so that children are learning at the same time, as well as you're there supervising them, letting them do stuff, and that's the best way to learn, to have fun, and be safe together."
"The best practice you can do is supervising your children when they brush their teeth, and making sure that they brush morning and night. Using a soft toothbrush with a smear of family fluoride toothpaste is recommended."
"The B4 School Check involves a hearing and a vision test. They see us. There's a questionnaire that parents need to fill out. And it also involves pre-school teachers doing a bit of an assessment."
Teeth
By about 3 years of age your child will have their first set of teeth - 20 'baby' teeth. Healthy baby teeth usually mean healthy adult teeth too, so it's important you look after your child's first teeth.
See the KidsHealth page on caring for your child's teeth to learn more.
Nutrition
There are lots of things you can do to help your child learn healthy eating habits right from the start.
See the KidsHealth section on healthy eating for more tips.
Fussy eating
Fussy eating is common in tamariki, and it's common for them to dislike certain foods. Tamariki will gradually eat and explore new foods as they get older. Providing healthy food and an enjoyable eating environment for your child will help them enjoy mealtimes.
See the KidsHealth page on fussy eating to learn more.
Sleep needs
Tamariki need sleep to grow and develop. Sleep needs vary and change as they grow. Knowing what to expect at each stage helps you understand your baby's sleep needs as they grow.
See the KidsHealth page on normal sleep in toddlers from 3 to 5 years.
Development
Tamariki are natural learners and between birth and 5 years, tamariki grow and learn at the fastest rate of their lifetime. There are many ways of learning - tamariki learn by watching, by listening and especially by doing.
See the KidsHealth section on learning and development for more information.
B4 School Check
The B4 School Check is a free health and development check for your 4 year old. It's the final Well Child Tamariki Ora check. It helps give your child the best start at school.
Check the KidsHealth page to learn more about the B4 School Check.
Safe home environment
Make sure your home environment is safe for your baby. Never leave tamariki, especially those under 5 years of age, unsupervised near water, including baths, buckets and water troughs. Keep medicine in a high place out of reach and out of sight of children.
See the KidsHealth section on injury prevention for more tips.
Managing tantrums
Tantrums are common in tamariki (children). They are a normal part of child development. Find out about what may trigger tantrums in your child and what you can do when they happen.
See the KidsHealth page on tantrums for more information.
Toilet training
Not all tamariki are the same when it comes to toilet training. You may see signs that your child is ready for toilet training from around 2 years old. Some tamariki may be ready from as early as 18 months. Learn about the signs tamariki show when they are ready for toilet training.
See the KidsHealth page on toilet training to learn more.
Smoke-free environment
Make sure your baby's environment is smoke-free. Cigarette smoke is very harmful for your baby.
If you want to give up smoking:
- call the free Quitline Me Mutu on 0800 778 778 or text 4006
- check out the website Quitline
- ask a health professional
When to see a health professional
Pēpi and young tamariki get sick often – it's a normal part of childhood. Get help quickly if your child shows any danger signs.
See KidsHealth for advice about when to seek help if your child is sick.
Call PlunketLine for parenting advice.
PlunketLine is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, on 0800 933 922 for advice and support for you, your baby and your whānau. Calls are free from cell phones. You do not need to be registered with Plunket to use this service.
