Share This Link

Millie is very active and mimics her parents: High activity levels, pretend play, and imitation are expected developmental behaviors for a 2-year-old. These cues do not indicate a safety risk or developmental abnormality and instead reflect age-appropriate gross motor and social development.

Millie is a picky eater who eats table foods: Picky eating is common at age 2 due to toddler autonomy, slower growth rate, and fluctuating appetite. While nutritional counseling is appropriate, it does not pose an immediate health danger compared to environmental toxin exposure.

Millie sleeps in a toddler bed and shares a room with her 4-year-old sister: Both room-sharing and sleeping in a toddler bed are typical and safe arrangements for a child of this age when the sleep environment is childproofed. There is no direct safety hazard associated with siblings sharing a room.

Medications and cleaning products stored in a high, locked cabinet: This storage method reflects appropriate household safety precautions that reduce the risk of accidental ingestion. Although poison control safety is important, the parent’s method shows good preventive practice.

Administer a daily multivitamin to Millie until her food intake increases: A multivitamin may be helpful for some toddlers, but it does not address the underlying need for balanced nutrition through food. Relying on supplements may lead the parent to overlook mealtime strategies that encourage healthy eating behaviors during this key developmental stage.

Don’t worry about food intake as long as Millie is taking an adequate amount of milk: Excessive milk intake can displace iron-rich foods, increasing the risk for iron-deficiency anemia, making this advice unsafe and inappropriate as a dietary approach.

Buy child-sized utensils and teach Millie how to use them: Using appropriate utensils supports fine-motor development and mealtime independence, but this strategy does not specifically target improving nutritional intake.

Keeping a toddler rear-facing as long as possible supports safer spinal alignment in crashes. Toddlers have proportionally larger heads and weaker cervical structures, so extended rear-facing reduces the risk of severe neck injury in sudden deceleration.

Ensuring old paint is sealed is essential because older homes may contain lead-based paint, which becomes hazardous when it chips or produces dust. Proper sealing significantly reduces the risk of lead exposure during renovations.

Combining active and quiet play supports motor development, emotional regulation, and emerging autonomy. Toddlers benefit from structured opportunities to expend energy and from quieter activities that encourage attention and cognitive skills. Providing both types of play aligns with developmental expectations for a 2-year-old.

"I will only garden when Millie is napping": While supervision during activities is important for toddler safety, gardening during her nap does not directly relate to developmental guidance. Safety strategies should focus on active supervision and safe play rather than timing chores around naps.

"I will buy a toy slide since Millie should already know how to climb steps without help": Encouraging physical activity and gross motor skills is important, but expecting a 2-year-old to climb steps independently may be premature. Introducing equipment like slides should be accompanied by supervision and recognition of age-appropriate skill development.

"I will give Millie a 5-minute timeout when she is being negative and saying no to everything": While timeouts can be part of behavior management, a 2-year-old’s negative behaviors and assertions of independence are developmentally typical. Using short, consistent discipline strategies is recommended.

"Avoid active or contact sports for 1 week.": Avoiding contact sports is important due to the risk of splenic rupture from hepatosplenomegaly; however, the restriction usually lasts at least 3–4 weeks or until the spleen is no longer enlarged.

"Avoid taking any over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen.": Over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen may be used to relieve fever and discomfort, provided there are no contraindications. Advising complete avoidance could unnecessarily limit symptom management and is not standard discharge teaching.

"Be sure to complete the entire course of antibiotics.": Antibiotics are not indicated for mononucleosis because it is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, not bacteria. Prescribing antibiotics unnecessarily can lead to adverse reactions, such as rash, and is not part of proper discharge teaching.

"Droplet precautions are used for micro-organisms that remain suspended in the air for a long time and long distances.": This describes airborne transmission rather than droplet transmission. Droplet particles are heavier, fall quickly, and do not remain suspended.

"I should put on a gown before entering the room of a patient on droplet precautions.": A gown is not routinely required for droplet precautions unless contact with secretions or bodily fluids is expected. The key requirement for droplet precautions is wearing a mask.

"I should wear an N95 respirator before entering the room of a patient on droplet precautions.": N95 respirators are required for airborne infections where particles remain suspended and travel long distances. Using an N95 for droplet precautions is unnecessary.

A heart defect with increased pulmonary blood flow: Increased pulmonary blood flow defects (such as VSD or PDA) typically present with higher oxygen saturations and signs of pulmonary congestion. Infants with these defects usually do not require oxygen restriction, as supplemental oxygen generally improves saturations without causing hemodynamic instability.

A heart defect with a left to right shunt: Left-to-right shunts send oxygenated blood back to the lungs, increasing pulmonary flow and often raising oxygen saturation levels. These infants usually show tachypnea and feeding difficulty but maintain higher O₂ levels than 82%.

An obstructive heart defect: Obstructive defects such as coarctation or pulmonary stenosis may affect perfusion or cause shock, but they do not usually produce stable low oxygen saturation targets like 75–85%. These conditions more commonly lead to poor pulses or blood pressure variability.

A 3-year-old child who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder last month: A diagnosis of autism does not increase physiological risk for lead exposure. Risk depends on environmental factors such as housing age, contaminated soil, or parental occupations. Without exposure-related details, this child does not represent the highest likelihood of ingesting or absorbing lead.

A 4-year-old child whose parents work in the textile industry making yarn and cloth: Textile work does not typically involve significant lead exposure, unlike industries such as battery manufacturing, construction, or smelting.

A 6-year-old child in the 25th percentile for height and weight: Being small for age does not inherently increase risk of lead poisoning. Risk is more closely linked to environmental sources such as old paint, soil, water, and household renovations.