Purpose of review: Anticipatory guidance is a key component of child health supervision. This review discusses the latest evidence on the effectiveness of anticipatory guidance and its impact on child and family functioning.
Recent findings: Anticipatory guidance on parent-infant interaction, sleep patterns, and injury prevention improve functional outcomes of children and their families. Recent findings also demonstrate that encouraging parents to share books with their children and free book distribution during well child care visits are associated with improved child language development and increased home literacy activities. Guidance promoting injury prevention and reading at home is supported by the best evidence.
Summary: Future models of child health supervision should address missed opportunities for anticipatory guidance and parents' desire for more information about what they can do to enhance their children's growth, development, and functioning.