Final answer:
The nurse should utilize descriptive words with hand gestures, as 5-year-olds have a substantial vocabulary and can understand and engage in more complex conversations. Simplified language isn't necessary for this age group as they are capable of understanding longer sentences and words with multiple meanings. Option c is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
When communicating with a 5-year-old child, the nurse should use descriptive words with hand gestures. At this age, children have a significant vocabulary (around 1,500 to 2,000 words) and can produce sentences of five to seven words in length.
They have the cognitive ability to understand humor, identify colors, sort objects by various attributes, count past 20, and even recognize simple numerals. Moreover, 5-year-olds are capable of engaging in conversations, making up jokes, and showing empathy towards others.
Using descriptive language supplemented with hand gestures can help in enhancing the child's comprehension and engagement during the conversation. This approach would be more suitable than relying on overly simplified language like two-word or three-word sentences, as 5-year-olds are well beyond that stage of language development.
In associating words with appropriate actions or gestures, nurses can effectively convey their message and ensure that the child understands the instructions or information being shared.