Thanks to my dear friend, Lauren, for sharing her tips today about taking kids to the Doctor. We know not every appointment will be easy, but these tips can give us a fighting chance! đ ~Katie
Prepping for a checkup with the doctor has been a source of anxiety for our family for a little while.
We had a wretched experience taking my son to his three year checkup. He would not listen to anyone or let anyone touch him. He buried his face in my chest. He screamed. He cried. I cried. And he did not even need to get an immunization. It was a wake up that we needed to find a way to help him feel more comfortable. His four year checkup was a long one, involving many immunizations and his first series of vision and hearing tests. I was anxious. He was not. We found some strategies to help him relax.
5 Don’t When Going to the Doctors with Kids
Don’t Forget Their Books.
I didn’t even want to include this as an idea since it was so obvious, but you can really impact a child’s feelings toward the unfamiliar with familiar stories or picture books. We found one book that my son was willing to listen to repeatedly and put it in the queue each day when we read stories. We did this for a week. We took the book with us to his appointment. When the sphygmomanometer was put around his arm and the machine began reading his blood pressure, he hesitated. I pulled out the book and showed him. He relaxed and we got a (normal) reading. We brought up the book a few more times throughout the appointment. Find a book that works for your child and read it often, even when you aren’t planning a visit to the doctor. Bring it with you to the appointment as something familiar and comforting.
Don’t Forget Their Ears.
You’re telling your kid that the doctor’s office is not scary, but you walk in and hear kids of all ages screaming and crying? Or your child witnesses a sibling wailing after an immunization? Really comforting, right? If your child is keenly aware of sounds, pick out some comforting sounds and bring them along. Make a playlist of favorite music or audio stories and allow your child to listen in the waiting room or while brother gets his shots.
Don’t Forget Their Favorite Dolls <— They Need a Doctor Too!
My son has his “lovie” that likes to join us on many outings. We used to be strict about his joining since my son sleeps with this stuffed dog and the thought of public goo all over it made me cringe, but we have realized that A) the dog is washable and B) we can appeal to a lot of his emotions and apprehensions with this critter. That said, he brought his dog to our appointment. Everything he was asked to do, the dog did. The doctor and nurses played right along. When the dog joins us for future visits, I will come more prepared with band aids, a special ice pack and maybe even some play doctor tools.
Don’t Forget to Front Load…But Don’t Front Load Everything.
I wanted to be honest to talk about what would happen at the Doctor’s office (to front load him), but I also did not want to get him anxious. I told him that he *might* need to get shots as sometimes we need to get them when we visit the doctor instead of saying, “yes, you are getting three shots today.” (however, some kids might need to know that kind of detail! It just depends on the child). We focused on how they *might* hurt, but only for a little while. This gave him the opportunity to decide how the shots impacted him. He said they hurt, but just a little. He cried. I did too. Again. But he did not resist getting them.
Don’t Forget Science.
Who doesn’t find the science behind germs fascinating? Preschoolers can and should learn about how germs can help and hurt us. We found Arthur Kornberg’s Germ Stories filled with poems about germs complete with scientific information. Plush germs are a fun way to “play” with germs. Or, you can try a germ activity.
Focusing on preventing some of these germs with immunizations was a huge success for my son. I was worried he would have anxiety over learning too much information, but learning how other germs can be helpful gave him some perspective.
And of course, don’t leave out praise.
Congratulate your child and yourself. We even indulged in a treat afterwards!
Kendall Ryder says
My daughter hates going to the doctor. And it isn’t any surprise. What child likes getting shots and funny looking instruments stuck in the mouth and ears? Not many I would guess. It is important that you make the visit as comfortable as possible. Even doing role play before a doctor’s visit can help them calm down quite a bit!