Parenting Tips
Taking the Ouch out of Shots
Want to make your child's next round of shots less tearful? Doctors say distractions do the trick.
Apologizing for the hurt -- parents' most common response to their child's discomfort when getting a shot -- actually increases some youngsters' distress, research has found. Far more helpful is diverting their attention with a story, joke, song, or toy. And for babies, a pacifier may help distract them from the pain of a needle stick. Save the comforting talk until after the injection.
The look on your face, the words that you say, even your body language affects how your child will cope with the pain of getting a vaccination. Here's how experts say parents can help:
- Prepare children over 2 years old by telling them what will happen, how long it will last, what will be done, and how it will feel, giving them some age-appropriate suggestions that will help them cope with the hurt. Do this as close to the time of the immunization as possible.
- Make it quick: The faster it’s over, the easier it is on everyone.
- Press on the injection site for a few seconds before the shot; it may help, and it can’t hurt.
RealAge Projection: Learning to be proactive about health issues will benefit kids indefinitely. If they keep it up in adulthood, at 50 they could look and feel closer to 38.
