Injections will be one of the most essential parts of your child’s life especially during the earlier days of his or her life. A child would need to take regular vaccinations that can help him or her to get the necessary protection from various diseases. It is natural very natural that you child may be nervous when it comes to the time of taking an injection. However it is purely on your hands on how you can make this experience a lot of fun. Here are a few tips that will help you to deal with your child’s fear of injections:
1) Explain things to your child
It is really essential for your kids to know the reason why they are getting the shots. This is why it would be best if you go ahead and explain to them in detail the reason why they are taking the injection as well as let them know the results that may occur in case they do not take them. Avoid saying anything that will create a fear in them, instead make them feel that an injection is not a bad thing.
2) Distracting your children while they are taking the injections
One of the best ways to ensure that the time when they take the injection goes smooth is by distracting your children. Take along a play mate or even go ahead and show them a small video like their favorite movie or a cartoons. You can also talk to your child while he is getting the injection.
For small babies, you can go ahead and sing a lullaby or even a song that they like. If both the parents are around, both can take turns to entertain the child by making funny faces, funny sounds, and other such ways to distract the child.
3) Ask if the area can be numbed
You can request the doctor to numb the area where the shot would be given. This way, your child will not experience the pain and not develop a fear of injections. You can use various creams that are meant for such purposes. These sorts of creams should be applied well in advance for it to take effect.
4) Relief tips post the injection to get rid of the fear of injections in your child
Once the child takes the injection, it is natural that they may get clingy towards their parents or may even get irritated, Here are a few things you can do to ease the child’s pain post injections:
Use an ice pack – this will be one of the best ways to numb the area that is hurting. Just take a few cubes of ice and wrap it in a cloth and apply it on the site.
Let your child rest after the shot either in your arms or your lap. During that time, you can slowly massage the spot where they took the injection and also pamper them with hugs and kisses.
Painkillers can be considered. However this should be only if the doctor allows it. It is always good to speak to the doctor before administrating any kind of medicine especially, after the injections have been given to avoid any kind of reaction or pain post injections.
5) Provide the necessary education
Kids can really understand if you are able to explain to your child the reason why the injection is given; there is nothing better than that. Today there are a lot of interactive videos that help kids to understand things. See if you can get something like this so that they get a better understanding. Let them watch the video while you are waiting for the doctor to come in or even when they are taking their shot. Sometimes even the doctor will do his or her part to explain things to the child with the help of various charts that they have.
6) Play with them
Kids love to play – this is one thing that you can be sure of. You can consider playing various games where in you can get the child to understand what they will face when they take the injection. You can play a game of pinching to show them the feel of how the injection would be and even let them do the same to you, but ensure that this is not done otherwise. You can also consider playing doctor with them also. Playing with them also helps to enhance the bonding that you share with your child and help in dealing with their fear of injections.
7) Reward them
We all know that kids love to be rewarded for being good. You can consider giving them a reward for being brave while dealing with pain post injections. You can consider taking them to their favorite place after the injection or even get them their favorite food. Give them an ice cream or even buy them a toy or a book of their choice – this will reduce the fear of injections in your child.
8) Watch the way you behave
It is just not enough to expect your child to behave himself while taking a shot. It is also essential that you need to watch the way you are. Remember children will react based on how they see their parents reacting. If by chance they seen you stressed or anxious, they will also behave in a similar way.
If you stay calm and composed, you will also see your child reacting the same way. You need to smile, talk, and laugh with your child, if your child tries to go ahead and create a tantrum to get away from taking the shot, ensure you handle it with a lot of patience.
Conclusion
Ensuring that your child stays calm and composed while taking a shot can be a real challenge. However it is purely in your hands how you make the experience a positive one. It is really important that you should make the situation less stressful for them as well as provide the essential support and comfort that they need.
Injections can be a real strain on your child and this where as a parent you can go ahead and ensure that you do the best to ease the discomfort in the best ways possible.
