Indonesia
Helping Kids who Fear of Needle
Superparents, kids are usually afraid with needles. Don’t talk about shot; just seeing a doctor around with white gown and a syringe, kids will feel uneasy. It happened many times. Well, actually not only kids, some adults also fear if they will get shot. Right?
In modern day, it is almost unavoidable for people to be shot. For vaccination, for medication, for checking blood sugar, or for special treatment. Even, we may be shot and our blood is sucked by mosquito’s needle. So, it is important for us to ease our kid’s fear when facing a needle.
- Empathize with kid’s scare. Give a hug or kiss to help calm your kid. Try to remain calm when our kid’s facing needle. Talk slowly, softly and reassuringly to model courage and a positive attitude.
- Let them to mentally prepare for needle-related tasks. Give a few minute notices before injection. Then, kid will be more courage after anticipates needle sticks.
- Try to minimize the discomfort. Ask the doctor for short needle syringes to reduce the discomfort that comes with piercing the skin. Or, apply ice to the injection site for about 15 seconds just prior to injection.
- Don’t say that shots doesn’t hurt. Be honest. Shots does hurt – although the amount of pain varies from kid to kid. The truth may cause some worry, but lying means that our kid can’t trust what we say. So, it is better to say, “It may hurt, but i’ll be here with you. If it does hurt, the pain will only last a little while.”
TEGUH WAHYU UTOMO
PHOTOS: PHOTOS
