Is your preschooler feeling anxious about vaccines?

Here are a couple of easy ways you can support your child through vaccination:

• Let them know a few days before that they are going to get a needle
  
• If they ask if it’s going to hurt, be honest with them and validate their fears
  
• Ask them if they would like to bring something special from home or if they would like a small treat after
  
• Apply a numbing cream on the injection site
  
• Make sure you are calm – stressed parents stress kids
  
• Start distracting them a few minutes before the needle and throughout the vaccination
  
• When it is all done, be sure to remind them how well they did.

A huge thank you to Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell, director of the Opportunities to Understand Childhood Hurt (O.U.C.H.) Laboratory at York University (@yorkuniversity), for her expertise in pain and fear management in children.

Reducing pain-related distress makes getting the amazing benefits of vaccination A LOT easier. Looking for more resources? Check out our partner Solutions for Kids in Pain (@kidsinpain)!

Sources: https://tinyurl.com/SUFPainManagementKids