Pain management during preschoolers’ vaccinations

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)!

View our original Tweet!

Is your preschooler starting to feel anxious about vaccines?

Dr. Rebecca Pillai Riddell (@drbeccapr), director of the O.U.C.H. Laboratory at York University (@yorkuniversity), is here to help!

Music by KATSUSASAKI on Soundcloud#ScienceUpFirst

[1/3] pic.twitter.com/1RdFVRGwQT

— ScienceUpFirst | LaScienced’Abord (@ScienceUpFirst) July 27, 2022

View our original Instagram Post!

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by ScienceUpFirst (@scienceupfirst)