5 Ways to Prepare Your Child for a Visit to the Doctor
Sometimes medical procedures can be uncomfortable or painful for adults and children alike. It is important that pain is managed well to ensure that your child is as comfortable as possible.
Poorly managed pain can have serious consequences to your child’s well being and can impact on future healthcare encounters. Hospital or clinic staff will use various methods to reduce your child’s pain and discomfort however there is a good chance that they will still feel some distress.
The good news?
You are your child’s greatest comfort and advocate and while you may feel powerless, there are a number of things that you can do to increase your child’s resilience & tolerance for pain.
As a parent you know your child best and can therefore greatly assist healthcare staff in helping your child cope with the procedure.
What can you do to support your child?
1. Talk to your child’s doctor about the procedure/operation that has been scheduled
If you are unsure of anything to do with your child’s procedure, it’s really important that you iron these out so that your own stress/anxiety/confusion is settled. In my experience, when I’ve had stressed out parents involved in a procedure, it’s usually come down to their lack of understanding which has fed their worst fears/anxieties which has then transferred to the child.
Fear/anxiety = more pain, both emotionally and physically.
So, ask every question you can think of, even if you feel they are silly questions or you’re concerned you are taking too much of the doctor’s/nurse’s time. There is no time wasted in understanding what is going to happen.
2. Explain the reason and nature of the procedure well in advance (if possible!)
Ensuring that your child understands why they are having the procedure and what to expect, gives your child the opportunity to ask questions, and develop ways of coping prior to the event.
It’s not an easy conversation to have but ensuring it is done in a place they feel safe (at home) gives them the security they need to cope with the big news.
Knowing how much time to give the child to think about it is only something you can answer.
I have two children who need two very different approaches.
My eight-year-old copes better with finding out on the day of the procedure. She worries about it too much and no amount of placating helps her. I always tell her before we leave for the clinic.
My six-year-old on the other hand is fine with knowing about it for a few days beforehand. She likes to practice comfort holds and role-play the procedure to find her own ways of coping.
On a side note, it’s best not to wait until arriving at the hospital/clinic to have your discussion because there may be limited or no opportunity to do so. To add to this, the loud & sometimes chaotic environment may compound the stress of learning that they are having a procedure.
3. Be honest
When you talk with your child about their procedure/operation, answer any of their questions with honesty.
If you don’t know the answer to their questions, be honest, but let them know that together, you can find out by asking the doctor or nurse.
When a child asks me if it will ‘hurt’, I usually answer with a reassuring tone and say, ‘Some children feel some discomfort.’ I try to avoid the words, ‘hurt’, ‘pain’, ‘sore’ or ‘sting’ as these usually get their fight or flight response into action quickly.
4. Provide some distraction
Distractions are often helpful during a procedure because they help your child to focus on something else. Depending on the procedure, some children can be so immersed in their ‘distraction’ that they hardly notice the procedure at all!
Distraction involves encouraging your child to focus on things other than the medical procedure. For example, blowing bubbles, looking at pop-up or other interesting picture books, watching a video, playing with other favourite toys or singing.
The best distraction tools are those which your child loves but rarely has the opportunity to engage with.
5. Advocate for One Voice
There are a few techniques that have had a dramatic impact on my practice as a paediatric nurse, one of these is the One Voice technique.
I recently recommended this to another paediatric nurse who contacted me about the stress of COVID testing on kids. I asked her to nominate one person who would be the voice throughout the procedure. This person’s role was to distract the child with a calm, soft voice but also to respond to their emotions by acknowledging them.
It really is that simple but imagine that scenario against the usual scene where there are up to five adults holding the child down in position and talking loudly at the child. They often think they are reassuring the child with comments like, ‘Hold still or it will hurt more!’ or ‘We’re almost done! Stay still’ or worse, ‘Be brave!’.
It’s not hard to see which scenario invokes more stress.
No matter what happens, remember that you are your child’s greatest comfort, support, and advocate.
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