It is good to train your child about shots and vaccinations before your child gets the first one.
Before going to the doctor show your child how it will feel. If you don't do this, it can be very traumatic, affecting your child for life.
Tell your child that he is going to get good stuff from the doctor that is going to protect him. Tell your child he will feel a tiny "dink".
Take your child's arm gently and tell your child, "I am going to show you what a dink is". Gently pinch your child's arm. Do it firmly enough that your child can feel it, but not hard enough to hurt them.
Say, "There, did you feel that? That is a dink!"
On the way to the doctor tell your child, "By the way, after your dinks, we are going to go for...." Here fill in the blank with your child's favorite thing. It could be ice cream, or the toy store, or if older, perhaps a movie.
According to Pediatric Craniofacial Surgeon, Dr, Larry Nichter, "children who are not aware of what a shot is have a tendency to be more and more traumatized each time they get a shot."
If the child knows he is going to get a "dink" or "tink" or whatever the parent chooses to call it, then the child will not be caught off guard and traumatized. Most likely the child will sit quietly and allow the dink in anticipation of the good stuff to follow.
Most Doctors do not see children very often that have been properly trained to expect the dink, so don't be surprised if you as the parent get some high praise.
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