Raising Children Who Are Afraid of the Doctor

Many small children and even older kids are petrified of going to see the doctor. Let’s face it; from the first few months of their lives children are getting poked, prodded and stuck with needles. A lot of kids recognize the white doctor’s coat and associate it with pain. Raising children that are fearful of doctors is difficult and can be downright frustrating but there are tips for parents that can help.

Make an Appointment for Yourself

Once you have realized that you are raising children who are afraid of going to the doctor’s office, you will need to use these tips for parents dealing with this problem. In some of the child development stages, kids are afraid of almost everything. It would be beneficial to your child and your family to work with your child to overcome his or her fears.

Many experts on raising children believe that one of the best tips for parents in this predicament should be to make a private appointment with the child’s pediatrician. During this appointment, you will need to let the doctor know that your child is afraid and ask his advice on how to make him more comfortable before and during the visit. Your doctor should offer advice that will help you to make your kids more amenable to visits to the doctor.

Have a Good Heart to Heart Talk

Parents who are raising children need to understand that communication is really important. Just talking to your kids oftentimes gives the parents a completely new insight into how the child is thinking and feeling. Talking on a one to one basis can help parents understand what their kids are going through.

Regardless of the child development stages, kids deal with anxiety. Unfortunately, anxiety is a part of every human being’s life. When you are raising children to be well adjusted people, the  experts suggest that talking to your pediatrician and letting him know of your child’s fears will definitely help.

Play a Game of Let’s Pretend

Raising children can be incredibly challenging in every one of the child development stages. One of the best tips for parents dealing with kids who are afraid of doctors is to play a game of let’s pretend. This will help alleviate your child’s fears and let him know what will happen at the doctor’s office.

You can use a small flashlight to pretend to look into your child’s nose, ears and throat. Experts suggest that rubbing the child’s back when he needs to say Ah for the doctor to look in his throat helps. Do this at home to practice for the visit.

Wanted: Always Alive

Raising kids usually means making compromises. The experts rarely suggest rewarding behavior that is normal and expected however; enticing a child who has a real fear of going to the doctor is absolutely acceptable. Just don’t promise your child the world. Be realistic.

Simple and small rewards are a great way for parents raising children with real fears to get their kids to go to the doctor. A new coloring book and crayons is a great reward for getting into the doctor’s office exam room. This will keep your child’s mind occupied while waiting for the doctor.

Once the exam is over, you can reward your child with a special lunch, extra TV time or video time or even just a simple trip to the park or zoo. You can even have a “special gift” left at the doctor’s office for the pediatrician to give to your child at the end of the visit.