Dr Olson Huff and his team of experts provide you with up to date information about your child’s health. In our health section you can find tips on common childhood ailments such as diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Find out how to prepare your child for visits to the doctor or dentist and hints on how to care for your sick child or baby.
Doctor - preparing your child for a visit
All children eventually need to visit the doctor.
All children get sick at some point in their lives and will need to visit their doctor. Some young children have a fear of going to doctor or they may be worried about what the doctor will do. It makes sense to have a plan in place that will help you all have a positive experience.
To prepare your child for their next doctor's visit, initiate a role playing session with him or her. Using a play doctor's medical kit you can role play the entire situation. Most routine visits to the doctor follow a predictable pattern, so just role play what you know will happen. Pretend to weigh your child and record the results on some paper. Have your child open his mouth and say "ahhhh"--you can use an ice cream stick or something similar as a tongue depressor. You can also use a toy stethoscope to listen to your child's chest. Practice taking deep breaths and let your child know that sometimes the stethoscope can feel a little bit cold and explain that it's used to listen to breathing. Pretend to look in your child's ears, then take his temperature. Basically, do everything that your doctor will do with your child.
Once you have completed your "medical" on your child, it is now his turn to do one on you!! This part is quite important as a young child will feel a sense of control and understanding once he has had a go of being the doctor himself. Be on the look out for any misconceptions that your child may have around any part of the examination. He may think the doctor is looking at his "brain" when he's examining his ears! Children develop all sorts of misconceptions around things they don't understand. So always explain in simple terms exactly what and why the doctor does what he does. I was working with a child once who was having some blood taken out for tests and he truly thought that they were taking out ALL of his blood! Children need accurate information, so they can cope in situations that are new or different to them.
Finally, talk about ways to make your child feel comfortable during the examination. He may want to bring along a favorite stuffed toy for comfort, or he may prefer to sit on your lap during the examination. It's a great idea to have a treat at the end of the doctors visit. Keep it simple - a play in a local park is good. Reward your child's behavior and create a positive feeling about visits to the doctor. Talk with your child afterward to check to see if she has any lingering questions.
By Nicole Rawson-Huff
All children get sick at some point in their lives and will need to visit their doctor. Some young children have a fear of going to doctor or they may be worried about what the doctor will do. It makes sense to have a plan in place that will help you all have a positive experience.
To prepare your child for their next doctor's visit, initiate a role playing session with him or her. Using a play doctor's medical kit you can role play the entire situation. Most routine visits to the doctor follow a predictable pattern, so just role play what you know will happen. Pretend to weigh your child and record the results on some paper. Have your child open his mouth and say "ahhhh"--you can use an ice cream stick or something similar as a tongue depressor. You can also use a toy stethoscope to listen to your child's chest. Practice taking deep breaths and let your child know that sometimes the stethoscope can feel a little bit cold and explain that it's used to listen to breathing. Pretend to look in your child's ears, then take his temperature. Basically, do everything that your doctor will do with your child.
Once you have completed your "medical" on your child, it is now his turn to do one on you!! This part is quite important as a young child will feel a sense of control and understanding once he has had a go of being the doctor himself. Be on the look out for any misconceptions that your child may have around any part of the examination. He may think the doctor is looking at his "brain" when he's examining his ears! Children develop all sorts of misconceptions around things they don't understand. So always explain in simple terms exactly what and why the doctor does what he does. I was working with a child once who was having some blood taken out for tests and he truly thought that they were taking out ALL of his blood! Children need accurate information, so they can cope in situations that are new or different to them.
Finally, talk about ways to make your child feel comfortable during the examination. He may want to bring along a favorite stuffed toy for comfort, or he may prefer to sit on your lap during the examination. It's a great idea to have a treat at the end of the doctors visit. Keep it simple - a play in a local park is good. Reward your child's behavior and create a positive feeling about visits to the doctor. Talk with your child afterward to check to see if she has any lingering questions.
By Nicole Rawson-Huff
Related Tips
- Finding and choosing a pediatrician
- Finding the right pediatrician is not always an easy task.
- more
- Dentist - preparing your child for a visit
- Getting your child ready for a dentist visit is an absolute essential thing to do.
- more
- Immunization - help your child cope (ages 2-5)
- Having regular immunizations is part of many young children's lives. So it makes sense to have a routine to help.
- more
Search:
Free Newsletter
Parenting tips, latest news, savings and more
Join today !
