Overcoming Your Child's Fear At The Doctor

 

"I have dangerous bones in my body." - Vin Diesel

 

   My 3YO 'Lil Man has had knee aches for some time now. We have always thought it was growing pains, playing hard, etc. To make sure, we visited his pediatrician late last week and she ordered x-rays to be done that day on another floor. My brave man looked to his parents for some additional support. He's wears a pretty good poker face, but the uncharted frontier of x-rays was a bit much.

 

The hardest part about overcoming your child's fear at the doctor office is that you can't force it. You simply cannot MAKE them okay with something they're unsure of. I've said it in previous posts that I believe it comes with the time you put into your parenting. Sure, even MY kids can look at me like I'm insane despite my best efforts to calm their nerves. This trip happened to work out just fine, just like I think it can be for any one's children. I try my hardest to give a general, but hones play by play. It seems to work most of the time and so I continue to use that method. Again, my daughter can turn that method upside down in about 7 seconds with her irrational fears of what amounts to practically nothing sometimes. Still, most times it works out just fine.

 

 My 'Lil Guy walked into the room with my just fine. The tech asked me to get him down to his undies before getting him up on the table. My brave guy smile and whispered to me that he was scared. I knelt down, held him close, and walked him through what the x-ray camera was and what it was going to do, as I got his shorts off. I picked him up into a bear hug, and then gently laid him on the table, hugging him the whole way. I was allowed to hold his hand during the process, donning my own lead apron that Superman couldn't have gazed through. You can see by the second pic to the left here, that he was pretty easy going about it. He thought the cod piece covering his junk from the radiation was pretty funny too.

 

   Afterward, he got to see the pics of his own bones. He was appropriately impressed and grossed out at the same time. No less than what I thought would be the case. I really think that he found it interesting that he could see his own bones. He's that kind of inquisitive. We left without fanfare, and I think it can be that way with most kids if you build the relationship of trust and honesty (about MOST things) along the way. I knew someone who would so overdo the buildup of things like the doctor office, walking through a casino, etc., that the kid was thoroughly freaked out before stepping foot in what ever venue was being described. Lame, and shame on that person for overdoing it. It can be more simple, until your child is ready for more information.

 

'Till then, turn and cough.

 

J.