Making imms easier for your kids
November 25th, 2020
Let’s be honest, no one loves an injection – least of all children. We have some tips to make your immunisation visit as easy as possible.
- Try to be on time for your appointment. Rushing tends to heighten everyone’s emotions.
- If you can, breastfeed/bottle feed during and/or after vaccines.
- The positioning of the infant/child is important. Your vaccinator should give you clear instructions on how to achieve this. If you are unsure, please ask for more assistance.
- Typically, oral vaccines given first, the rotavirus does contain some sucrose which can reduce pain. These are given at 6 weeks and 3 months.
- For the older children using calming supportive language is best, avoid language that causes anxiety.
- The vaccinator should take cues from the parents as to the child’s understanding of the visit and work with this.
- Distractions are great, bubbles work for the toddlers, stickers for the 3 years and above. We do have a couple of wipeable toys in the imms room.
- Some parents have found bringing in a special toy/item or toys/books helps, particularly during the 20-minute wait post consult.
- Bring another adult, someone the child trusts if parent really feels it is going to be a nightmare, support all round is good.
- Unless the sibling(s) you bring with you are a help, that’s great, if not consider leaving the sibling(s) at home to allow a focused consult om the child who is being vaccinated.
- Pretty much imms go a lot better than most people expect, anticipation can be worse than the event.
If you have any immunisation questions, please ask or visit Health Navigator for more information.