Tips to comfort your kid's needle nervousness before the COVID-19 shot
As children aged five to 11 prepare to roll up their sleeves for the COVID-19 vaccine, one obstacle between now and normalcy, is overcoming any fear of needles.
“It looks kind of dangerous,” 10-year-old Cohen Goyette told CTV News in an interview Monday about needles. “But I know what it can do, it can help me.”
Goyette isn’t afraid of other common phobias like spiders or snakes and plans to get the shot along with his siblings. Despite that, he says he’ll still be nervous about it.
“When I took him to get his last flu shot, he actually ended up kicking the pharmacist in the stomach,” said his mom Maria Isenor.
“I’m still scared about it,” he said.
Dr. Christine Chambers said a fear of needles is common in kids and adults, although adults don’t like to talk about it. The Dalhousie Professor’s advice to parents is to openly communicate with their child that a needle will be necessary and before, and during the appointment, find a way to help distract your child.
“I always bring my iPhone to doctors’ appointments with my kids so they can watch Youtube videos or play a video game,” she said. “Research shows that distraction really, really works when it comes to supporting kids with vaccination.”
Chambers notes relaxation is also key. She recommends helping kids take some deep breaths.
“Blow some bubbles. Relax their muscles like spaghetti noodles,” she said.
Chambers also suggests providing some kind of incentive like a small treat, or something to look forward to afterward.
In Nova Scotia, pharmacists will be tasked with vaccinating children. Pharmacists are already used to administering flu shots and understand different patients have different needs.
“We treat it, every child differently, every patient differently because we’ve seen needle phobias in every age as we’re going through this,” said Diane Harpell with the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia.
Harpell said some kids bring in a stuffed toy for comfort, while others are confident about it and don’t need any reassurances. She also notes kids feed off the parent’s energy.
“If you’re nervous about it, they’re going to nervous about,” she said. “But if you’re nervous, just tell them you are and just say, 'It’s okay to be nervous.'"
Goyette has some advice for others who might also be nervous.
“Maybe try to think of it as something not something so bad,” he said. “Because the COVID vaccine will most likely save your life for having it and other people like your family. Your friends.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.