Reply to Help with calming down child for a throat culture

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[quote=Anonymous]In the middle of a massive panic, your child is not going to be reasonable so you are just going to have to get her through the situation quickly and safely. Nothing will be gained, *for anyone* by prolonging the time it takes to get the culture done while my child gets herself more and more worked up and the doctor/nurse gets more and more behind and siblings get more and more impatient and I get more stressed and upset from seeing my child in such a state of true distress.

For all that we usually prep beforehand, often it does not work in the moment and usually I find that for most things medical the best of all bad choices is to simply restrain a panicking young child and get whatever it is over with.

Depending on my child's level of distress I do this one of two ways. If I catch it early enough that the child is somewhat compliant I usually just hold her in my arms relatively loosely, usually sideways because that's how they both prefer to sit, and whisper something soothing.

If it's to the point of complete hysteria or a near panic attack (usually older DD before blood work) I end up with her on my lap and me holding her in almost a harness style hold with my arms lightly crossed over her chest and a hand on each of her shoulders giving a gentle circular shoulder "massage" as an alternate sensation to distract her. At this point I also have to either be constantly talking to her as a distraction -- usually in our second language -- or I will share my headphones with her and put on one of 2 or 3 specific songs from my iPod. It looks somewhat odd and maybe even harsh, but it's predictable and soothing to her (again, usually DD1, it works with DD2 but she's only needed it once) and gets us through necessary but unpleasant medical procedures regularly.

For a rare or occasional medical thing just holding the child in your arms should do it; if this seems to be becoming a regular issue maybe develop some sort of calming ritual and/or words you can say to help your child feel safe even when scared during procedures. We're to the point now where DD automatically asks me to hold her whichever way she thinks she will need for certain procedures or appointments.[/quote]

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