How to Prepare Your Child for a Vaccine

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infections disease doctor, said on Friday that he believes that children will hopefully begin to get the COVID-19 vaccine as early as Spring 2021 (according to the Associated Press article here).

So, while there is a lot of unknown, let’s stick with what we do know. Treatment rooms for pediatric procedures work because the rooms are designed for efficiency and coping. From stocked supplies for nurses to distraction items and decor for children, these rooms are standard practice because it works. Patient don’t have to associate their rooms and beds with painful procedures – they can happen in the treatment room. The same can be true for vaccines and immunizations.

While we can’t predict exactly when, where and how children will get the COVID-19 vaccine, we can prepare ourselves and our children for the vaccine. Because many children associate shots with pain, it’s good to get a head start on the conversation and begin to prepare how your hospital and or medical office will give the vaccine.

This vaccine requires two shots several days apart which means a positive first experience can help how a child will cope with the second. If the first vaccine experience is associated with a lack of control, discomfort and pain, it is likely that the second experience will be similar. 

So, how do we get ahead of this? I have a couple ideas and I’d love to hear yours, too.

First, create an “immunization station” experience much like a treatment room.

If vaccines are administered while the child is hospitalized and before discharge, advocate for the procedure to be offered in a different room away from the child’s patient room. Use these decals to make the room more patient-friendly and educate about the WHY.

Second, prepare the child by sticking with the facts: 

• Getting this medicine will help stop the spread of COVID-19
• The medicine has to be given by a nurse
• The nurse will clean the patient’s arm or leg with an alcohol wipe 
• The medicine is given with a small needle that will stay in for about 1 second
• The nurse will put a band-aid on the medicine spot
• The procedure is over and you will be observed for 15 minutes after the medicine is given

Third, offer choices (that are actually choices):

• Would you like to sit on your caregiver’s lap or by yourself?
• Which arm/leg would you like the shot in?
• Would you like for the nurse to count to three?
• Bring your own band-aid like one of these
• Pick a squeeze ball to hold in your hands during the shot
• What do you want to look at?
• What would you like to do after the shot while you are observed?

Fourth, when the procedure is over, talk about  what worked and what didn’t:

• Did you like that the nurse counted to three?
• Did you like picking your own band-aid?
• What did the medicine feel like?
• How long did it last?

Fifth, reinforce positive behavior

• Offer a small reward or incentive that promotes the positive behavior that the child showed
  • Individually wrapped prizes
  • Covid-19 Vaccine Stickers for kids
• Reinforce with validating statements
  • “Wow, I could tell you tried really hard to stay still.”
  • “I saw how you kept your arm in the position I told you about.”
  • “You squeezed that ball just like you said you would.”

If you’d like to download a PDF of these strategies, you can do that here.