Doc’s advice: Don’t threaten unruly kids with ‘injections’

MANILA, Philippines, February 9 ------ Parents should not make doctors and injections a bogey to frighten or threaten children who are misbehaving, an expert in pediatric infectious diseases said on Tuesday. According to Dr. Anna Ong-Lim, chief of the University of the Philippines Pediatrics Department’s Infectious and Tropical Diseases section and also a member of the Department of Health-Technical Advisory Group, parents play an important role in educating their children on the importance of vaccines.

But “parents usually threaten their kids with injections or that they will take them to the doctor whenever they get naughty or misbehave,” Ong-Lim said in an online media briefing. “We really don’t want to do that.” She conceded that going to a doctor to get injected was unavoidable “when we get into an accident or when we get bitten by an animal,” and that fear of needles was “something that must be acknowledged” even among adults. Still, parents should not threaten their kids with the prospect if they want to reinforce positive “health-seeking behavior,” she said.

Loot bags, etc.

Many kids who got jabbed on Monday, the first day of the pediatric vaccination of minors age 5-11, received loot bags and other treats in party-themed centers. At the Manila Zoo, hundreds of children and their parents or guardians explored the newly renovated facility after getting their jabs. They were given ice cream, bags of candy, and paracetamol and Vitamin C. At the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan City, magicians, clowns and cosplayers were on hand to entertain the kids.

But Ong-Lim said it was hard to say if one’s fear of needles or injection could be eased with treats or creatively decorated vaccination sites. She urged parents and guardians to “prepare the kids so that when they arrive at the vaccination center, their fear becomes more manageable.” She also said the reason for the jab should be “well explained.”

Ong-Lim said children’s fear of injection “stays with them until they grow up as adults” and “actually impacts a person’s health-seeking behavior.” “We see a lot of [adults] who avoid getting shots. They say they don’t want to get vaccinated because they’re scared. Imagine, they have had that kind of fear since they were kids,” she said.

Source: inquirer.net