How do I help prepare 3 yo DS for his jabs???

[SpeedyGonzalez]

DS has jabs next week and I've just realised that as soon as the needle appears the poor thing will, of course, understand that it will hurt. Any tips to help him???

When ds had swine flu jab, we found the main thing that worked was distraction books toys etc..also nurses are very discreet at the what the let the child see...its over with in seconds good luck

Small bag of sweets, open it and put it on the desk in front of them. Some after one jab, give the packet after the second. Works wonders

yeah i would say nothing, then if it does happen that he gets a bit worried i would just shout "hey, look at that" and point somewhere while the nurse quickly jabs him!

I can distinctly remember having jabs before i started primary school and the being scared and the doctor saying "i'll just put the lid on this needle and pretend to do it" and I let him and of course he jsut did the injection and i didn't feel a thing and wouldn't believe he had actually done it lol

Any tips?..... Big smiles, a firm grip on the child and a 'there there' and a jelly-baby afterwards. You can't soften this one up or prepare a child, I don't think... and if they sense that you're upset, it'll only make matters worse.

Thanks for your tips, everyone! Think I'll give them all a go!

"It will hurt a bit, just for a while, but then you can have some Smarties"

Last time my DS had jabs, the nurse told me she couldn't believe how many parents failed to prepare their children in any way. Child is having a lovely day, is suddenly placed in vice-like grip by parent while mad woman plunges needle into them. The child is then (understandably) less than keen to visit the doctor/nurse again.

She recommended letting the child know that they would be having an injection, that it would be over really quickly and might sting for a moment. Then focus on rewards for being brave after the event.

This is probably no use right now, but I found it helped to have DD see other people have jabs. She went along with her grandparents when they got their flu jabs, and she held their hands so they wouldn't cry. She felt great for helping them, and when it was her turn later in the year, she knew exactly what to expect and actually was hugely interested to see the needle go in. When her sister needed a jab after that, again she insisted on holding her hand, telling her she didn't need to cry and the pain would be over soon

DS had his 3 year jabs a couple of weeks ago. We told him he was going to see the doctor and he didn't ask why and was fine. We didn't tell him what an injection was beforehand as he'd have freaked. The nurse was brilliant and handled it so well. She'll have done it a thousand times before so she'll know how to best handle the situation anyway, so I wouldn't say anything about it.