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Original poster

Testing children

47 replies

november90 · 16/06/2021 01:04

Hi everyone,
Just wanted experienced for testing children?
Ds1 has his Covid test booked for the morning. Whilst he doesn't have any learning disabilities I know for a fact that this is going to be extremely difficult and traumatic for him. I have no idea how this will work, will someone be there to help me? How can I accurately do it on my own when I'm pinning him down in a car park? I'm so worried about this :(

OP posts:
RiskyReels · 16/06/2021 01:34

Hi November, they will give you a pack through the window and you will swab Ds in the car then hand the sample back to them through the window. Depending on the age of your Ds, I suggest explaining ahead of time what to expect. You'll need to put swab up his nose and twirl it a bit, it will tickle but it won't hurt. If a bribe will work such as chocolate after swabbing if he can be good and keep still, then take something along. YouTube on a screen for distraction or whatever else you think might work. Keep it light and fingers crossed it will go ok without too much upset 🙂

Original poster
november90 · 16/06/2021 01:47

Oh god this is what I was fearing.... there's just no way I'm going to get an accurate result he will absolutely refuse it and be hysterical! 😭😭😭

OP posts:
RainbowCrayons · 16/06/2021 03:08

How old is he? I had to do my DS a couple of times around a year old and having him secured in his carseat made life easier, at least in terms of pinning down. But he obviously wasn't old enough to really get what was going on and get worried before hand and a snack after made everything OK again. Probably wouldn't work so well with an older child. With the proper PCR tests that go all the way up the nose I've had to hold his head while the nurse did the test.

Original poster
november90 · 16/06/2021 06:51

Thanks for the reply!
I've just realised we're at a walk through 😰😰😰

OP posts:
Wanttocry · 16/06/2021 06:54

How old is he?

Jenjenn · 16/06/2021 06:59

Walk through - so they will do it? They are SO used to doing kids swabs, literally 100s a day. It is only a few seconds for swabbing. Try to relax, your son will pick up on your anxiety.

woodfort · 16/06/2021 07:00

Yeah it’s not fun.

However, the adult one you have to swab throat and nose and for children you only do one. Also it says ten seconds - I didn’t manage ten seconds, more like 3, however the result came back as negative rather than inconclusive.

How old is your child? Mine understood we had to do it because of school rules etc, he wasn’t scared of having Covid but he knew that if it was positive we have to stay at home for a while so we don’t give it to anyone old who might get sick. He was fine with the idea of the test but when it came to it he fought me off and I had to pin him down, apologising a lot obviously, it was about three seconds then over and he was fine after.

Sometimesfraught82 · 16/06/2021 07:00

One of the most awful experiences
I wish I just hadn’t done it.

In short - unless absolutely critical, I wouldn’t do it

woodfort · 16/06/2021 07:01

@Jenjenn

Walk through - so they will do it? They are SO used to doing kids swabs, literally 100s a day. It is only a few seconds for swabbing. Try to relax, your son will pick up on your anxiety.
I’ve only ever done walk through and no one has ever actually done it for us? They hand us the swab kit and lead us to a cubicle.
Sometimesfraught82 · 16/06/2021 07:03

Or if I absolutely had to, I’d “fake” it.
Very swipe and then hand in

Sometimesfraught82 · 16/06/2021 07:03

Quick swipe

Lostinacloud · 16/06/2021 07:04

Order a saliva test online with a company like halo if you really have to test him.

ColettesEarrings · 16/06/2021 07:10

Just don't do it. Full ten day quarantine isolation instead is a valid option if there are symptoms, but the whole household will have to isolate together, and stick to it properly.

Why is he having the test, because of symptoms? Surge testing?

olderthanyouthink · 16/06/2021 07:59

DD 2.5yrs has had about 7 Sad

Easiest one was done at home in her sleep but unfortunately timing makes that impractical, wish I could pick up a test take it home and bring it back.

Basically same as brushing her teeth when she's on a run of refusing, block hands, hold head and count. She's strapped in the pram, without would be impossible. Last time (yesterday) she snatched the swab after a couple seconds so I had to start again.

No one else can help because they can't go near symptomatic people, normally DP and I do it together but I've done it solo too. Walk through every time.

olderthanyouthink · 16/06/2021 08:06

10 days of isolation means no childcare and working which is technically possible because we WFH but it's awful and no ones happy. If we couldn't WFH we'd have had to take loads of time off, we'd have had about 5 periods of isolation since September, 50 days! That's on top of when her nursery shut down in January because there were cases.

I hate swabbing her but it needs to be done unfortunately

DinoHat · 16/06/2021 08:08

@Jenjenn

Walk through - so they will do it? They are SO used to doing kids swabs, literally 100s a day. It is only a few seconds for swabbing. Try to relax, your son will pick up on your anxiety.
They won’t help me with my DS who’s two.

You’ll be ok OP. It’s over quickly. If he’s not been before he won’t anticipate it which will help.

DinoHat · 16/06/2021 08:09

Easiest one was done at home in her sleep but unfortunately timing makes that impractical, wish I could pick up a test take it home and bring it back.

I have been offered this option when DS has become really distressed. You can also order postal tests. It takes about 48 hours to get the result. I have ordered one to keep at home so I can send it as soon as he becomes symptomatic. He’s been to the test centre so much he kicks off in the car park, so I’m trying to avoid taking him again.

DumplingsAndStew · 16/06/2021 08:11

@Sometimesfraught82

Or if I absolutely had to, I’d “fake” it. Very swipe and then hand in
🙄🙄

You're so cool.

DinoHat · 16/06/2021 08:13

Do “fake” tests not yield an invalid result?

olderthanyouthink · 16/06/2021 08:24

@DinoHat the person at the test centre said we could just do one nostril as she was so upset, she saw the swab packet and freaked out, I did say about taking a test home but no dice. Postal tests are so slow, we don't normally get enough time for he needing to go back to nursery. I am tempted to order home tests preemptively but not sure how long they give to do the test before it expires?

Lostinacloud · 16/06/2021 08:27

Some of the stories on here are horrifying! What are we doing to our children? I’d rather not put them through a distressing test and just tell whoever wanted to know it was negative! All these people who have tested their 2.5 year old strapped down into a pram, how many times has it been positive? 0?
Kids are constantly ill through nursery and school, it’s normal. Why does everything have to be covid all the time!

Lostinacloud · 16/06/2021 08:28

If nothing else, can’t young children just spit on a lateral flow?

DumplingsAndStew · 16/06/2021 08:33

@Lostinacloud

Some of the stories on here are horrifying! What are we doing to our children? I’d rather not put them through a distressing test and just tell whoever wanted to know it was negative! All these people who have tested their 2.5 year old strapped down into a pram, how many times has it been positive? 0? Kids are constantly ill through nursery and school, it’s normal. Why does everything have to be covid all the time!
If you don't want to or can't do a test, you have the choice to isolate for ten days instead. Lying about a test result is idiotic.

If your child had to have bloods tested, would just just lie to the phlebotomist and give them an emergency sample?
Give a sample of your urine in place of a child's?
If your child needed antibiotics and wasn't keen, would you just lie and tell them they'd had them, now they feel better.

Sometimes kids need medical procedures and tests that they find unpleasant. Luckily with this one, there's an alternative if you don't want to do it - isolate.

Lostinacloud · 16/06/2021 08:42

No i wouldn’t deny my kids a blood test or other unpleasant medical procedure, but that is probably because there would be just reason to determine a very real illness by carrying them out.

Covid testing a small child with a fever or runny nose that could be caused by 1000 other viruses or bacteria is not comparable.

Wanttocry · 16/06/2021 08:48

@DinoHat

Do “fake” tests not yield an invalid result?
We had to do a test on DD last year when she was about 11 months. There was absolutely no way we went far enough up her nose, plus the people at the test centre told us we had to do her throat as well (without touching any other part of her mouth..) and she sucked on the swab Hmm It still came back negative, I was sure it would have been invalid!