Are anyone else's kids getting distressed with all the testing?

[musicalfrog]

Our LA has asked that all children ages 2 and up are LF tested twice weekly.

My child age 8 hates getting tested, we've done it about 5 times in as many weeks due to symptoms and close contacts, every time it's been negative. I really don't want to put my kids through it any more. Anyone else feeling the same?

Honestly, if anyone thinks doing tests on preschoolers is easy I invite them to come and try with my nearly 3 year old. I'm not anxious about them, he's seen us do them, we've talked about it and he understands a bit, and he's fine straight afterwards with a biscuit bribe. But he kicks off every time, and is scared of the testing centre (we've had to do a lot for nursery).

He is getting better now he's getting older, less screaming. But still... not fun. Hideous when he was around 2.

No, because I quite simply wouldn’t be doing it. DD (almost 4) has never had a test and I’m not planing on starting any time soon.

I would suggest the kids are picking up on the parent's anxiety about it.

Not the case. I’m not anxious at all I still wouldn’t do a three year old twice weekly. Others can if they wish to, up to them.

Also when DD went for her flu vaccine, the nasal spray, the nurse said they'd had way more hysterical kids than usual because they thought it was another Covid test

That’s very sad. DD waltzed into the surgery last week for her nasal spray and told us afterwards that she’d actually enjoyed it. Makes me doubly glad that we’ve never had to subject her to Covid testing and she has no resultant hang ups around it.

@DumplingsAndStew
I’m assuming they are talking about the Ethylene Oxide on the sticks.

I know that some people are concerned about it. They feel that inserting something with it on up their nose one or twice is one thing but to be putting Ethylene Oxide up your nose on such a regular basis can’t possibly be good for you.

Who knows 🤷

Laughing at the idea of LFTs being invasive 🤣🤣🤣🤣

You do realise how your child reacts to these things is directly related to your own attitude. Quite DS would have managed taking 20+ vials of blood tests if I had thought a LFT flow test is invasive is beyond me.

If you have the privilege of being
able to find LFT invasive, you need to check yourself. There are kids younger than yours dealing with much worse and on a ongoing basis.

If the only thing you can do to help them (and other CEV individuals) live as easy/normal life as possible is to administer something as simple as a LFT twice weekly, it's pretty shitty not to.

@thewhatsit

Gosh, what LA is this?

I didn’t think we were supposed to be LFTing anyone under high school age.

Essex

LFTs are invasive

There are 'worse' or more invasive procedures but the definition of invasive covers LFTs.

Bloody nightmare but the little one doesn't seem to mind it. They've had so many now.

@rrhuth

There are 'worse' or more invasive procedures but the definition of invasive covers LFTs.

Yeah it's not exactly noninvasive is it!!

I didn’t realise they were asking younger children to do regular tests I thought it was still over 11s. I have found the new rapid tests much easier and the kids haven’t minded them but they are older.

Ok @Caramellatteplease - explain this. I LFT twice a week for work. I do them in front of my children, don’t make a fuss, show them it doesn’t hurt etc. I’m the most stoic person you will find when it comes to medical procedures. I recently had a camera down my throat with local anaesthetic, no sedation. I’ve had wisdom teeth out happily. I’ve pushed two bloody babies out my vag with gas & air.

I very much have this approach with my children. We don’t fuss about minor bumps or cuts. But I’m obviously sympathetic to the fact they are 4 & 1.

Yet my 4 year & 18 month continue to scream hysterically when a swab comes anywhere near them. I don’t know why. My eldest knows it doesn’t really hurt but she’s still scared. Shes 4. Shes not that rational.

And yep, there are kids having much worse out there but thank god my kids haven’t gone through anything like that so far in their lives. If they ever do, I’m sure they’d come to find a covid test easy. But right now, they don’t have any context of ‘other kids are having much worse procedures’. They are 4 & 1.

I hope you are kinder to your kids.

They want asymptomatic 2 year olds to be tested weekly?! That'd be a big fat fuck off from me straight away.

@RichTeaRichTea

Ok so you haven’t had that experience then. I do regular LFTs on myself, I don’t find them distressing.

No, not having preschoolers.

But we either get better mitigations to reduce the spread. Or we have to keep bloody testing 🤷🏻‍♀️

@fungussingstheblues

What do the chemicals do to the nose lining?

What chemicals? It's a cotton bud!

they don’t have any context of ‘other kids are having much worse procedures’.

That might be a good place to start, teaching them how luck they are in life. Understanding why you are doing the test that you are part of a community and that everyone can help each other is another option.

I certainly wouldn't be so "nice" a parent as to let my kids think screaming hysterically over something as invasive as picking your nose is normal.

@Caramellatteplease

they don’t have any context of ‘other kids are having much worse procedures’.

That might be a good place to start, teaching them how luck they are in life. Understanding why you are doing the test that you are part of a community and that everyone can help each other is another option.

I certainly wouldn't be so "nice" a parent as to let my kids think screaming hysterically over something as invasive as picking your nose is normal.

You can approach it as you like

But any argument for it doesn’t sway

@Toddlerteaplease
I posted an answer up thread.
I believe it connected to the Ethylene Oxide which is on the cotton bud.
Some people feel that putting something with Ethylene oxide up your nose one or twice is one thing, but to be doing it on a regular basis can’t possibly be good for your health.

That’s all I’ve been told about it. 🤷

The chemical on my kits is applied after the Swab is taken.

@Toddlerteaplease

The chemical on my kits is applied after the Swab is taken.

I’ve no clue so I just looked up a freedom of information request on the gov website about it. According to the report, Ethylene Oxide is on the swabs before you use them to sterilise them. They say it is safe for the twice a week testing.

To be fair, not got going to say otherwise are they.

Wondering if some people on this thread have ever actually met a toddler

DD is not an anxious child. We aren't anxious about any kind of medical procedure. She isn't bothered about jabs, bumps and scrapes, etc. She will happily watch me do a LFT or a PCR, which I do with no fuss. But she finds a swab being put up her own nose very distressing. So do all her toddler friends who now get distressed the minute they pull into the car park of the testing facility. You can't rationalise things with young toddlers. They are too young to understand, and it's far more invasive than 'picking your nose'.

For one, I am the one who has to control the swab so it's done properly, so it's more of an analogy like someone else picking your nose. And that means you have no control over how far it goes or when it happens. Would you be happy with someone else sticking their finger up your nose as high as is uncomfortable and swizzling it round? While also lacking the understanding as to why it needs to be done? I doubt it.

Completely agree @Bobholll, mine are 4 and 5 and exactly the same response despite DH and I doing in front of them regularly with no reaction. They have both had blood tests and other invasive test and vaccinations in the past year with not a tear between them but the sight of the cotton bud for the LFT invokes fear and meltdowns.

Both were also distressed by the flu vaccines this year despite having happily had it multiple times in the past.

We are doing PCRs whenever school/childcare request them and if close contact, we will work out how to get them to do the necessary daily LFTs when the time comes but I refuse to subject them to it on an ongoing basis for the forseeable future

Absolutely not doing regular lft on my kids (4 and 2). Both hate it and cry but the 2 year old particularly gets so awfully worked up and requires one of us to hold him down and the other to test. It's absolutely not fair on them at all. We've don't it a few times in the last few weeks for being close contacts of a positive case. We were all negative. Otherwise, we won't be doing it. They can't force you to do it, so refuse.

Nope. I would only be doing it if they had symptoms or had come into contact with someone with covid. Wondering what next year will be like. Ds is year 6 and I don't think he'll cope with regular lft testing at school! 😪