Ideas for testing little people

[ndo4000]

Waiting for a PCR test for my DD3. Anyone got ideas about how to actually swab a 3 year old?!? I tried to do a LFT and she wasn't having any of it!!

Any suggestions welcome!

Do the nasal swab only one and do it whilst asleep....even if she wakes you'll have had a better chance

Tell her exactly what you'll do first, show her some pictures or videos and tell it like a story; some children say it feels fizzy up their nose, some say it tickled..etc. A fear of the unknown makes it worse for toddler's vivid imaginations.

Maybe demonstrate on yourself first or let her try it herself (with a cotton bud from the bathroom)?

Count down from 20 so she knows how long it'll take.

And the thing that often works with toddlers is bribery so have a little bravery prize waiting.

Good luck!

I started singing a favourite nursery rhyme or Christmas song as a distraction while doing it. Works quite well. Much easier to just do both nostrils rather than back of throat and seems to work just as well.

Let them test a toy using a swab from an lft.
Do one on you at the same time.
Sing a little made up song every time about sticking things up your nose and smile and giggle.

Go for two nostrils, rather than throat.

If she's a heavy sleeper, try while she's asleep.

Otherwise do it while she's watching TV/engrossed in something else and just be very calm/matter if fact about it.

I wouldn't build it up with big explanations, countdowns etc. unless you think that will specifically help her. I find that for most small children it just makes it into a bigger thing than it is.

Me and my dd 2.5 played drs with her dr kit and I set us a kit up each, let her do the whole thing herself so she thought it was a game, she swabbed my nose and I did hers. By the time she realised how awful it was, it was done. I just said this might tickle your nose.

Strapped in pushchair or car seat, hold their arms down with one arm. Wedge head against the side with your elbow. Swab as fast as you can with the other. Ignore the screaming. Reward with favourite chocolate.
DD2 has had about 13 I think now. It’s shit!

Getting them to breathe out hard through their nose makes it less scratchy/tickly. Maybe get them to move a feather or similar

I've got a 7 year-old with autism and an 8 year-old who hates anything medical after having more than 20 operations. I turn it into a game and set the living room up like a drs waiting room with dining chairs and magazines. They take it in turns to be the nurse and show each other into the waiting room, call each other's names etc.

I wish I knew the answer. My DC, 2 and 6, have had so many and it’s got worse each time, it’s traumatic for all of us and none of the usual suggestions work.

“Strapped in pushchair or car seat, hold their arms down with one arm. Wedge head against the side with your elbow. Swab as fast as you can with the other. Ignore the screaming. Reward with favourite chocolate.
DD2 has had about 13 I think now”

Ducking hell. WTAF is wrong with you? Sure this isn’t going to traumatise your poor kid at all.

I’d reached rock bottom and tried everything with my 3 yo and almost decided to give up work so it didn’t matter if we spent the entire time isolating her…. Then a breakthrough
She does it herself. It says adults have to do it but that’s impossible for us so I get her to do a thorough job. So for each nostril I tell her to make it go round and round for the whole of a nursery rhyme, she is extremely good at getting a good sample!

Any older siblings you could do first with a cotton bud? That’s works for my 3 year old.

Plus chocolate buttons! Also I get her to hold something in each hand, a soft toy and the chocolate. So she can’t try to grab the swab off me.

I heard if you tell them to pick their nose with the swab and let them do it the self it works for primary age kids but maybe 3 is still too young for that

We have been pinning dc(2) down in car seat. It's the only way to get it in nose. It is traumatic for sure but the alternative for most of the last 18 months would have been 10 days off work and school for the whole family, on many occasions

@SweetBabyCheeses99

“Strapped in pushchair or car seat, hold their arms down with one arm. Wedge head against the side with your elbow. Swab as fast as you can with the other. Ignore the screaming. Reward with favourite chocolate. DD2 has had about 13 I think now”

Ducking hell. WTAF is wrong with you? Sure this isn’t going to traumatise your poor kid at all.

Oh do fuck off. If you have any better ideas then do tell. I have had to do these practically monthly for over a year for nursery since she was 13 months old. It’s how the GP told me to do it when I ended up in tears. DD is not traumatised at all. She likes the chocolate. She actually now sticks random crap up her nose calling it a Covid Test in order to have more chocolate. I’m sure she doesn’t need therapy!

@Megan2018

Strapped in pushchair or car seat, hold their arms down with one arm. Wedge head against the side with your elbow. Swab as fast as you can with the other. Ignore the screaming. Reward with favourite chocolate. DD2 has had about 13 I think now. It’s shit!

What?!

I've tried doing it whilst asleep (success!), singing a silly song (not an entire success), and 'going on a bogey hunt' like going on a bear hunt (success).

@Megan2018 I'm with you, surely most people who have had to do a toddler more than once do need to restrain the . I mean, we did softly softly the first time or two but he got wise to it once he'd felt that thing up his nose and didn't want another one so started thrashing when he saw the swab

Genuinely thinking those who are shocked by this either don't have a toddler or have not been testing them. Or they have a different kind of toddler than we do....

No I don't enjoy it and I bloody well think developing those spit tests would have been a good idea

Genuinely thinking those who are shocked by this either don't have a toddler or have not been testing them. Or they have a different kind of toddler than we do.... I swear I have never had to do this and I've done about 20 PCR on the poor thing. I had no idea some people struggled so much I'm so sorry. I usually just give up when it gets too hard and try again later.

Bribery!! I had to bribe mine by promising to buy a bag of jelly beans (she's not a chocolate fan).

It's really hard. She's had injections and never cried once, but lateral flow swabs she cries and now refuses having done at all.

Agree do the nasal swab one if you need to when they are asleep mine is pretty good at having his nose cleaned so I have been able to get away with it when he's awake.

Ah we have been going to drive through so no option to try later

Do you HAVE to test her? I mean, there's always the option of "just don't bother" - unless you must for a hospital admission or something else critical...

Goodies (haribos or chocolate) in one hand, swab in the other. No goodies until swab is done.

Although to be fair, dd has had so many PCR tests in the last 20 months (she gets a temp every single time she so much as gets a snotty nose, I think we've done about 20 by now ), she'll put the swab up her nose herself by now - I help because she'd never swab properly. There are things she loves to do which she knows she can't do until she gets her test results back, that also helps to focus her a bit.