4 Tips To Help Your Child Lose Their Fear Of The Doctor
One of the most common fears in childhood is fear of the doctor, especially between 2 and 5 years of age. Is it the case with your son? If so, the following lines interest you, because in them we give you some tips to help your little one lose this fear.
But first, it must be clarified that it is normal for children to feel uncertainty and insecurity when having to go to the doctor, since they must face an unknown situation in which a person outside the nearby environment invades their personal space and, on some occasions, perform procedures that cause some pain or discomfort.
4 tips to help your child lose their fear of the doctor
1. Notify doctor visits in advance
If your child perceives going to the doctor as something threatening and dangerous, it is important that he knows several days in advance that he has to go to a medical appointment, so that this does not take him by surprise and can be done little by little to the idea.
2. Transmit security and trust
As a mother or father, in this situation, you have to act as a source of support and trust. To do this, it is convenient that you explain to your little one that you will accompany him to the doctor’s visit and that he should not worry because you will be there for whatever he needs.
In addition, to make the child feel more secure, you can tell him to choose one of his favorite toys or objects (a stuffed animal, a doll, his blanket, etc.) to also accompany him and stay with him during the consultation.
3. Play doctors and tell stories set in health centers
A great idea to make your child lessen or lose his fear of the doctor is to play games related to the health field with him. Thus, in a playful way, the child is given the opportunity to experience how the role of doctor or nurse and the role of patient are carried out, and what practices are usually carried out.
Another good idea is to get hold of a story set in health centers and read it together with the child, so that he or she gets to know what the environment that the doctor is going to find is like and that it does not cause so much uncertainty.
4. Avoid negative comments about the work of healthcare personnel
Sometimes adults complain and criticize the work of health personnel, and share their bad experiences at the doctor. If you have a child who is afraid to go to the doctor, you should avoid making these types of negative comments in front of him, because with them you will only be helping to feed that fear.
On the contrary, you have to convey that doctors are there to help people and not to harm them, and that going to them is not a punishment, but a necessity to be healthy and fully enjoy life.
Fear of the doctor or phobia?
If you think that your child’s fear of going to the doctor is irrational, excessive and disabling, it may not be a simple childhood fear, but a phobia, specifically, he may suffer from iatrophobia.
In this case, surely, the advice mentioned above will not serve to reduce or end the problem, so it is recommended to ask for help from a psychologist specialized in the treatment of phobias.
What is iatrophobia?
Iatrophobia is a type of social phobia characterized by experiencing extreme and irrational fear of doctors or health personnel in general. People who suffer from this disorder, in these situations, feel intense discomfort, anxiety and even true panic.
The importance of treating the fear of the doctor
Ultimately, it is important to treat the fear of the doctor as soon as the problem is detected. At the end of the day, it is inevitable to go to him both in childhood and throughout life.
As soon as your child understands that this person dressed in a white coat is his ally and not his enemy, he will be able to face visits to the doctor in a more relaxed and less insecure way.
