Lesson #10 (pages 50-53) builds upon lesson #9 by taking your child from communication of injury and/or illness, and introducing them to the concept of medical personnel, to actually being in a doctor’s office for treatment.  Within the pictures of this lesson, are examples of bravery, teamwork and an understanding that anxiety and worry is natural during times of uncertainty.  All of these lessons will in turn help children build a more positive view of interaction with medical staff regardless of the situation.

Primary lessons in this picture:  Information and Understanding

• Develop clear understanding of bravery, teamwork and a healthy acceptance of anxiety and worry in unknown situations.

  • I am brave (Rico, pages 50 & 52).

  • I am your teammate. Let’s be brave together (Meow Meow, pages 50 & 52).

  • Showing support by showing it wasn’t so bad (Bonnie Sue, pages 51 & 53).

  • I am scared (Jesse, pages 51 & 53).

Plans of Action and Reaction:  Bravery and Preparation:

• Develop communication standard operating procedures and plans of action that both children and adults can learn and follow.

  • Issue: I am brave (Rico, pages 50 & 52).

    • Action:

      • Utilizing Rico’s actions of bravery, encourage children to be “brave like Rico” as a mantra when anxiety and worry are present.

  • Issue: I am your teammate. Let’s be brave together (Meow Meow, pages 50 & 52).

    • Action:

      • If you have more than one child, building a feeling of teamwork is very important in order to support each other in situations of anxiety and worry.

      • If a child has no siblings, it is important for the parent/guardian to develop a healthy and supportive communication system where fear can be expressed openly and a feeling of togetherness and trust are built before an incident occurs.

  • Issue: Showing support by showing it wasn’t so bad (Bonnie Sue, pages 51 & 53).

    • Action:

      • Building upon teamwork among siblings and friends, supporting each other through scary situations such as getting a shot, can help develop a strong sense of courage in children. Roleplaying doctor visits before the real one is also a healthy way to build courage.

  • Issue: I am scared (Jesse, pages 51 & 53).

    • Action:

      • Developing healthy coping mechanisms for fear are an important part of a child’s life, and one of the most overlooked by parents. Understanding fear and how to cope with it is something that a child can learn over time before they are faced with their own situations such as going to the doctor or dentist.  Use this entire set of pictures as a way to develop an understanding of anxiety and fear by repeating the bravery, teamwork, trust and communications skills needed to deal with scary situations.  Jesse shows that it is ok to be scared

Conclusion:

It is safe to say that doctor and dentist visits can be scary situations for children.  But did you ever stop to think that they can also be great learning experiences?  Learn to utilize the before and after times of those visits to reduce the fixation of fear often associated with the unknown.