I agree strongly with being matter of fact about it. If we get emotional, THEY definitely will too. I also believe in being honest about needing stuff like shots, labs, iv's. And even if I don't THINK so... one time I said so, and it turned out she did- and we had a meltdown on our hands. So now I tell her "We will have to ask."
I agree that they need to know it's vital stuff to keep them healthy, but I will not tell her that something 'doesn't hurt' (even if I think it doesn't) or that something isn't that bad (even if I don't think it is) because I don't want to minimize her feelings or fears when it's clear she is upset about something going on. Our kids needs to know that they cannot get out of whatever needs to get done and they will continue to need medical stuff done on a regular basis, but these feelings and fears are real to them and take time to work through.
Young toddler age is a common age for dr issues, because they start to develop some memory of having been there before. Older kids can develop different types of fears as well as they develop more understanding of what's going on and remember more details of past procedures, etc.
My daughter is older (8) than many kids dealing with doctor fears but she's also dev. delayed and not capable of really deep conversations about this stuff; on par with a considerably younger child in many ways with this kind of thing. Books do help, and when she was younger role-playing with a doctor kit did too.
I agree that they need to know it's vital stuff to keep them healthy, but I will not tell her that something 'doesn't hurt' (even if I think it doesn't) or that something isn't that bad (even if I don't think it is) because I don't want to minimize her feelings or fears when it's clear she is upset about something going on. Our kids needs to know that they cannot get out of whatever needs to get done and they will continue to need medical stuff done on a regular basis, but these feelings and fears are real to them and take time to work through.
Young toddler age is a common age for dr issues, because they start to develop some memory of having been there before. Older kids can develop different types of fears as well as they develop more understanding of what's going on and remember more details of past procedures, etc.
My daughter is older (8) than many kids dealing with doctor fears but she's also dev. delayed and not capable of really deep conversations about this stuff; on par with a considerably younger child in many ways with this kind of thing. Books do help, and when she was younger role-playing with a doctor kit did too.