On today’s show Dr Fitness and the Fat Guy had on Rob Luka RN, author of the book How to Help Children Overcome Fear in a Medical Setting. Rob is a registered nurse with lots of first hand experience helping kids feel comfortable at the doctor’s office.
A great tip Rob shared was for the parent to present a calm demeanor and not look frightened in front of the child. Rob says the child is looking to the parent for visual cues to let him/her know what is going on. So if the parent looks panicked then the child is going to feel scared as well. Rob also explained that having the parent demonstrate the procedure first the child can see that it isn’t so bad and will go along. this works especially well with showing your child how to swallow a pill or get his/her blood pressure taken. He has worked with lots of kids who have juvenile diabetes and has helped their families manage the regular injections and blood testing they have to deal with. His goal is to educate parents and nursing students on some proven techniques that will make children of all ages feel safer and less fearful in the doctor’s office. To learn more please go to his website www.robluka.com
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Tags: book, children, Diabetes, doctors office, expert, fear, health, kids, nurse, overcome, parents, rob luka
