Immunization saves lives and keeps children and adults from developing dangerous diseases. However, a fear of needles may complicate this process and make it harder for somebody to get regularly immunized. Parents, therefore, need to fully understand where this fear originates and take steps to manage it properly.

Injection Fear Starts Young

Immunization often starts at a very young age for children, typically when they are infants. Unfortunately, this experience may be traumatic for many children and trigger a lifelong aversion to needles. Unfortunately, this fear may occur every time a child goes to get immunized and cause a fight to avoid the process.

This problem can be very frustrating for parents and traumatic for a child. In some situations, a child may grow into an adult with a fear of needles that they cannot shake. Understanding where this fear originates can make immunization easier by preventing and managing this problem when they grow up to be adults.

Needle Fear Has Many Triggers

Needle fear is a situation that occurs for many different reasons. First of all, a child may be afraid of needles simply because they look scary. They are long, narrow, and look like they would hurt when pushed into the arm. The child may also misunderstand how the needle works and think that it will poke through their arm.

These fears, which might seem silly to an adult, are very hard for infants and young children to ignore. In fact, the panic caused by an immunization in which the child wasn't properly prepared to handle could cause the child to have panic attacks as an adult when confronted with needles during immunization for their own children.

Helping Children Avoid This Issue

Children who are afraid of needles or who may develop this fear need to be treated with respect and dignity by their parents. Individuals who try to make fun of them for their fear or act like the child is simply behaving poorly does not understand what is happening and could make it worse for the tearful young one.

Instead, parents should get immunized with their child at the same time and let the child see the parent react well to the injection. This type of behavior modeling is a powerful tool for very young children. If they can see that needles aren't scary, they can get through their immunization process more easily and remain healthy and happy long into life.

Parents who take this step while their child is still an infant (yet able to comprehend what is happening) could eliminate a child's potential fear of needles. Even better, they can then emotionally prepare their children for when they are adults with children of their own who need vaccinations.

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