Local nurse shares tips to help parents vaccinating kids against COVID-19

A local public health nurse is sharing tips to help parents make vaccination more comfortable for their children.

This is coming ahead of COVID-19 vaccine booking opening Tuesday for children above the age of five. 

In a community update on Friday, Rosalie Shorney, a Region of Waterloo public health nurse in vaccine preventable disease suggested parents use the CARDS technique to “play their cards” for a better vaccination experience for their kids. 

CARDS stands for comfort, ask, relax, and distract.

Shorney suggested creating a comfortable environment for children, talking to them about what they can do to make them feel like they have a bit of control, and empowering them to overcome negative thoughts.

“Validate their feelings of concern…but don't focus on the worry,” explained Shorney.

She added that it may also be helpful to limit exposure to media or news that can be anxiety-provoking for children.

“Ask” is about listening and talking with your child, asking them questions, and being open and honest with them.

Shorney said, “Some questions you can ask are things like: How are you feeling? How can we make you more comfortable? Do you want to sit on my lap or do you want to sit by yourself? What is a fun thing that we can do afterwards?”

She also recommended parents model relaxation.

“Children see and feel what parents are doing and often do the same,” she explained.

Some ways to do this are: to speak to your child in a calm and normal voice; practicing taking deep belly breaths with them; practicing positive self talk; and being flexible in adjusting expectations.

Another useful tool is to distract children.

Shorney suggested: limiting the amount of time children focus on what's making them anxious; talking about things they like; or using smartphones to play games or watch videos. 

“On the day of the vaccination, you can get numbing cream for your kids. You can get it without a prescription. You can just go to the pharmacy and ask for it. It does help numb the skin, where the needle enters the skin,” she added.

Shorney stressed reading the directions of the numbing cream and making sure to apply it in the right spot. 

“Looking at their arm, you want to find the bony part of their shoulder, and in between the bony part and their armpit is where you put the cream,” she said. 

She recommended parents go with their gut, since parents know their kids best and how they will react. 

You can find Shorney's full segment here.