Our number one tip for calm kids at the doctor
Have you ever been tempted to commit a little bit of bribery to have calm kids at the doctor’s office? Often kids experience high levels of anxiety at the doctor, and it may be tempting to try this- but we’ve got something better. Have you tried using mindfulness? Stay with us and we’ll explain.
Doctors make a lot of people scared (not us… okay, sometimes us), but a visit to the doctor’s office makes most children a little nervous. Sitting in the waiting room can be a massive trigger of anxiety for children. They sit and anxiously wait for the doctor around other sick, uncomfortable kids who are loud or crying. Sometimes kids cry while in the examination room with the doctor, which can make their fears far worse.
Often parents try to persuade their kids to behave well by offering them treats after their doctor’s visit, but there are more effective ways to have calm kids in this situation. One of our favourites is mindfulness. This is a great way of instilling a sense of calm in your children that they can use in any stressful or anxiety-inducing situation.
Before we get into our mindfulness tips, let’s start at the beginning…
Explore: 4 Tips for Choosing the Best Family Doctor Plus How You Can Afford It
What is mindfulness?
In the dictionary, mindfulness is described as “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”
This basically translates into the practice of being fully present in the moment in a non-judgmental way. It’s a way of teaching your children to understand their mind-body connection and how to stop being overly reactive to thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations.
Mindfulness can calm kids and help them stay focused regardless of what is happening in their environment.
Research indicates that mindfulness helps reduce stress and anxiety when they’re in stressful or uncomfortable situations. Next time your child is feeling antsy while in the doctor’s waiting room, try teaching them these mindfulness techniques to distract them and keep them calm.
Related: Stay Healthy This Winter: 10 Tips for How to Not Get Sick
Mindfulness techniques
Mindful breathing games
Controlling your breathing is a great way to minimise stress and anxiety. Teaching your kids to breathe mindfully will help them soothe their own anxiety, and the best way to do that is by making it a game. This is a perfect way to teach them how to reduce their stress in a fun and playful way.
Birthday Candle
The birthday candle is a fun breathing game for your youngsters. Ask them to pretend they’re blowing out a birthday candle. They must take a deep breath in and then push the breath out as if they’re blowing out all their birthday candles. The higher their stress levels, the more birthday candles they must imagine blowing out.
Heart Hands
Ask your children to create a heart shape with their hands. As they breathe in, they can expand their hands into a heart shape. As they breathe out, their hands collapse into two fists side by side. This is an easy on-the-go exercise since no props are necessary.
These two quick games are important to teach your little ones how to breathe in and out slowly and to focus their energy on something that will help them.
Five senses scavenger hunt
The five senses scavenger hunt is a very common exercise to assist both adults and children with their anxiety.
Changing your child’s focus from their fears to their five senses is a great way of redirecting their thoughts using mindfulness. Here’s how it works:
Step 1:
Ask your little one to point out 5 things they see around them in the waiting room. Ask them to describe each item—what colour it is, if it’s big or small—and what it reminds them of.
Step 2:
Ask your kiddies to touch 4 things. It could be their hair, clothing, chair, carpet, your handbag, magazines—anything. Ask them to tell you what each item feels like. Is it smooth, rough, cold?
Step 3:
Shhh… Ask your kids to keep still and silent for a few seconds.
Can they find 3 things they can hear? A clock ticking, a phone ringing, people talking, pages rustling, or an air conditioner humming?
Pro tip: Ask them to do this with their eyes closed to really focus.
Step 4:
Ask them to find 2 different smells while they’re sitting in the waiting room. They might smell perfume, hand sanitiser, or even something from outside. Ask if they like or dislike the smells.
Step 5:
Finally, ask your kids to identify 1 thing they can taste.
You might need to bring along a snack for this one. If not, ask them to describe what their favourite food tastes like or what they wish they were eating.
Discover: Do you want access to private sector healthcare? We’ll show you how you CAN afford it.
These are small but effective tips to have calm kids that are distracted in a healthy and mindful way. These techniques can help them in a variety of stressful situations. Waiting to see the doctor can feel like an eternity, so these games are a great way to keep your little ones calm and quiet!
Yours in hassle-free healthcare,
The Oneplan Health Insurance Team
