Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Short story: we didn't end up using it. Read on for what worked for us instead. My son has extreme needle phobia. He was cautiously optimistic about trying the ShotBlocker for his vaccination. But in the end we didn't use it because there was no way of knowing ahead of time whether the person giving the injection would be willing to use it. Knowing my son's level of fear and his need to feel some control over the situation, we couldn't risk bringing the ShotBlocker and being told we couldn't use it. Here's what we did instead. It started with a majorly failed attempt to get vaccinated at a clinic. Complete panic, as if he was going to be thrown into a pool of sharks. No amount of distraction, reassurance or bribery could touch the fear. We left. We cried. Then we talked, a lot. What's the worst thing about getting a shot? What's feels scary? For my son it boiled down to fear that it would hurt (despite countless assurances from friends and adults that it didn't hurt--because panic does not listen to reason!), and the fact that it was being done to him intentionally. I called our pediatrician, who gave a few options, and we decided to try a prescription numbing cream that would be applied an hour before the injection. We filled the prescription, and in the meantime we kept talking about it. We listened to a kids' podcast about the vaccine. We talked about the benefits of being vaccinated. We watched videos of people getting their shots. He concluded that he wanted to be vaccinated, he just didn't want a shot. So we started "practicing". Basically we were doing exposure therapy. We got some glue applicator syringes on Amazon and gradually worked our way up to getting poked in the arm with the pointy part. We practiced talking through what would happen, in detail. "It's time to get my vaccine. We get in the car and buckle up. We go into the building and check in at the desk..." Etc. We did this regularly over a couple of weeks. We agreed on a plan for how far in advance to tell him about the appointment (he wanted to know the day before). All throughout this preparation, he knew that we would be using the numbing cream and we looked at the tube and the instructions together. The idea that he would almost certainly not feel anything was clearly a huge relief to him. When it was finally time to tell him about his appointment the next day, there was a brief reaction of fear/anger, but he calmed down quickly. The next morning, we applied the cream as directed and headed out. Everything about his demeanor was opposite of our last attempt. He said he was still feeling scared; we talked through it and kept things light. I reminded him: you can handle this. You've been practicing. We have a plan! And it worked. He sat calmly on the table playing games on my phone and then it was done before he even knew it. The look of relief and happiness on his face brought me to tears. He was so proud of himself. Later when I asked him what helped the most, he said, "The cream. It made me feel safe." I wanted to share this here, in a place where other struggling families might see it, to offer some hope and encouragement. No single thing is going to solve everyone's phobia, but getting to the root of the fear and communicating openly with your child might lead you to solutions. Sending strength to all the kids and parents out there. You're doing a good job.