How to Help Your Kid Feel Less Freaked Out By Needles

For many kids, getting blood drawn is scary: After all, a relatively unfamiliar person is sticking a sharp needle in their arm.¹ Children might feel a loss of control and autonomy, a sense of danger, and a general fear of pain (just like many adults do).² Roughly 63% of kids between the ages of six to eight fear needles. Among kids ages four to 16 with type 1 diabetes, who encounter needles more frequently beginning with their first screening for the condition and as they receive fingersticks and insulin injections after diagnosis, 40% experience injection anxiety.³

Kids have very active imaginations (as you probably know quite well, if you’re a parent or guardian). In advance of a blood draw, they might come up with all sorts of scenarios about what will take place—they may not know how big the needle is, where in their body it’s going, or how much blood they’ll have to give, Benjamin U. Nwosu, MD, the chief of endocrinology at Cohen Children’s Medical Center at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York, tells SELF. “Kids are kids. Their brains are still developing, so they don’t know the extent of what’s going to happen,” Dr. Nwosu says.

Blood draws might be particularly difficult for your kid if they’ve had negative experiences with them. Kids may remember the pain they experienced during past blood draws—maybe a nurse couldn’t find their vein, or they passed out.⁴ That can influence their ability to cope with future blood draws, suggests a study evaluating the fear of needles in kids with type 1 diabetes.⁵

Children often express their emotions through behavior instead of words—so they might become withdrawn or aggressive, or refuse to cooperate when they’re having a hard time.² In terms of anxiety about needles, this can look like squirming in their seat, screaming and crying, or trying to run out of the room, making blood draws a difficult and time-consuming task for everyone involved. This means it might be more stress-inducing for you, especially if they’re getting their blood drawn for an important screening that you might already feel nervous about.¹ Dr. Nwosu has seen his fair share of kids bolt for the door—and, based on his experiences, has advice for how you can keep your kid calmer during their next appointment.

Prepare your kid—and plan to distract them.

The best way to ease your kid’s anxiety about blood work? Take some time to explain to them what’s going to happen, Dr. Nwosu says. Getting your kid ready by letting them know what to expect and what the point of it all is can improve their understanding and make them feel more comfortable, studies show.¹