Dear Nancy: Calm your uneasy baby at the doctor

Dear Nancy, My 18-month-old daughter hates to go to the doctor. When I took her in for her well-baby visit she screamed the entire time. She has had a lot of ear infections since she was born so she has been to the doctor a lot. Do you have any advice on how I can make her feel more comfortable and less apprehensive?

Frazzled Mom

Dear Frazzled Mom,

Most of the time when you take your daughter to the doctor she is not feeling well because of her ear infections. She equates the doctor with pain and discomfort. I actually had this same problem with my youngest daughter. I am going to give you the same advice my pediatrician gave me. She told me to go out and buy a children's doctor kit and play doctor with her. I did just that. I went out and bought a play doctor kit and almost everyday we played with it. My husband and I would show her the stethoscope and pretend to listen to her heart and breathing. Then we would let her be the doctor. We used the play otoscope to look in her ears and then she would look in our ears, trying to make it as fun as possible. The results were amazing. At her next visit the doctor came in the room and my daughter did not cry. The doctor looked at me and said, "She is being so good, what did you do?" I told her I took her advice, bought a play doctor kit, and played doctor with her. Children need to be prepared for different experiences so they are familiar and comfortable.

Sincerely,

Nancy

Nancy Johnson ran an in-home child-care business for more than 20 years. Send your questions to .