child handling for the childless nurse
My current job has me working with children, which is kind of a weird shock after years in environments where aĀ āyoungā patient is 40 years old. Ā Hereās my impressions so far:
Birth - 1 year: Essentially a small cute animal. Ā Handle accordingly; gently and affectionately, but relying heavily on the caregivers and with no real expectation of cooperation.
Age 1 - 2: Hates you. Ā Hates you so much. Ā You can smile, you can coo, you can attempt to soothe; they hate you anyway, because youāre a stranger and youāre scary and youāre touching them. Ā Thereās no winning this so just get it over with as quickly and non-traumatically as possible.
Age 3 - 5: Nervous around medical things, but possible to soothe. Ā Easily upset, but also easily distracted from the thing that upset them. Ā Smartphone cartoons andĀ āwho wants a sticker?!!?!?ā are key management techniques.
Age 6 - 10: Really cool, actually. Ā I did not realize kids were this cool. Ā Around this age they tend to be fairly outgoing, and super curious and eager to learn. Ā Absolutely do not babytalk; instead, flatter them with how grown-up they are, teach them some Fun Gross Medical Facts, and introduce potentially frightening experiences withĀ āhey, you want to see something really cool?ā
Age 11 - 14: Extremely variable. Ā Can be very childish or very mature, or rapidly switch from one mode to the other. Ā At this point you can almost treat them as an adult, justā¦ a really sensitive and unpredictable adult. Ā Do not, under any circumstances, offer stickers. Ā (But they might grab one out of the bin anyway.)
Age 15 - 18: Basically an adult with severely limited life experience. Ā Treat as an adult who needs a little extra education with their care. Ā Keep parents out of the room as much as possible, unless the kid wants them there. Ā At this point you can go ahead and offer stickers again, because theyāll probably think itās funny. Ā And theyāll want one. Ā Deep down, everyone wants a sticker.
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