Needle Fear and Threat in Children

Many families threaten young children with a needle prick as the means of making them disciplined and avoiding unacceptable behavior. Due to this adult behavior, children avoid medical care and are difficult to be examined medically.
This study aimed to investigate how the threat of using a needle might change children's behavior toward medical examination.
The mothers of 88 children, ages 2–12 years who came for a health checkup, were asked whether they ever threatened their children with a needle prick or an injection. Then, the children underwent a standard medical examination. The threatened and nonthreatened children were 33 and 55, respectively. The threatened children were found to be less cooperative and difficult to be examined. They were scared, crying, agitated, or panicky.
Children who were threatened with a needle or an injection were noncooperative or even hostile to doctors. Hence, it is recommended that therapeutic and prophylactic injections be kept to the minimum and replaced with oral or rectal medications. The means to reduce needle pain ought to be used more freely to ameliorate pain and establish a more cooperative response to doctor`s examination. Parents of young children should stop threatening children with a needle prick or an injection as the means of teaching them acceptable behavior and discipline.