Preparing children for taking blood samples can reduce stress and anxiety, which is almost the same in both children and parents. Here are some tips to draw your attention to some aspects that you are certainly intuitive to understand, but you probably don’t give them enough attention.

To avoid stress, it is recommended to conduct mental preparation for children before sampling collection. For children under two years old, prior training is not needed; and yet some tips will be helpful to you:

first of all, you should know that your child will probably cry (he/she could even scream very loudly);

the baby’s cry is due to unfamiliar background, the presence of strangers, your absence and, certainly, to physical movement restrictions;

the best you can do to help your child is to be present at the time of sampling, showing your affection. Children over two years old are aware of fear, and crying also occurs because of the pain experienced during sample collecting.

the child over two years old must be prepared from home. It would be good to explain to him/her where you will go, that on his/her hand will be applied a garrote, that the hand will be treated with a solution that reduces the pain, that through a small pinch, which is practically not painful, some blood is collected.

So it is very important to diminish the fear of the child by explaining what will happen, this way:

• you simulate in play what will happen during sampling;
• explain with the simplest words, showing at the same time the part of the body that will be affected (fear can be diminished by knowledge);
• any clarification must be given 5-10 minutes before sampling;
• use toys or dolls to make it possible to visualize the process as accurately as possible;
• during blood collection, immobilization is most likely to be needed. Your presence next to your child through physical contact helps a lot;
• try to convince the child that the collecting procedure is not a punishment and at the same time give it the freedom to cry or express verbal pain.