My Get-Better Basket Trick

The moment I became a parent, I understood certain things were inevitable- like colds, coughs, cuts, scrapes, bruises, the list goes on! What I didn’t realize was nursing all of those inevitable things that come with parenting would be extremely difficult, thanks to a fear most children have of the very things they need to feel better.

In honor of Baby Safety Month, I’ve partnered with HealthyEssentials.com– my favorite online resource for healthy living insights, tips, tricks and savings, to share my secret to easing Narayan’s fear of thermometers, medicine and everything in-between, during his most vulnerable moments of not feeling well.

Tanesha Awasthi (formerly known as Girl with Curves) shares ways to ease your child's fear of doctors.

From a really young age, Narayan’s suffered from allergies and frequent colds. Visits to the doctor used to be extremely stressful to the say the least. Crying, along with kicking and screaming as soon as we pulled up to the pediatrician’s office was a regular occurrence, in addition to giving nurses and doctors a hard time taking his temperature, let alone looking in his ears, throat, and administering medicine. After seeing how stressed he was time and time again, I made it my mission to find a way to relieve his anxiety around visiting the doctor and being sick in general.

After returning home from one of the most intense meltdowns at the doctor’s office one day, I came up with an idea for what I call a get-better basket. Like most parents, we store Narayan’s toys in bins and baskets, so I thought keeping first-aid essentials, along with a flashlight, thermometer, a toy stethoscope, his favorite blanket and stuffed animal in a basket just like we do his toys, could be the first step in easing his stress of being sick and visiting the doctor.

Here’s what we keep in his get–better basket:

Flashlight
Thermometer
Toy stethoscope
His favorite blanket
A stuffed animal
Band-Aid bandages
Infants’ Tylenol
Desitin Maximum Strength
Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream

Now at two and a half, whenever he isn’t feeling well, we take out his get-better basket as if it were a basket of toys, and go through the motions of taking his temperature, checking his throat with the flashlight and giving him medicine. Because it’s like we’re just playing doctor, he doesn’t have the same fear and anxieties he used to when it’s time to actually go to the doctor.

Getting him to feel at ease with the things that help make him better when he’s sick has been a huge relief. Now, not only can I can do my best to care for him at home, but he also allows nurses and doctors to easily take his temperature, check his throat, ears, and do everything they need to in order to make him better.