In order for your child to be as healthy as they can be, it’s important that they have regular check-ups with a reputable doctor. While many of these visits will seem harmless to them, there are times when something traumatic may happen, like getting shot, which can cause your child to become very fearful of the doctor and visiting a doctor’s office. If this happens to you and your child, doctor’s visits can quickly become a pain point in your lives.

For families who are currently working through issues such as this, here are three tips for helping your child who is afraid of a doctor’s visit to overcome this fear.

Explain What The Appointment Will Entail

Different doctor’s visits will require different things for your child. Because of this, one of the things your child may be fearful of is the unknown or not knowing what to expect every time they have to see the doctor.

To combat this, Rae Jacobson, a contributor to the Child Mind Institute, recommends that you explain to your child what their doctor visit will likely entail. If you’re able to, try to explain step-by-step how the doctor’s visit will go. By doing this, you’ll be able to set an accurate expectation for your child while also giving them the opportunity to ask questions about anything they might not understand or be afraid of beforehand.

Play Doctor At Home

Hopefully, your child’s doctor visits will be few and far between. One of the downsides of this, however, is that your child may not have much exposure with your doctor or doctors in general.

One thing you could do to get your child comfortable around doctors or the idea of visiting the doctor, according to Dina Roth Port and Rachel Rabkin Peachman, contributors to Parents.com, is to play doctor at home. When doing this, you and your child can take turns being the doctor and the patient so that your child can become familiar with the tools and procedures of a doctor’s visit.

Keep The Atmosphere Calm

On the day of your child’s actual doctor appointment, how you hold yourself and respond to your child can have a big impact on how they feel about visiting the doctor.

As a part of this, Juli Fraga, a contributor to NPR, recommends that parents do everything in their power to keep themselves calm. By maintaining a calm demeanor, you will help make the entire atmosphere of the doctor’s visit more calm for your child.

If you have a little one who’s scared of going to the doctor, consider using the tips mentioned above to address these issues within your family.