How unusual is it for a 2 1/2 year old to not cry when getting stuck with a needle to draw blood?

My nephew didn’t cry when he got any of his immunization shots. My brother has to have his blood drawn often, for the last 5 years or so. My nephew is now 8. He actually is fascinated by watching his dad get his blood drawn, whereas most kids are afraid to watch that procedure. I, on the other hand, was the biggest crybaby when it came to getting shots. Thank goodness I outgrew that, but not until I was well into my 20’s.

Thanks. I don’t think it’s that big a deal, either.

Maybe he likes it.

“She”

Not a big deal at all. MY grandson though that the needle sticks and blood was sort of interesting.

My concern would only be if the child exhibits no pain reaction ever. That would be a cause for concern.

And she does cry.. She fell down.

My daughter was that age when she a blood draw. She looked down, looked at me and said, “That didn’t hurt.” Phlebotomists who know what their doing can make it pretty painless.

I’d be concerned enough to keep an eye on it. But not enough to send her off to see a psychiatrist.

I thought that was over the top too @fluthernutter. I tried to warn my daughter that those kinds of things can take on a life of it’s own.

Is the staff’s referral only due to the shot or did they have other reasons why they want to make the referral (other things that they saw that concerned them)?

Why not as the nursing staff to articulate precisely why they think a Psychologist is called for before going any further?

She certainly can’t be the only child that age they’ve encountered who was unfazed by it.

Children (and human beings in general) vary quite a bit in sensitivity or tolerance to pain. Plus, nowadays they use those butterfly setups which have much thinner needles and tubing for young children that age.

Plus, if the person doing the blood draw was very skilled and experienced it’s entirely plausible that she really didn’t feel much. Plus, if this was her first time, she likely had no inkling what her expected reaction should be.

Unless those staffers can articulate a clear reason why they feel a Psychologist is warranted, I’d feel free to override their recommendation of a Psychologist.

Perhaps they feel she’s repressing her true feelings. But a child’s family usually know her the best. It’s obvious from the picture that she does have a fairly typical reaction to pain so the most reasonable explanation for her reaction to the blood draw is that it simply wasn’t that painful for her.

In the future, with someone less skilled doing the procedure it might be a different story altogether.

Just count your blessings that this, her first experience, was not painful or traumaticfor her. Why would a Psychologist be warranted for that?

Perhaps the nursing staff is just being super conscientious, which is generally a good thing. But you guys know the child better. Just thank them for their concern and follow your own instincts.

When my daughter went for a jab when she was about 4, I had a chat with her beforehand about the fact that it would be a bit sore but she needed to get this now so that she wouldn’t get ill later. She sat on my knee and didn’t cry while getting the jab. I told her afterwards that she was very brave and asked why she didn’t cry. She said that she wanted to cry but swallowed it! I truly hadn’t meant for her not to cry, I just wanted to make sure that she was prepared and that I hadn’t lied to her about it hurting.

Could this have been the case with your granddaughter? She was prepared for it?

My daughter holds her crying until the doctor or nurse leaves. Then she cries to me only.

Good questions all. I don’t know if she was prepared for it. Also, I don’t know if there are other reasons they referred.

Sometimes I wonder if the medical community is all in cahoots, drumming up business for each other.

What do you think? Do you think that she behaves normally at other times? There are lots of checklists for ‘normal behaviour’ and development stages. Have a look at some of these and see in general if there are causes for concern. One cause for concern doesn’t usually constitute a problem but 3 or 4 or more would.