Your toddler needs regular healthcare, including visits to the doctor and dentist. Here's some advice to make those trips less stressful for both of you:

• Talk to your toddler about what's happening. Explain where you are going and why. Use simple language: "The nurse is going to give you an immunization in the arm. It will sting for a minute, but I’ll hold you on my lap the whole time."
• Answer your toddler's questions simply and directly.
• Book healthcare appointments during times when your toddler is well rested and not hungry.
• Demonstrate what a health caregiver might do, such as listening to your toddler’s chest or looking in his ears.
• Encourage your toddler to play "doctor" or "dentist" with a toy.
• Bring along items that will make your toddler more comfortable, such as a favourite blanket or toy.
• Read children's books about visits to a doctor, dentist, optometrist, or nurse.
• Praise your toddler's behaviour and efforts to cooperate (even if she cried the entire time). "You held so still when the doctor looked in your ears!"