Finding a pediatrician is difficult enough without the challenges that you are likely to face when you actually bring your child to the pediatrics clinic. Even if you find the best pediatric office around, your child might still make a simple trip into a challenging and arduous journey. Here are some tips and tricks that you can use at the pediatric office to keep your child entertained, confident, and calm.

If your kid is bored in the waiting room…

You failed to plan this visit appropriately. It’s okay, everyone makes mistakes, but it’s important to come up with a solution pretty quickly. Boredom is the gateway to any number of unwanted behaviors. If your kid is bored, that means that there aren’t any fish tanks or toys in the waiting room, or if there are, they’re not sufficient. Try these tactics:

• Fork over your smartphone and your data plan. Set up a simple game or a streaming video.
• Play “I Spy” with ads or pictures in one of the available magazines.
• Try having a conversation with your child. If they’re not old enough for a conversation, then have a one-way conversation. It will amuse your child at the very least, and likely everyone else in the waiting room.

If your kid is scared of the doctor…

According to UNICEF, every 20 seconds a child dies because of a disease that could have been prevented by vaccines. Despite the fact that vaccinations will protect your child, and other children around them from contracting life threatening illnesses, it’s unlikely that your child will see past the needle to that truth. Even mild fear can transform into ear-splitting terror in a mere second, whether your child is afraid of the pediatrician, the needle, or any other tool that the doctor uses. Experts suggest that you remain calm no matter what, and positively reinforce your child for also keeping under control. You might need to offer a reward or bribe, or talk through what will and won’t happen beforehand in order to calm your child down.

If your kid is driving you and everyone else in the waiting room crazy…

There are times when “We will leave right now,” is not an appropriate threat. One of those times is at the pediatric office. Some parents choose to tell bold and potentially psyche-damaging lies, like “If you don’t behave, I’ll have the doctor give you fifteen shots and absolutely zero lollipops.” Unless you want to deal with a terrified and hyper child, then you should take a more constructive tactic. Give your child a job. Ask them to find all of the change in your purse. If you don’t have a purse or bag, then ask your child to channel their energy in a very specific way, such as by showing you how to do the hokey pokey, or by playing a game with you.

After scouring pediatrician reviews and trying out several pediatrics doctors, you’ve finally found the best clinic for your child, so don’t let your child turn all of your hard work into a 30 minute nightmare. In the United States, about 215,000 children suffer from diabetes, and about 7.1 million suffer from asthma. Each doctor’s visit is important, so follow these tips to keep visits stress free for you, and productive for your pediatrician and child. Research more here.