Shot Day 2

Bethany has her appointment in the morning for her physical and her shots.  Ken and I were trying to decide whether it would be better to tell her ahead of time, to give her time to mentally prepare for it, or to wait until the appointment so she wouldn't have to stress about it.

After going back and forth, we finally decided to tell her this afternoon.  Ken was careful to explain that these were good for her, and that they would help her to stay healthy.  He said, "So that you can stay healthy, you're going to get some shots tomorrow."  Bethany's reaction? "Oh, no, I'm not."

Yikes.

For those of you who know Bethany, you know that while Bethany is happy about 95% of the time, that other 5% of the time, she is a stubborn, willful, hard-headed child.  It's not pretty when she has one of her "moments".  The best thing you can do is look her in the eye, and tell her how it is.  So I did.

I held her hands, and said, "Bethany, I'm not going to lie to you.  Shots stink.  Everyone hates shots.  But you have to have them, and you are going to get them.  I will be there with you, and we will count together.  When we get to 6 (she's 6 years old), it will be over.  Then, we'll go get a treat together."  She looked at me and thought about it.  She thought hard.  Then, she said, "Okay, Mommy, but we're counting fast."

I'll take that.