Toddler melts down at every paediatrician visit, and being a doctor myself isn't helping

cinnamon_camera_200812 Apr 2026

He's fine at home. Plays with my stethoscope, 'checks' the nanny's heartbeat, the works. The minute we walk into his doctor's clinic, full meltdown, and it gets worse when the weighing scale comes out. He has a routine visit and a vaccine due next month. Our nanny says don't tell him in advance. My partner says talk about it all week. I deal with nervous patients every working day and have no idea what to do with my own 😅

1 comment

lilac_sketch_340113 Apr 2026
What worked for us was neither extreme. We told her on the morning of the visit, in one sentence, and then talked about what we would do afterwards. Our doctor also let her listen to her toy's heartbeat first. The scale was the worst part for us too, so we started weighing her teddy on our bathroom scale at home. It took some of the fear out of it, though not all.