The following is a summary of “It takes two: The relative contributions of parent versus child-led regulatory behaviours on toddler vaccination pain,” published in the November 2023 issue of Pain by Gennis et al.

While parent soothing is crucial for managing pain in early childhood, children’s developing self-regulatory skills also play a significant role in alleviating vaccination pain.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the relative contributions of child-led emotion regulation strategies beyond parent-led regulatory behaviors and pre-needle distress in alleviating vaccination pain in toddlers.

They recorded toddler-caregiver interactions during 12- and/or 18-month vaccinations, coding videos for pain-related behavioral distress, child-led regulatory actions (attention disengagement, parent-focused behaviors, and physical self-soothing), and parent regulatory/soothing behaviors (distraction, physical comfort, rocking, verbal reassurance). Hierarchical predictors of pain regulation included pre-needle distress, followed by parent regulatory behaviors, and then child regulatory behaviors. Parent and child regulatory behaviors were analyzed at 1 and 2 minutes post-needle using two models for each age.

The results showed that, at both ages, child-led parent-focused behaviors indicated reduced regulation. At 18 months, parent-soothing behaviors (e.g., distraction, verbal reassurance, rocking) exerted a more pronounced influence on the law. However, rocking was the sole behavior that increased regulation.

Investigators concluded that a comprehensive assessment of parent and child regulatory behaviors revealed the importance of parent sensitivity and direct signaling from child to parent in managing post-needle distress.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejp.2197