How Parents Influence Kids' Pain Management Ability

Parents and doctors shape how children manage pain later in life by the way they treat pain, whether it's a minor injury or fear of injections.

Researchers at the University of South Australia urge parents and doctors to be cautious of how they treat and care for children in pain. Acknowledging pain during childhood directly influences their pain responses as adults ().

‘Listening to children's pain helps them trust and manage it more effectively later in life. #pain #kids #childhealth #medindia’

Experts, drawing from research in developmental psychology, child mental health, and pain science, explain the need to validate children's pain, ensuring their emotions and reactions are recognized as normal and understood.

Building Trust in Children's Pain

By validating a child's pain, the child feels heard and believed, reinforcing their trust and connection with their parent or a treating doctor. UniSA researcher Dr. Sarah Wallwork says social relationships play a critical role in shaping how health is experienced throughout the lifespan.

"When a parent or doctor validates a child's experiences in a way that matches their expressed vulnerability, it helps the child to feel accepted, builds connection and trust, and may help the child to develop critical skills in regulating their emotions," Dr. Wallwork says.

"For example, when a doctor is attentive and responds to a child's emotional and behavioral cues, particularly about seeking help, the clinician tells the child their pain is real and concurrently reinforces helpful pain management behaviors, such as attending the clinic.

Consequences of Ignoring Children's Pain

"However, if these cues are missed, or the doctor questions the validity of their pain, this can have negative consequences for the child. Not only can it affect the clinician-patient relationship and trust, but it can also impact future appointment attendance and adherence to a pain management plan."

Pain and emotion are inextricably linked, with emotion dysregulation commonly co-occurring with chronic pain. "By validating children's experiences of pain, they are likely to hold fewer negatively biased memories of pain and be in a better position to seek help in the future, when they need it."

In Australia, as many as one in four children experience chronic pain. The economic burden of chronic pain in Australia is more than $139 billion, mostly through reduced quality of life and productivity losses.

Methods to Support Children's Health and Well-Being

Dr. Wallwork says that setting children up for success should cover all aspects of life, including pain management.

"Our research highlights an underemphasized element of child and youth pain treatment, especially for children in minoritized groups, who are systematically undertreated for pain," Dr. Wallwork says.

People with chronic pain often report that their pain-related experiences are met with disbelief or dismissal. This can have significant consequences, including poor mental health and reduced quality of life.

"Given the significant burden of chronic pain, and the clear intersection with the rising child mental health crisis, it's important that we better manage pain earlier on, rather than waiting until it is too late."

Dr. Wallwork says this review provides a building block for future empirical research.

Reference:

1. "I hear you". Validation in the context of children's pain as an untapped opportunity to prevent chronic pain - (https:journals.lww.com/pain/citation/9900/_i_hear_you___validation_in_the_context_of.669.aspx)

Source: Eurekalert