Kids (3-11) Tweens & Teens (12+) Advocating for your child Getting ready for a procedure Needle Pokes Pain Champions Vaccinations Procedural Pain Advocating for your child Getting ready for a procedure Needle pokes Pain Champions Vaccinations
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About This Resource
Meet SuperMeg, our superhero here to guide your child to create their very own plan to make their next needle poke a lot more comfortable, and a lot less scary! By answering a few questions, and making some choices about what they want, kids can gain more control over their healthcare experience, including preventing and managing pain.
How To Use This Resource
Ideally a few days before their medical appointment, pull up the SuperMeg tech, and have your child go through and answer questions (even a few hours or minute before works too!). Younger kids may need an assist to type out a few of the responses. Once your child finishes their chat with SuperMeg, their customized plan is emailed to you. That email will include all the information, resources, and tools you need to make that plan a reality. Not every medical professional knows about these skills, so you may need to ask for what you know will help your child avoid unnecessary distress. Using these strategies has been shown to result in a better, more positive experience for both parents and kids.
Interested in learning more about how pain works? Check out our Pain Champions Guide for parents!
Who Is This For
Kids ages about 4 older.
Video
Framing the Story AFTER Needle Pokes
What you say after a needle poke matters, and sets the stage for the future!
Video
Numbing Cream: How to make it work for you!
Learn how to do this research proven, expert recommended strategy
Digital Tool
Pain Champions Guide for Parents
Learn all you need to know about how to manage needle pain and anxiety through this interactive tech tool.
Blog Post
Meet SuperMeg, Our New Interactive Chatbot That Helps Kids Manage the Anxiety and Pain of Needle Pokes!
The SuperMeg chatbot was developed by top experts in pediatric pain management, driven by research and supported by best practice guidelines of nearly every pediatric medical organization in the world…and kids love her!
A Note About Keeping This Free
Good pain care should be a right, not a privilege.
We’ve spent our careers treating pain and medical anxiety, and we know that comfort and control come from putting the power where it belongs: in your hands. Everything here is free and open source by design. No parent should have to pay to learn how to get their child through a vaccine or a bad headache. No provider should have to hunt for what they need to do their job well. Hundreds of thousands of people have used Meg tools, and not one of them has ever been asked to pay.
But free still costs something.
We rely on the generosity of people like you to keep it that way. It takes about 1 in 30 of us, each giving $15 a month, to keep these tools available for free. If they helped you and you’re able, $15 a month keeps these resources available the next time you or another family need them.
Thanks for being here. Whether you are able to give or not, I’m so grateful a kid somewhere has you in their corner.
— Dr. Jody, Founder and CEO
Monthly. Cancel anytime.
Or give once, any amount.
Meg Foundation is a 501(c)(3). Gifts are tax-deductible. Secure Givebutter checkout.