Daddy Brad: Welcome back to the lounge – I’m Daddy Brad.

Daddy Clay: And I’m Daddy Clay – this episode of the lounge is brought to you by Baby Bjorn and their very cool bouncy seat – the babysitter balance – a great place for the baby to rest, sleep or play. Move it around – it bounces up and down, no batteries required – babysitter balance.

Daddy Brad: Daddy Clay, I have a question. You get your children immunized – you go and get them a shot at the doctor’s office, who is it tougher on? Is it tougher on the parent or the kid?

Daddy Clay: Well obviously it’s the parent – don’t think there’s much debate to that.

Daddy Brad: Because you’ve got to kind of, what’s that, hold the child down and let somebody stick a big needle in their…

Daddy Clay: Yeah I don’t appreciate being recruited – they should have someone whose job that is. And they have to get lots of them – if you do the standard course of whatever it is – 10 immunizations, a lot of those require multiple – its like 20 or 30 times. Those kids are perforated more than a roll of paper-towels.

Daddy Brad: Yeah it’s just tough. And you know what? Here’s what I don’t get – we have sent people to the moon you know? A man on the moon – you can send them to the moon – why cant they just put those immunizations in lollipops and let them just lick their immunization?

Daddy Clay: I don’t know, I don’t know and some of them are much worse than others. Like there are some of them and its like oops, and it’s like a mosquito bite – and the kid doesn’t cry at all. And there’s others – they take that thing and they bring it out, and it comes in a can – and its like the needle is the size of a soda straw kind of cut up bias, and it looks like it will go through the kid.

Daddy Brad: And the stuff – the medicine itself is like maple syrup, its viscose – it’s slow.

Daddy Clay: And its like oh that’s terrible. I hate that, I hate that – the kid’s crying the whole time.

Daddy Brad: Why are you doing it to me? Why are you doing this to me? And you’re holding him down.

Daddy Clay: After a couple of times, they know what’s coming and you say “okay you’re going to go to the doctor’s office” and the kid looks at you and says “are they going to give me a shot?”

Daddy Brad: Yeah they are – and it’s going to hurt. And you tell them that.

Daddy Clay: You tell them?
Daddy Brad: No I don’t say it

Daddy Clay: Because the kid is going to throw a fit – he’s going to cry. He’s not going to get in that car seat, he’s going to fight you to the death.

Daddy Brad: Yeah if they ask me I tell them – and here’s what I don’t tell them though. When they say, “Is it going to hurt?” I say, “Damn right its going to hurt” because I don’t want to tell them its not going to hurt!

Daddy Clay: I say no son, they’re going to take out your appendix, and he’s cool with that – as long as he doesn’t need a shot.

Daddy Brad: Yeah so do you tell him? If they ask you is it going to hurt, do you tell them it’s going to hurt?

Daddy Clay: You know I equivocate.

Daddy Brad: What do you say?

Daddy Clay: I try to avoid the subject – its kind of like “Look! A car” you know I try to distract them a little bit “Hey how about a snack?” you know, anything.

Daddy Brad: So you can throw it up because the pain is going to be so great when you get your shot.

Daddy Clay: Yeah, yeah. And there is nothing worse than that anticipatory crying – the horror that they get when the shot starts to come.

Daddy Brad: Oh yeah – here’s the thing that really gets me. I remember shots when I was a kid – I got some shots, and my doctor used to tell me “okay, wiggle your toes” you’re going to give me a shot in the ass and “wiggle your toes”! You know – I’m thinking how is wiggling my toes going to help this pain? Its not helping! Wiggle your toes! How about some anesthesia before shots?

Daddy Clay: The only worse shots that you get at the doctor’s office is the one that you get at the dentist’s office, but that’s a whole other topic.

Daddy Brad: But you know what kids? Wait until you go and have your 40-year-old check up – you think shots are bad as kids, dude! They do some things – give me 10, 20 shots.

Daddy Clay: That’s not the subject though. I think that’s all for us this week in the lounge – if you’ve got some thoughts on shots and your kids, go to the community there at dadlabs.com – join the conversation, let us know what you think is the toughest part for parents about kids getting their shots. We’ll see you next time.