All other vaccination debates aside, I think we can agree that the part about it huuuurts! that I have just caused pain to My Preshus Baybee—and on purpose!—is the worst part of all about keeping our kids immunized. After all, we're wired to keep harm from our kids, and seeing that trusting sweet face suddenly crumple with shock and pain when receiving a shot causes tiny microdarts of badparentitis to shoot directly into our hearts.

However, there's an easy solution to easing the pain of vaccination: sugar.

Giving infants a small does of a sugar solution just before receiving a shot seems to make the shot hurt less. And coupling that with other methods like being held, feeding right afterward, and pain relievers can maybe make the experience far less traumatic than it has been. Plus, there's the added benefit  of a possibly causing a negative Pavlovian response to sugar, which could lead to some interesting reactions later on in life. Like at Halloween.

Although...how traumatic are shots-as-an-infant, really? I don't remember mine, do you? 

Photo: www.doh.state.fl.us