Boo-boos as the building blocks of pain expression: An observational examination of parental responses to everyday pain in toddlers

ABSTRACTBackground: Everyday pain experiences (minor bumps/scrapes) are common in early childhood and create frequent opportunities for socialization of pain behaviors. Nevertheless, everyday pain during the formative toddler period has been largely overlooked.Aims: The aim of the current study was to describe the frequency and nature of toddlers’ everyday pain experiences, child and parent responses, and the relationship between child characteristics (age, sex, temperament) and responses.Methods: Fifty-two children aged 12–32 months and their parents were observed at an indoor play facility. Using an observational checklist, trained observers recorded children’s everyday pain incidents and associated child and parent responses.Results: Overall, 101 pain incidents were observed, the majority of which evoked low levels of pain and distress, which resolved after 1 min. Pain incidents occurred at a rate of 1.02 incidents/child/hour, with 81% of children experiencing at least one incident, which is higher tha...