EAGLE MOUNTAIN — No matter how many treats or prizes a guy gets, it still hurts to get a shot.
And if you have to get five before you can go to kindergarten, that's pretty scary stuff.
So Alpine Pediatrics in the Ranches area of Eagle Mountain has refined the process into a science so 5-year-old tykes like David Parker have an easier time.
Parker counted all the way to 10 before he winced and cried — "Ow!" he yelped — but then he was all done.
The system: Two nurses simultaneously give a couple of shots in each leg — three in one or five in all if the child needs a hepatitis B booster — and then it's over.
Then, on to prizes and juice and cookies.
Parker selected stickers of all kinds, a wooden jet fighter, a top, a rubber snake and lizard. He colored a brown paper bag to hold his goodies.
"I'm a regular patient of the clinic," said his mother, Melanie. "I asked about getting his shots, and they told me about this. I think it's a good idea."
Children who register for the Kindergarten Days session get everything done at once.
They're weighed and measured. Parker, by the way, weighed in at about 40 pounds and stands 43 inches tall.
They see the doctor, take an eye exam, give a drop of blood for a hemoglobin test and get their immunizations: a DPT, an MMR, polio vaccinations and hepatitis shots.
For each segment of the session, the child gets a stamp in his "official passport" that he or she can then take to kindergarten to prove fit for duty.
Parker was understandably a little wary the day he was examined but relied on his mother and the nurses to keep things tolerable.
"We're going to check every part of your body. Is that OK?" asked Julie Bell, one of the receptionists.
Parker nodded.
"These animals want to give you a big hug," explained nurse Amber Rees as she took his blood pressure.
Parker nodded again.
By the time Megan Jensen and Afton Rasmussen swept in to administer the shots, Parker was nearly through the process with very little time left to fret.
"Every kid's a little different. Some still cry," Rasmussen said. "He's a good one."
Pony Express Elementary already has 160 youngsters registered for kindergarten this fall. The new elementary school in the Eagle Mountain town center is looking at similar numbers.
The session at the clinic costs no more than getting the shots during a routine visit. They have 50 children scheduled so far.
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com