Holding children still for procedures

The attitudes and concerns of 394 paediatric nurses about the practice of restraining children during clinical procedure were surveyed. The majority believed that restraint rather than pain was the most likely cause of distress. Age of the child, degree of urgency and type of procedure were all relevant to the decision whether to hold the child still. Nurses were unsure about the legal position and the majority reported that they had no formal training in holding techniques. These findings indicate the need for more training and guidelines about when to hold children and for the legal position to be clarified.