The caregiver of a 4-year-old girl who lives in a heavily wooded area calls the clinic nurse to report that the child has a swollen tick on her arm. What would be the best action for the caregiver to follow in removing the tick?

Choice A reason: Infancy is marked by rapid physical and skill development, with milestones like crawling and babbling occurring quickly. This aligns with pediatric developmental assessments, making it the correct characteristic for the nurse to monitor, ensuring infants meet critical growth benchmarks during routine evaluations.

Choice B reason: Insisting on independence with dependence reversion is typical of toddlers, not infants, who lack such autonomy. Rapid skill growth defines infancy, making this incorrect, as it describes a later developmental stage rather than the nurse’s focus for infant growth and development assessments.

Choice C reason: Rapid information intake and questioning “why” and “how” characterize preschoolers, not infants, who lack verbal curiosity. Rapid skill development is the infant focus, making this incorrect, as it applies to older children rather than the nurse’s assessment of infant developmental characteristics.

Choice D reason: Increased attention span is seen in older children, not infants, who have short attention spans. Rapid growth and skill acquisition define infancy, making this incorrect, as it does not reflect the developmental characteristics the nurse should assess in infants during pediatric evaluations.

Choice A reason: Intravenous administration isn’t inherently safer, as it carries risks like infection or extravasation. Less trauma from fewer injections is accurate, making this incorrect, as it overstates safety compared to the true benefit of reduced physical and emotional trauma in pediatric IV medication delivery.

Choice B reason: Intravenous medication reduces the need for multiple injections, minimizing physical and emotional trauma for children. This aligns with pediatric nursing principles for patient comfort, making it the correct statement about the advantage of IV administration compared to repeated intramuscular or subcutaneous injections.

Choice C reason: IV medications are absorbed rapidly, not slowly, due to direct bloodstream delivery. Less trauma from fewer injections is the true benefit, making this incorrect, as it misrepresents the pharmacokinetics of intravenous administration in the context of pediatric medication delivery.

Choice D reason: IV medication is delivered into veins, not fatty tissue, which describes subcutaneous injections. Reduced trauma from fewer injections is accurate, making this incorrect, as it confuses IV administration with another route in the nurse’s understanding of medication delivery methods.