As a parent, I understand what it is like to take your child to a doctor or another health care professional. Your main concerns are that you want your child to cooperate, and that you are given the opportunity to ask questions and understand what is going on.
From the child’s perspective, lengthy conversations between the adults can be boring, resulting in the child losing interest in cooperating for the assessment.
For the practitioner, the challenge is to find a balance between addressing parental concerns, whilst prioritising direct interactions with the child throughout the consultation.
Parenting challenges
I can testify from having raised three children, that parenting is a wonderful blessing, but that it is not always easy. Parents and children are dealing with everyday challenges and not every parent is as well supported, resulting in variable parenting outcomes. What can we do, as practitioners, to support parents when they attend with their children?
Anxiety about the outcome
Some parents are anxious about their children’s health and wellbeing and fire many questions at the practitioner. This is understandable, but we need to avoid lengthy conversations at the start of the consultation. Instead, we want to take advantage of the child’s window of concentration early on, and have a longer conversation with the parents at the end. Well-informed parents are more likely to follow the advice being given and are more likely to trust health care professionals.
Honesty
I have come across parents who make deceitful comments to their child in an attempt to get their child to cooperate. They might say that they will go blind if they don’t cooperate, or that they won’t feel the eye drops. If the practitioner goes along with these comments, this can be detrimental to the relationship of trust with the child. I tend to gently remind the parent that we need to be truthful with their child. I then engage in positive conversations with the child, or do whatever is required to help them feel at ease.
Feeling embarrassed about their child
Parents like their children to display their best behaviour in clinic. This is understandable, but from a child’s point of view this can be difficult. Some children find new places daunting, or even scary, especially the hospital environment. Children may behave differently in this situation. Practitioners can support the parent by explaining that their child’s behaviour is a normal response to their apprehension in the clinical setting. You can then positively deal with the situation.
Appreciate the parents!
Let me finish by saying that we should assume that all parents love their children and try their best to support them during a consultation. I always praise the parents for bringing in their child and for taking responsibility for their child’s eye health.
