S/O from pediatrician questionnaire ... Are Family Practice Docs Less Intrusive?

[Josie]

What has your experience been with family practice docs for children? Are they less intrusive than pediatricians?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Ours was less intrusive in one way (she did not push certain parenting agendas or ask loaded questions) but she was more intrusive in another (she kept asking me if my child was developmentally on target because she didn't know. Fortunately this was about my second child).

[JVA]

My experience has been over the course of 28 years( how long I've had kiddos) that the American Academy of Pediatricians has become more politically correct than the average 'Joe'. They tend to ask questions I think are NONE of their business. I realize that they're trying to weed out abuse, neglect and other awful things. But, when they ask again and again about our schooling choice, I once had to tell a female ped. that how my dh and I school our children is none of her business and I didn't see how it was relevant for the ear infection I was having her check. I informed her I was legally hs and that the dc met the standards put forth by the state. If she wanted more information, I could have her contact our lawyer. I didn't go back.

The ped I see now with our last ds is laid back, trusts me and knows our track record.

Recently, the AAP endorsed a form of female g+++ital mutilation due to pressure. Something to be aware of.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

:bigear: I'll be listening to experiences with family practice vs. peds.

 

We've moved and I need to find new doctors for DD and I. I've been considering going with a family practice doctor that could see us both. I'm not concerned as much about the intrusiveness but about the... knowledge?

I'm worried that a ped has more knowledge about children and would be more likely to catch some rare disease. OK, I really need to stop watching Discovery Health channel. :lol: But even regular children's issues, are family practice doctors equipped to handle them? Part of me says that it would be nice for us to both go to the same doctor and develop a relationship, but part of me wants the expertise a ped brings.

 

In case it matters, DD is a pretty healthy child and not at all afraid of doctors. So I'm not really worried about having the child-friendly environment from a ped.

[G5052]

Our pediatricians always ask to see me in the hall to discuss my preferences on teenager-type issues.

 

I like my internist, who also treats teens, but I don't know that he would respect me as a parent the same way.

[Holly IN]

We had pediatricians for about 12 years. The last pediatrician we had....berated me over several things which are NOT her business. My 12 yr old boy got very uncomfortable. After the visit, he told me he wanted to switch to my dr who is a family practice. So we switched and felt might as well switch all the kids. Now the kids love my family dr. They told me after their first visit with the family dr that it was about time we dumped the pediatrician. They love him and he loves the kids. He is not intrusive at all. He views my dh and I partners with him in the care of our children and our health. :) They still love him after 4 years. We are still going to him!!

 

Holly

[kathkath]

Recently, the AAP endorsed a form of female g+++ital mutilation due to pressure. Something to be aware of.

 

WHAT????!!!!!?????!!!

[Perry]

WHAT????!!!!!?????!!!

This was discussed recently here.

[i.love.lucy]

Several of my friends see a family doc. One thing that I didn't like that they mentioned is some kind of female exam for a child of 7,8,9yo. I don't mean stirrups or anything, but I think they looked "there". When I question those parents they acted like that was a completely normal part of a well visit. For boys maybe yes, to check their testes, but or girls? Yes, okay at 2 yo or even 3 to make sure things are developing properly, but by 8 or 9 it's just too much for my dd. The NP that my dd sees (she's the ped's wife) would NEVER do that to my dd. But it could be because she knows how shy and modest my dd is, has known this for years. Maybe it is normally routine except in the case of times that it would traumatize the child?:confused:

 

We have kept with our ped because my son was a preemie. He was definitely more able to keep track of his growth and issues better than a family practice doc would be. But now that the kids are just about 6 and 10, maybe it's no big deal anymore and we should switch. I can see how nice it would be to have all of us at the same practice.

 

They have never questioned or even raised an eyebrow at homeschooling. I did vax my kids all the way through but when I recently questioned the chicken pox booster, they suggested I decline it based on the fact that we aren't in school. I saw that as more support of my choices.

[Joker]

Several of my friends see a family doc. One thing that I didn't like that they mentioned is some kind of female exam for a child of 7,8,9yo. I don't mean stirrups or anything, but I think they looked "there". When I question those parents they acted like that was a completely normal part of a well visit. For boys maybe yes, to check their testes, but or girls? Yes, okay at 2 yo or even 3 to make sure things are developing properly, but by 8 or 9 it's just too much for my dd. The NP that my dd sees (she's the ped's wife) would NEVER do that to my dd. But it could be because she knows how shy and modest my dd is, has known this for years. Maybe it is normally routine except in the case of times that it would traumatize the child?:confused:

 

We have kept with our ped because my son was a preemie. He was definitely more able to keep track of his growth and issues better than a family practice doc would be. But now that the kids are just about 6 and 10, maybe it's no big deal anymore and we should switch. I can see how nice it would be to have all of us at the same practice.

 

They have never questioned or even raised an eyebrow at homeschooling. I did vax my kids all the way through but when I recently questioned the chicken pox booster, they suggested I decline it based on the fact that we aren't in school. I saw that as more support of my choices.

 

Our pediatrician does a check of that nature on our dds every year. I never thought there was anything wrong with it. They were actually able to detect a problem in younger dd last year that we were able to correct.

[Whereneverever]

Several of my friends see a family doc. One thing that I didn't like that they mentioned is some kind of female exam for a child of 7,8,9yo. I don't mean stirrups or anything, but I think they looked "there". When I question those parents they acted like that was a completely normal part of a well visit. For boys maybe yes, to check their testes, but or girls? Yes, okay at 2 yo or even 3 to make sure things are developing properly, but by 8 or 9 it's just too much for my dd. The NP that my dd sees (she's the ped's wife) would NEVER do that to my dd. But it could be because she knows how shy and modest my dd is, has known this for years. Maybe it is normally routine except in the case of times that it would traumatize the child?:confused:

 

We have kept with our ped because my son was a preemie. He was definitely more able to keep track of his growth and issues better than a family practice doc would be. But now that the kids are just about 6 and 10, maybe it's no big deal anymore and we should switch. I can see how nice it would be to have all of us at the same practice.

 

They have never questioned or even raised an eyebrow at homeschooling. I did vax my kids all the way through but when I recently questioned the chicken pox booster, they suggested I decline it based on the fact that we aren't in school. I saw that as more support of my choices.

 

All the peds and FP docs we've seen have peeked quickly.

 

I will say I prefer FP docs in general- I find them less pushy and nosy. We've switched to a ped for the foreseeable future, though, because DD2 and DS have some more specific issues that need monitoring.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We switched from a ped. to a family practice doc when ds14 was one.

 

The pediatrician was very pushy about her parenting agenda (every single thing outside her view of ordinary was due to breastfeeding or holding the baby too much.) She pushed weaning prior to a year. She tried to force me to wean second ds because he had stopped eating solid foods. Let's see ... my milk - a complete food - was keeping him alive and the cause was tooth decay that she missed. She criticized me for my kids having stranger anxiety, saying I was coddling them too much, despite the fact that most babies develop this. She kept diagnosing an ear infection is my oldest and the antibiotics messed up his digestion for a year. I found out later that ear drums can be red if a child has been screaming - like due to stranger anxiety.

 

We found a family practice doc who listens, treats me like a partner in our family's healthcare. He is not intrusive. The only private exam he has done on my daughter was when she was in diapers. With my boys, he has done the testicle check only when I bring them in for a physical - not any other stuff. He has been totally supportive of extended bf-ing, not questioning co-sleeping, supportive of homeschooling, supportive alternative vaccination schedule, especially since we are homeschooling. As far as knowledgeable, I found him more knowledgeable than the pediatrician. He knew that most ear infections clear up on their own so he would not push antibiotics. He knew the benefits of breastfeeding beyond 6 months and he knew that the answer to every health problem was NOT weaning. He has not caught everything, but the stuff he missed would have been missed by most health care professionals.

 

If I had a child with more serious issues like those associate with premies, I might be more inclined to choose a pediatrician. But for your average kid, I would go for the family practice.

[sheryl]

What has your experience been with family practice docs for children? Are they less intrusive than pediatricians?

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Josie, Good question and interesting one. I posted my wtm thread on my local homeschool group. There were 1 or 2 responses that said they take their dc to the GP and "not" the "Ped". I had not thought of that myself, but it's worth looking into. It does seem that a Ped may be the best health care candidate for younger children, but after coming up against what I did last week, that tells me they are thinking of my dd as more mature than she really is, so I'll be seriously re-evaluating all of this. Everyone was in support of me looking for another Ped. I don't know if we'll get another Ped, take her to a GP or what....alot to consider. HTH. Sheryl <><

[Jean in Newcastle]

I just wanted to add that our family practice doc - who didn't know basic child development - was a young single woman and I'm sure that had a lot to do with her ignorance. I wouldn't ever think that other family docs had the same problem.

[angela in ohio]

I find them just more relaxed and open to parents in general.

 

We tried a few pediatricians, and it always felt moments aways from a scent like that one in Seinfeld where the mechanic steals his car for not taking care of it well enough. It was like they were the pediatrician's children on loan to me to raise. :001_huh:

 

I love, love, love our family practice doctor. She sees all of us. She cares for us *as a family.* It's a totally different approach, imo.

[stripe]

We tried a few pediatricians, and it always felt moments aways from a scent like that one in Seinfeld where the mechanic steals his car for not taking care of it well enough. It was like they were the pediatrician's children on loan to me to raise. :001_huh:

Thank you for articulating this: it's exactly how I feel when I'm given a list of questions about how well I'm taking care of my kids.