Not too happy with the advice from my drs office

my2kidsSafe

New member
Normally my office is really good about car-seat usage and i had no issues with them from dd. Well ds had his 4 year well visit appt yesterday and we saw the new Physians assistant. She asked if ds was in a booster. I told him no he is still harnessed. She said it was time to move him to the booster as he met all the requirements for a booster. I told her there was no way he was ready for a booster. She should of realized this as she saw him climbing and jumping all over me as she asked questions. She said he fit all the criteria. I told her yes he was big enough, the kid is the size of a 6 year. He is 51.5 lbs and 52 inches. But that he didn't fit the criteria of sitting properly in one. There was no way he would sit still long enough to sit properly in it. SHe then told me that he most likely has already out grown his carseat and would have to be changed. I told her that he is a seat that harnesses to 80 lbs and will hopefully fit him for a few more years. She obviously had little experience with car seats as she told me most are outgrown at 40 lbs. I nicely informed her that that used to be the case but now there are many car seats that harness to higher weights and told her some of them (nautilus, MA, CA, myride, radian, regent, frontier) Hopefully she will now let some of the other patients know this. I think she thought i was a quack when i told her my 6.5 year old just moved to a booster and that was only because ds outgrew the MA.
 
ADS

smackeen

New member
Wow, I do not think she is going to look into learning more from they way she acted.

If the office has been pretty good, is there someone there they you can mention this to, so that she does not give out unsafe advice?
 

Baylor

New member
Some just like to be right. I was thrilled when my dr asked about my then 4.5 yr old's car seat use and I told him I started boostering him but then decided to reharness after doing more research and he said that was fantastic.

Sorry you had such a hard time.
 

Minnesota

CPST Instructor
That's such a bummer when that happens and you know that they are saying the same thing to parents who probably don't know any better.

Our ped is pretty good. At DS's five-year WCC, she asked "And he's still sitting in his booster seat?" and when I said that I still had him harnessed because of his inability to sit properly in a BPB, she congratulated me for keeping him safe in the car.

I definitely think the PA you saw today could benefit from even a simple pamphlet with the latest car seat info, since she seems to be giving out info that was outdated 5+ years ago.
 

christineka

New member
Wow, I do not think she is going to look into learning more from they way she acted.

If the office has been pretty good, is there someone there they you can mention this to, so that she does not give out unsafe advice?

Yeah. I had an issue with a doc in training tell me that breastmilk offers no nutrients past 12 months of age. I used an online feedback form to get in touch with higher ups. The doc in training was quickly educated.
 

CrunchyMaineMama

Senior Community Member
I was at our peds office the other day and noticed a car seat poster hanging on the wall. I went over to check it out (expecting the worst) and it was a chart of Best Practices :eek: It had to RF to the limits of a convertible seat & even mentioned the 5 step test for moving into the adult belt! :thumbsup:
I have never actually been asked about DDs car seat though at appts.
 

Baylor

New member
My doctors office has never said anything about car seat usage one way or the other and I honestly think that's the way it should be. They are doctors, not techs.

I don't know.. I mean they are part of keeping our kids safe. My Dr has the poster in every room with the 4 points of car safety for kids. Rear facing, forward facing, booster, and when they are able to sit in a car seat alone.

I think a good ped will check on certain milestones and car seats are not that different.

When my cousin took her DD to the ped for the first time at 10 days.. The dr asked if she had a seat and that she should keep her rear facing for 2 years minimum.. That is not a bad thing in my book!
 

AtTheSouthDam

New member
My pediatrician told me that DD1 was big enough to go with out a booster at her 7 year well child visit. This was after she mentioned the law was just changed to 8 years because "she's the size of a 9 year old" :rolleyes:

Oh, and this the same pediatrician that said RF is safer when I told her we switched DD2 around at 4y (this was while discussing SPD issues, not actual car seat safety).
 

karlatta

New member
I would see if there was a way to talk to someone else in the office. Maybe at your next visit or something you could mention the advice you got?

Just be glad she didn't tell you to turn your 7mo forward facing, like I heard a pediatrician did today!
 

luckyclov

New member
My doctors office has never said anything about car seat usage one way or the other and I honestly think that's the way it should be. They are doctors, not techs.
I agree with this. Just because they're credentialed with MD next to their name doesn't mean they know a cheeto about proper child restraint use, outside of what the stupid posters from the state recommend...you know, the ones with the picture of the too young FF kid in his crappy Alpha Omega 3-in-1 with his chest clip at his belly button. Yeah, that one.

My pediatrician asks things like, "and we're still riding in a 5-pt harness, right" in relation to my 1-year old and "and we're still riding in a booster, right?" for my 8 and 6-year olds. I just nod and say yep.
 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member
My kids' pediatrician does not say a word about car seats to us--but he has two nurses that are techs, and they are also IBLC certified lactation consultants.
 

Kellz625

New member
If I remember, my friend's pedi told her to move her 3 year old DD to a booster. And not even that, but she said a backless booster was fine, that the only reason the high back boosters were made was for bench seats that the child's head would be above.
 

3acorns4Christy

New member
when they ask, I state what I am doing. If they give me feedback, I listen then ignore.

luckily with my DD she is so very tiny, her geneticist has given me pamplets on ERF. He was so happy to hear I already knew about it and kept DS RF until he was 4.

Then went on to ask about tightness of her harness, installed correctly. He rocks.
 

christineka

New member
Our ped just mentions at the 12 month visit that the child can't until 20 pounds or can forward face , but that it's best to remain rear-facing till 2 years old. She mentioned a booster for my ds1 when he turned 5 because the state had just passed the booster law. That was when she found out that I was a nut.
 

jjordan

Moderator
I don't know.. I mean they are part of keeping our kids safe. My Dr has the poster in every room with the 4 points of car safety for kids. Rear facing, forward facing, booster, and when they are able to sit in a car seat alone.

I think a good ped will check on certain milestones and car seats are not that different.

When my cousin took her DD to the ped for the first time at 10 days.. The dr asked if she had a seat and that she should keep her rear facing for 2 years minimum.. That is not a bad thing in my book!

I agree with maybe a slightly different emphasis. :) We can all see on the top of this very forum that car accidents are the #1 killer of children. And, pediatricians are professionals whose job is to keep children safe. Public health issues (such as car safety) are a big part of a primary care doctor's job. So car safety is ABSOLUTELY an important thing for doctors to be talking to patients about.

Now, the issue I have is that many pediatricians don't actually know what advice to give regarding car safety. Most of the time I think it is just that their information is outdated, not that they're deliberately trying to give out good advice, just that they haven't paid attention to car safety issues and so they're not sure what advice to give. So, that should change, undoubtedly. But the general idea of physicians giving advice for how to keep kids safe? Absolutely part of the job description.
 

Baylor

New member
I agree with maybe a slightly different emphasis. :) We can all see on the top of this very forum that car accidents are the #1 killer of children. And, pediatricians are professionals whose job is to keep children safe. Public health issues (such as car safety) are a big part of a primary care doctor's job. So car safety is ABSOLUTELY an important thing for doctors to be talking to patients about.

Now, the issue I have is that many pediatricians don't actually know what advice to give regarding car safety. Most of the time I think it is just that their information is outdated, not that they're deliberately trying to give out good advice, just that they haven't paid attention to car safety issues and so they're not sure what advice to give. So, that should change, undoubtedly. But the general idea of physicians giving advice for how to keep kids safe? Absolutely part of the job description.

:thumbsup:
 

oxeye

New member
I agree with jjordan 100%. I'm a medical student as well as a CPST so I feel quite strongly about this. It is absolutely part of a pediatrician and family doctor's job description to discuss child passenger safety. Car crashes are the #1 killer of kids so I'd argue it's one of the most important things a doctor of young children can do!

That said, the problem is that most doctors don't know anything about car seats. The issue is awareness and getting proper information out there to docs and letting them know who they can refer to. I'm going to be adding car seat info to well-child info sheets at the family practice clinic associated with the med school here and I gave a talk to all the attendings and residents when I rotated with them addressing how doctors can help improve child passenger safety.

How many times have you heard the parent of a 20 pound 1 year old say "Well, my doctor said my child should be forward-facing now" and have that trump any information you can give the parent because "the doctor said!". Their words are powerful - so yes, they should give parents information but we need to raise awareness with them to make sure it is proper information!
 

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