In a perfect world, you’d spend just a few minutes a year with your child’s pediatrician during annual well-child checkups. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world and there will almost certainly be times when you’ll need to work closely with your kid’s doctor. From minor illnesses and injuries to more serious matters, your child’s pediatrician can be the best and most effective first line of defense. When you’ve established and maintained a rapport with the family pediatrician, there’s a built-in level of trust making it easier to navigate healthcare decisions with expert guidance.
Why You Should Get to Know Your Kid’s Doctor
Early in your relationship with a family pediatrician, you’re usually checking in to make sure an infant is growing and thriving. As your child gets older and those well-child appointments drop down to once a year or so, you may find fewer opportunities to build a rapport but it’s far from impossible.
A strong relationship with your kid’s doctor is built on trust. Once established, this trust will allow you to feel confident you’re making the best decisions for your child with the help of someone holding years or even decades of education and experience specifically relating to kids’ health. Apart from those annual checkups, you will usually only see the pediatrician when there’s something wrong. Parents are inherently vulnerable when their children are unwell, so you’ll need to know you’re working with someone who has your child’s best interests and good health at heart.
Throughout each visit, great pediatricians are asking questions which help them to assess not only your child’s physical health, but also the achievement of age-appropriate milestones. Your kid’s doctor does more than give shots and write prescriptions, but they’re reliant upon you for the information they need to make the right calls. A distant or strained relationship with the family pediatrician means you may not feel as comfortable bringing up concerns or asking important question, which in turn leaves the doctor without all the information they need to help protect your child’s developmental and physical health.
How to Establish a Good Relationship with the Family Pediatrician
While it’s always good to arrive on time to appointments and prepared to communicate questions and concerns, one of the best ways to establish a good relationship with your kid’s doctor is to choose the right one for your family.
At Pediatric Healthcare of Northwest Houston, we’re committed to your child’s health and wellness journey from birth to adulthood. By combining old-fashioned interaction with cutting-edge treatment and management techniques, we’re able to bring you the best in modern medicine with a personal touch at any of our four clinics. Call us today to make an appointment for personalized pediatric care.
