Posted by: Dr Susie Bayley
23 February 2016My parents were teachers. Teachers are in many ways like doctors, over worked, underpaid, struggling with stupid government policies and unreasonable demands of their ‘clients’ and their relatives. But there is another similarity - my brother and I needed to be moribund before we were permitted a day off school.
I’m proud and ashamed in equal measures to admit that I have inherited this compassionate parenting style. Although I obviously follow the HPA exclusion advice to the letter, it has been known for the offspring to be dosed up, given packs of tissues and pushed through the childminder’s door at 7am, as I shout ‘Good luck, see you in 10 hours’ and rapidly jump into my car waving.
When my youngest falls over, the oldest one shouts 'Just give your knee a rub and get on with it’.
This seems to have bred a stoical attitude to illness. On more than one occasion I have been woken by a febrile five-year-old, carrying a forlorn expression, a bottle of calpol and a syringe. When my youngest falls over, the oldest one shouts 'Just give your knee a rub and get on with it’.
On one occasion a chicken-pox-riddled two-year-old managed to get into the spice cupboard and coated himself in cayenne pepper. Some would say this was an accident resulting from a catastrophic parenting failure. I would argue this showed a very acute knowledge of gated-pain theory in a pre-schooler.
But I digress, my smugness at helping form stoical kids, did rather fall flat in a public way this week. We were queuing up outside my four-year-old’s preschool and the parents were chatting about that week’s URTIs. One parent lamented at how little Johnny had been off for a week, and was still so snotty he was bravely dragging himself back to pre-school. My youngest tutted loudly and gave his most disgusted look to the parent and child opposite. He looked at me, and in his loudest voice said: 'Is that the sort of rubbish people come and see you about at work? They just need to have some calpol and man up don’t they Mummy’. I died a little inside.
He is shortly to be our youngest employee.
Dr Susie Bayley is a GP in Derby and chair of GP Survival
Readers' comments (23)
Anonymous | GP Partner23 Feb 2016 8:29am
Out of the mouths of babes!
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Anonymous | Practice Manager23 Feb 2016 9:39am
Awesome. And spot on.
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Anonymous | GP Partner23 Feb 2016 9:57am
Excellent!
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Anonymous | Practice Manager23 Feb 2016 10:00am
Useful link for patients:
http://www.whenshouldiworry.com/resources/When%20should%20I%20worry-Booklet_England-with%20111%20service.pdf
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Mystery Locum | Sessional/Locum GP23 Feb 2016 10:39am
excellent blog. Hope i manage to bring my son up the same!
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Anonymous | Sessional/Locum GP23 Feb 2016 10:50am
The entire country needs a massive dose of " man the fu@k up and get on with it " and the NHS would be in the black.
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Anonymous | Pharmacist23 Feb 2016 12:51pm
So true. As a pharmacist I am teaching my little girl to take whatever brand/flavour of medication I give her. Have to put up with some ridiculous requests from parents on a daily basis. "No they don't do paracetamol suspension in Papaya flavour"
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Anonymous | Practice Manager23 Feb 2016 4:05pm
Its remarkable how much people 'man up' in co-pay systems. £30/appt and mandatory prescription charges for all would cull a lot of dross.
Had a patient complain that we suggested he treat himself for a minor issue today - look forward to another bashing from NHSE/PHOS on that one.
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Shaba Nabi | GP Partner23 Feb 2016 4:22pm
Hilarious Susie.
My son keeps walking past smokers and saying in a really loud voice - "Look Mummy, he's smoking so he's going to get cancer isn't he?"
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Alison Smith | Salaried GP23 Feb 2016 5:06pm
Well said kiddo!
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