Yes, Helicopter Parenting Happens, Even At The Doctor's Office
“You can never be too available to your kids, but you can be too interfering."
Lisa Rapaport
(Reuters Health) - Part of raising a teenager is figuring when and how to let go of the reins so adolescents learn to make smart choices on their own.
But when it comes to healthcare, today’s generation of so-called helicopter parents may be hovering so much that they prevent their teens from getting the most out of visits to the doctor, a new U.S. poll suggests.
Advertisement
By the time children reach age 13, there is no reason parents should be in the exam room for checkups, said Sarah Clark, associate director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, based at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“It may be helpful for parents to remember their role is to guide children toward adulthood,” Clark said by email. “For some, that means a shift from thinking of their role as fixing every problem to instead focus on creating opportunities to learn.”
Advertisement
To see how often adolescents actually get to take charge of their health, pollsters asked a nationally representative sample of parents with at least one child aged 13 to 18 years in September 2015 what happened when their teen went to the doctor.
Roughly nine out of 10 parents said they would go with their teen for a routine checkup.
Only a third of respondents said a clinician spoke to their teenager privately during exams, without a parent in the room.
Advertisement
Two-thirds of parents said they would complete health history forms without involving their teen, mostly because they preferred to do this themselves.
Similarly, 70 percent of parents said they would make decisions about vaccinations without input from their kid, in this case because they considered vaccine decisions the parents’ role.
More often than not, parents also said that both they and their teen would participate in discussions about physical, emotional or behavioral problems.
Independently, teens brought up their own questions only 5 percent of the time, and they discussed health problems only about 15 percent of the time, the poll found.
Even though parents say teens fail to participate at the doctor because adolescents are uncomfortable doing so, the findings suggest that young people really need more opportunities to take charge, the pollsters conclude.
Advertisement
It might be less efficient to hand paperwork to teens, and they might make mistakes at first, but this is part of them learning about their family medical history and understanding how to navigate a complex healthcare system.
Parents can also follow several strategies to help prepare teens to take a more active role in their own doctor visits, the pollsters point out.
Getting teens to write down any questions or concerns before the visit can help organize their thoughts. Letting children speak first during visits to encourage them to get comfortable discussing their health issues with a doctor is also key.
Even as young as 11 or 13, there are many confidential topics that children may need to discuss with providers without a parent in the room, noted Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, a researcher at Seattle Children’s Hospital and the University of Washington and chair of a committee on adolescent health for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
That age is a good time for pediatricians and parents to explain to kids that they will have some time one-on-one with their doctor, as preparation for getting more autonomy during adolescence, Breuner, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
Advertisement
“You can never be too available to your kids, but you can be too interfering,” Breuner added. “It is not a very easy task to learn how to talk to a healthcare provider about your medical problems in general, and one-on-one time with a healthcare provider is invaluable to this education process.”
SOURCE: bit.ly/1RUazAh C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, online December 14, 2015.
Also on HuffPost:
10 Health Findings From 2015 Every Parent Should Know About
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.