Teaching a child proper personal care

Solo health care

Children are ready to take charge of their own health care when they're mature enough to ask questions of all health-care providers and to comprehend and deal in a responsible fashion with the information provided. In order to build a trusting relationship with a child, the doctor will usually make a point to mention that their discussions will remain confidential. In most Canadian provinces, minors as young as twelve can choose not to have their parents accompany them either when they go to their doctor or when they go into the doctor's examining room. They may also consent to a treatment if doctors believe them capable of understanding the implications of the treatment. In Quebec, it's fourteen years and older, and parents have to be informed if the youth is admitted to hospital for more than 12 hours.

At the Children's & Women's Health Centre of British Columbia in Vancouver, health-care professionals say that children aged twelve and older are capable of deciding whether they want to pursue a recommended treatment. This policy grew out of the efforts of health professionals to deal with STDs. If the matter is debatable, the case may go to the Ethics Committee.

Parents should have begun talking with their children at an early age about all aspects of bodily health so that nothing develops into a taboo subject between them. Single parents need to inform themselves about the health concerns of their opposite-sex child. Most kids want to talk to their parents about personal health issues that concern them -- they just don't want to get a lecture.

When it seems to you that your child is mature enough to handle a visit to the family doctor on her own, discuss with her whether she would like you to accompany her or to remain in the waiting room. Let her know that you respect her privacy, and that you'll understand if she wants her discussion with the doctor to be private. You may still talk separately with the doctor about your own concerns after the examination.