dlake02

Hi

I need some advice if you've dealt with this please.

My son is a very enthusiastic Boy Scout. We may not be making many friends, but he is, loves Scouts, etc, etc.

He has signed up for the Summer Camp next year, and with that comes a requirement which appears to be from BSA of a full medical including such lovely things as blood pressure and physical exam.

Now, we are none-too-keen on this - at age 11, I am not sure that other than height/weight and the usual school sight/sense tests that is necessary. My brother (NHS GP) has told me that this is a waste of time and we should tell BSA to F-off, but I suspect that wouldn't fly here.....

I am also not at all happy about the areas of the form that talk about "examination of genitalia..."

I presume that this is essentially a CYA requirement by BSA for their insurance rather than our son's health ?

What do other parents do ? It seems that opting out of the medical will simply mean he can't go to summer camp (he has been camping with Cubs in England since he was 6 years old).

Thanks !

JRG67

Does he want to take the medical???

Re the genitalia- prob want to check and make sure no trannies are trying to participate..

kimilseung

No suggestions or help from me, other than to point out this link, if you have not already visited it, it might help.

dlake02

Nope. Very frightened by it.... Had to buy him off with a 3DS game last time he had an immunisation. Cost me $45.

Seriously, he gets very traumatised by doctors, dentists, etc.

JRG67

Well i wouldn't force him to take the medical if he doesn't want to...

Take your brother's advice. If the Scout Assoc acts badly, inform your son the decision is up to him (whether to go or not).

dlake02

I phoned the local council - they were clear; no annual medical, no camp.

No leeway except for immunisations (which he is up-to-date with) on religious grounds.

kodokan

My 12 yr old son had to have a medical for summer camp last year; if your son ever wants to go to camp or do any sports for the remainder of his childhood, he may as well get used to it...

It's very undemanding. Height, weight, blood pressure, strip down to pants and check spine alignment, knee reflexes, etc. The doc WILL then do a little 'and sometimes doctors need to check your private parts, it's ok if it's doctors and your parents agree, etc' speech and then do a quick hand down pants thing for 2-3 seconds; he'll be checking that both testicles are descended. It's very understated, and not made a big deal of.

Incidentally, a friend of mine in the UK has just discovered, through a jokey conversation with her 11 yr old, that he has 'only had one since he was about 6 or 7' - he had his 4 yr old pre-school check up and all was fine, but apparently they can retract...

If you've got a doctor you trust, this could be a good opportunity for your son to start working on his doctor fear. My son is phobic about injections - cries, goes pale, looks like he's about to throw up or pass out, etc - but is fine about physicals; they're honestly no big deal.

Good luck with it.

Edit: forgot to add, you can of course be in the room with him at all times for this.

dlake02

Good god ! That kind of thing went out with National Service in the 1950s with "Cough and Drop !" Maybe I need to check what I can refuse on the form before the camp says no go....

There is the annual weigh-in at school, but that is just a check of height/weight.

penguinsix

When your son starts high school (age 14) there will be another one of these, and then again at university. You should also expect examination requirements for most sports teams.

dlake02

(I can 100% guarantee that we will be back in the EU by the time High School comes around, but that is another discussion !)

We've not come across similar requirements for AYSO or for Youth Soccer League. He has played 4 seasons with those so far, and other than the expected immunisation records, doctor name/number, it looks pretty much the same as it would anywhere else.

AmerLisa

My daughter (also aged 11) just had her yearly "physical" Basically it's just a check of the usual stuff, bp, height, weight, spine, etc, etc.... It really wasn't a huge deal. The biggest part of the whole thing was the vaccinations I had her get while we were there.

I should add that they're really just looking for any red flags. Thankfully our insurance covers it 100%. As they should, there really isn't much to it!

dlake02

But what you classify as "usual stuff" is NOT ! And certainly not every 12 months..... BP ? What child has BP taken unless they are in A&E ?

dlake02

I understand that, but the clearest marker of that is the annual school height/weight or the school nurse noticing something (bad deportment, etc) and reporting via the medical records and the local GP ?

Or parents being concerned and taking their child in to see their family GP ? Most parents are nicely paranoid when it comes to their child's wellbeing and rush to the GP at the slightest cough or snivel.

AmerLisa

Is having a BP taken the same as open heart surgery? I mean really, what's the big deal?

AmerLisa

I don't think parents rush off for every cough or snivel, however, I don't see anything wrong with a well child check. But to each their own.