dlake02

"Well Child Check ?" - there is just no such thing in the UK.... There are a set of guidelines from NICE that parents are advised to look out for aged 6-15, height/weight charts, symptoms to watch for and obviously free dental checks every 6 months. But the rule-of-thumb is that parents watch for these and then take children to the doc if they suspect a problem.

And I am certainly guilty of getting my son down the docs when he was very small and being told point-blank by the doc "you're wasting my time - it's a cold...."

Sorry - I just think this is over-the-top and being done to cover the insurance requirements of the BSA rather than actually caring about whether my son is fit.

Weeze

Well child check every year here too. It's when they do their boosters so its no great issue for me. I get my yearly check as well.

AmerLisa

There are well child checks in the UK, but usually done by a health visitor.

I think preventative care is a good idea and it's not a recent thing over here to make more money out of insurance either.

SarahG

My son has his BP checked every 3-4 months. His sister has hers checked every 12 months. He is on meds for ADD and she has 1 kidney. No big deal. They refer to is as 'a hug for their arm'. The medical for camp sounds fairly normal but I am not entirely sure I understand why there would be any need to check genitals. For camp?! What are they planning to do at the camp?!

dlake02

In the UK, the health visitor these days is for very early years. Any other worries/concerns are picked up at school or by parents.

He has had a height/weight check at school here as well, so I assumed that would make it into the medical record system here ?

Frankly, I don't trust the medical profession here - how can you when just like a plumbet, they have a vested interest in finding every fault possible to boost their earnings ? Preventative medicine only works if it tracks those most at risk, which is likely to be those that don't have insurance in this country.

scrubbedexpat097

Get over it or just let your son not enjoy his summer


I'm sorry, but why are you complaining about a rule (that is by no means harming your son) that may even make you aware of an undiagnosed problem your son may have that you can jump on before it causes a problem??

I have assisted with hundreds of sport and camp physicals. They are not unduly invasive, they are done to insure your child is fit and healthy enough to take part in camp activities.

I don't understand. Wouldn't you rather know he was ok??? And know, don't say he is always healthy because that is not always the case. Diabetes, minor heart ailments, hernias, urine/kidney problems can be detected during these physicals. A lot of these ailments show no symptoms until later and are then harder to control

Bite the bullet and go ahead or not.... you're not in the UK now.

dlake02

I understand that, as they have medical conditions.

But, the vast majority of people don't need to take valuable time and resources away from people that need them.

My wife's grandmother died three years ago aged 98 and was VERY proud that she'd contributed to the NHS for 40 years and not been to see a doctor once until she was 75...! Rode her bike every day until she was 80 and swam in the North Sea - batty old Scots girl. Quite the character.

SarahG

Personally I go to the Dr once a year but I am yet to get a Dr here in SC. I was never one of those people who was on real friendly terms with the Dr or receptionist as I was never there. They always looked at me like I was new to the area when I went in. I am very rarely ill and my kids usually only went to see a specialist at the local hospital more that their Dr. (In the UK that is)

dlake02

Yes - that is the as with us. We go to the docs if we're ill - not at all, otherwise.

I'm sensing yet another cultural difference.....

JRG67

Exactly.

An example of how ridiculous things can be in America- a USC friend of mine attended a small private college (university) in the States. There is a lake on the campus grounds. One of the requirements was that an attending student had to be able to swim. My friend could not, so every morning during the first semester he had to take a swimming class!

I think the medical is completely unnecessayr and you should teach your son that there are times when it is best just to say FO and walk away.

scrubbedexpat097

I guess your son wont go to camp then.


And no it's not a cutural thing either. It is just making sure your child is fit and healthy and able to participate safely.

Another way to look at it....what if the physicals weren't done and another child at the camp had hepatitis/TB/strep etc??? I'm sure you would be thrilled to bits if your guy came home seriously sick...

RICH

It's not about the Scouts. There is no centralised system here, so every organisation has to do its own thing. Scouts, sports team etc.

In UK, I suppose the GP does standard tests once in a while, and thereafter, the scouts,etc only require a "doctors note" type thing to cover their concerns/liability, not a new exam/report.

I hardly go to doctors, but each time I have, I had to do the full new patient/history palava as they have no record from previous doc, and even if they did they would not trust it, i guess.

AmerLisa

What medical record system? Preventative medicine only works if it tracks those most at risk?

Interesting...

Weeze

As a woman you go once a year (yes, every 3 years in the UK) anyway so you might as well get a physical at the same time. My daughters are just getting used to what they'll be doing in the future.

kodokan

We spent nearly 4 years in Switzerland before we moved here. These sort of well child/ well person checks are the norm there too - so in my personal experience, and anecdotally from friends living elsewhere in the EU, they really are 'usual stuff' most places, and it is the UK that's the outlier on this. Which would explain why my UK friend's son is now facing many embarrassing check ups and possible genital surgery just as he's coming into puberty, which will be tough on him.

It is no bad thing to develop a mindset in your child that doctors are helpful folk who are interested in keeping you well, rather than just demons you visit when you feel awful, or to get jabbed.

The whole thing takes just a few minutes, and is very lowkey. You don't stop your son taking school math or reading tests because 'you already know he can read, and do division', do you? Treat it the same as that and explain it to him as such - a bit of a tedious tick box chore, but well meaning and harmless; a bit pointless for your no doubt perfectly healthy/ literate/ numerate son, but useful for picking up the less fortunate kids.