Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Interested to hear your thoughts on this - Kid related
My mom works for an endodontist (root canal dentist). The office has a policy that children are not allowed to come to the back while their parents are being treated, and that they are not allowed to stay in the waiting room unless they are old enough to be left without supervision. In other words, my mom and the other woman at the desk are not responsible for watching children in the waiting room, and they won't treat a patient if they feel that the child can't be left alone.
Today a woman came in with a 2 and 3 year old and when my mom asked if she was waiting on someone else to get there to watch the children, the woman said that it was their naptime and that they'd just sleep in the back. My mom then had to tell her that it was against office policy. The woman wasn't happy about it, but she wasn't rude. However, this has happened repeatedly in the past and people aren't always as polite about it.
So, what do you think? Is this a reasonable policy? Are people who assume that they can leave their kids in the waiting room and that my mom will watch them unreasonable? Should the kids be able to go to the back? For those of you with children, do you make arrangements when you have appointments to avoid this type of issue?
Re: Interested to hear your thoughts on this - Kid related
I think it's a reasonable request as long as all patients are made aware of this ahead of time (prior to a visit). I get the dentist not wanting to deal with a kid in the room and I definitely get the fact that office workers aren't babysitters.
However, if I were a SAHM, I'd probably find another dentist that was a little more flexible about kids. Maybe I just don't know enough about what root canals entail - how long they take, how in depth they are surgery-wise etc.
That's a liability to have regular office employees with no childcare experience handling childcare on a regular basis. Not cool.
Maybe it's because I'm not a mom, but I didn't think things like the dentist offered childcare while you got your teeth cleaned, root canal, etc. Do they?
I have mixed feelings on this. I understand that as a parent it would be great to know this ahead of time, but at the same time, I don't see myself assuming that my child could come back and sit in a room while I'm laying in a dental chair with my mouth wide open, getting a root canal. Whether they are in the room or not, you're not able to supervise them so if they wake up or start fussing, and then it becomes an issue. It's not like a doctor's appointment where you're sitting on a table and can easily tend to your child. I understand that it's an inconvenience, but I don't see it as a situation where accommodations should be expected.
ETA: LB, it's definitely a liability. That's why they don't do it.
This was exactly my train of thought too.
But then I thought maybe it's just because I'm not a mom and haven't sought out childcare at a dentist that I didn't know it was anything to expect...? IDK. That's why I asked.
How is it that my BABY is going to be 3?
BFP-2/25/11; 8 Wk U/S-3/25/11-No HB, measured 6.5 wks; D&C
I was wondering where my long-winded reply went. Luckily I clicked the back button a few times and copied it
I didn't see your questions as b!tchy at all. And I totally liked the graphic, though I would prefer that it was one of your doggehs making that face.
With the majority of the patients being seen for actual procedures at this office, I feel that it is totally reasonable that even infants in carseats not be allowed in the back. I don't know about other dentist's offices but the procedure rooms in my dentist's office are small. With all the equipment in the room, there would be no place to even set down a carseat.
I guess that not bringing children to the appointments isn't an assumed thing. The office should be explicit about it. Kind of like restaurants are required to post that employees must wash their hands after leaving the restroom and returning to work. One would assume ...How is it that my BABY is going to be 3?
BFP-2/25/11; 8 Wk U/S-3/25/11-No HB, measured 6.5 wks; D&C
My post must be one of the ones that got accidentally deleted
I don't think it is an unreasonable policy at all and I think it's a bit presumptuous on the parents part to assume that they can bring their kids to an appointment where they cannot supervise them. I always make my doctor and dentist appointments for times when B is in school - there's no way I could sit through a dental procedure with him there, no matter the age. Even as an infant/newborn, you never know when they're going to wake up crying. I don't think the office should have to post a policy on that, I'd think it's kind of common sense.. I mean, you can't really have a conversation with your doctor/dentist when you're trying to wrangle a kid.. at least I couldn't.
All that being said, when B was a newborn he did go to a few OB appointments with me on our own. I was going nearly every day and had nobody else to help that often and my OB doesn't mind, plus part of the reason I was there was nursing issues, so it was beneficial to have him there. He also went to a few surgeon appointments with me (I had surgery when he was 4 weeks old), but my mom was there for all but the first one (because the OB sent me straight to his office). Even with how itty bitty he was, it was a total PITA as a new mom to haul all of his stuff around, find places to change him, nurse him, etc.