Our pediatrician doesn't have kids and I think he lacks empathy because of it. At times he's so flippant - I really don't think he gets what it's like to have a LO who's in distress and can't tell you what's wrong. He also sometimes makes recommendations which are logical in theory but really aren't so cut and dry when applying them to an actual little person.
Does your pediatrician have kids? Do you think it makes a difference?
hostess / eggplant / 11068 posts
Mine does - a 4-year old and an almost 2-year old. I love my ped.
pea / 14 posts
You're lucky... I'm not sure that I love ours. He's better than some but I'm still on the fence.
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
He does. That's one of the things he talked about when we met him. He talked a lot about his daughter.
We also met with another doctor who has children who I loved.... until our cleaning lady who also cleans their house told us that their kids were on drugs. That didn't settle well with me.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
I was a pediatrician without kids for like 6 years. I am better for having children 
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
I've never asked! She's older. 50-60? I'm assuming yes!
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Our pedi and his wife who is the other doctor in the practice have 7 kids
pea / 14 posts
@ARTBEE Yikes! Although it would be politically correct to say that having kids on drugs probably has nothing to do with whether or not he's a good doctor, I don't blame you… that wouldn't sit well with me either!
@MRS. JACKS I'm so glad you said that. At least I feel like my observations may be valid.
bananas / 9628 posts
i'm sure there are wonderful drs that don't have kids, but i wouldn't consider a pediatrician that didn't have children.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
Our pediatrician didn't have kids when we first started seeing him, but then he adopted a child. Now he is a 100x better pediatrician! It's been a bit shocking actually.
pomelo / 5178 posts
Our doctor just adopted two little boys last month! She was pretty empathetic And understanding beforehand, though.
pea / 14 posts
@MRBEE Wow - now I'm really wondering if we're missing out on a better ped experience. Hmmm... we might need to switch... or encourage him to have kids! lol
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
i think it makes a huge difference whether or not they have kids!
pomegranate / 3053 posts
Yes, I believe she does but I can't seem to remember. Hahaha! I like her a lot though. She is very good with my kids and she's very detailed with a lot of things and gets back to me with test results pretty much same day or as soon as she gets it. I really appreciate her timeliness on important things.
persimmon / 1329 posts
i def think it makes a difference. a friend of mine who is ped admitted the after they had kids, they totally became so much more empathetic. i think being on the other side of the table def gives them perspective.
cherry / 147 posts
As a child psychiatrist the top question I'm asked if whether or not I have children. It's interesting from my viewpoint to see how the parents respond if I tell them I don't have children.
I think being a parent can be a helpful experience but it's not necessary to develop empathy. I know some doctors who had children and still lack empathy and remain highly opinionated toward their patients/parents. So it depends...
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@serendipity: But I thought I was empathetic before and now when a parent talks about colic and how tough it is for them, I can almost cry with them!
Having said that, one of my best friends is a partnered, gay, childless pediatrician and I would take my kids to him in a heartbeat. He's the whole package. I just think it's rarer in childless pediatricians.
pomegranate / 3983 posts
Ours does. DH and I agreed that it makes a huge difference and didn't want to go to a ped. that didn't have kids.
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
Our doc has 3 or 4 young kids. It's one of the reasons we chose him! We figure he's probably both seen AND experienced it all between his patients and his own kids.
grapefruit / 4800 posts
I was just talking about this last night with my husband. He's on a pediatric surgery rotation for med school right now and said he can tell pretty quickly which doctors have kids and which ones don't by how they interact with the kids and their families.
cherry / 147 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: we call this countertransference in my world!
I agree with you. If I were to pick a pediatrician I think having kids is a + but there's other qualities such as personality, intelligence that are important too. It doesn't make a difference if the doctor has the whole package.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@serendipity: Sorry, I meant that my friend has the whole package despite being childless... Maybe I wasn't clear. But I do think we mostly agree
grapefruit / 4554 posts
Mine has a 15 mth old and I think it totally makes a difference...I feel they have more empathy towards the parents.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
No, but she said they were trying, I think there might be some fertility problems going on from one of the conversations I've had with her.
persimmon / 1161 posts
We are going to use the family doctors that I already see. They are husband and wife and both are family practitioners. They have three kids and share the schedule so that the female doctor works tuesday/thursday and the male doctor works the other days.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
YES!! our dr is a family dr, and she has four children I think. The youngest is 4 and she still breastfeeds him - I love that! She is so great and soo sweet. I totally love our dr.
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