Teen privacy at the doctors
Though parents may think of well visits as a rite of early childhood, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends annual exams continue through age 21. Any teen playing competitive sports will need to see a doctor at least that often to comply with standards for sports physicals.
In addition to a physical exam and the recording of vital stats, well visits will also continue to include vaccinations. Required shots become less frequent as a child ages, but a handful are mandated for secondary school and college students (See sidebar for vaccination schedule).
Gambrills mom Amy Malone started taking sons Matthew, 17, and Jonathan, 16, to a general practitioner—instead of a pediatrician—long before the delicate issues of teenage privacy emerged.
Now, after 15 years with the same doctor, she or her husband, Michael, still escort the boys to the exam room during every visit. It’s protocol at the office they use, but Amy Malone feels it also keeps them actively involved in managing their teenagers’ health. It doesn’t hurt that they’ve built an exceptional relationship with their doctor during countless physicals, sick visits and injury-related appointments.
“Our doctor is a rare combination,” says Malone. “She has excellent diagnostic skills, and that puts us at ease….But she also knows how to talk to children.”
Matthew says he has no problem with his mom accompanying him into the exam room. He doesn’t hesitate to discuss health matters in front of her because, “I’ve always been pretty relaxed about those kinds of things,” he explains.
And doctor and mom are able to work together when issues do creep up, as they have occasionally when it comes to Jonathan’s eating habits, Amy Malone explains. At about age 12, the family’s doctor began to have conversations about how he could improve his diet, with mom as an active participant.
For other teens grappling with even more delicate issues, privacy may be essential to an honest, informed conversation.
“Many kids do talk to their parents and parents are aware” that issues exist, says Gage. “But there are many that do not, and they are getting their often-incorrect information from the Internet or friends.”
