Tips For Parents of Young Children

Pediatric modesty is an issue that is rarely addressed but needs to be. Parents often want their children to go to doctors for checkups and to resolve certain problems, but they fail to think about how their children may feel about modesty in medical settings. Even young children can be sensitive. Many parents teach their children that they or certain relatives should be the only ones allowed to touch their private parts and to report if someone else accesses their intimate space. Some children as young as 3 years old know what a bad touch is. Some young kids are taught that they should not let someone of the opposite sex see them naked after a certain age. They don't feel it is any different with nurses and doctors. Some are already frightened at a doctor’s office due to previous painful and other traumatic experiences. This fear is exponentially compounded when doctors or nurses do things to certain parts of their bodies because of what they were taught about visual and physical access of their private areas.

You should always strive to stand up for your children's wishes and psychological well being. If your child is not comfortable with having a genital exam, work to honor her/his wishes. Many kids have become upset because they felt their modesty was violated. And some may feel intimidated by an adult authority figure and won’t speak up against medical professionals performing intimate procedures. You should stand up for your child and seek alternatives to intimately invasive tasks. Further, remember that pelvic exams are often unnecessary for young girls who have not reached puberty yet.

Always take time to research procedures, medicine, and diagnosis. Don't trust that the doctor is always right.

Some young kids are uncomfortable with strange nurses bathing them. If your child is hospitalized, try to be available to give her/him a bath yourself or be present when the nurse bathes him/her to make him/her more comfortable.

Check out an article about young children and modesty by Holly Goodwin. She had a bad experience at age 5 when she was misdiagnosed with a yeast infection. She actually had Interstitial Cystitis and the cream that was prescribed for the yeast infection made things worse. Holly has provided a lot of wonderful insights about how parents can be sensitive to their children's needs for modesty.

Help your child to think in advance about what parts of her/his body need to be examined before she/he goes to the doctor. Encourage your children to speak up if something makes them uncomfortable. Make sure they know that they have the right to decide if they want same gender nurses or doctors for certain things and that they can refuse to take their clothes off or even refuse certain procedures outright.

If your child wants a same sex team for certain procedures or surgeries, work hard to advocate for his/her wishes no matter how hard it is. Your child will appreciate your sensitivity to his/her needs for modesty.

Be sure you check out the article dealing with teenagers and modesty.