As many of you may know, I am now officially retired, but before I go, I would like to share
some parting thoughts with you. Some of these have been covered in previous blogs, but are
worth repeating.
The first is that there are some, albeit not many, absolutes in pediatrics. These include having
babies sleep on their backs, always using car seats/seatbelts, and getting vaccinated.
There is no true scientific controversy about the last; studies with literally millions of children
have shown them to be of enormous value. That’s not to say they are completely safe, as
nothing in life is, but they are vastly superior to not being vaccinated. Skipping vaccines is
gambling with your child’s life.
As an example, we can consider what happened in American Samoa in 2019. This is a territory
with many non-vaxxers, as a result of which there was a measles outbreak. Most unvaccinated
children did fine, as is to be expected, but 83 families lost their bet, and their children died. To
put this in perspective, translating this to a country the size of the United States, the number of
measles-related deaths here would have been over 600,000.
Moving away from absolutes, there are numerous ways to be a good parent. You can generally
trust your instincts. If it seems reasonable to you, and isn’t outright wrong, you’re probably
doing fine. Consider the question of whether you should start giving your baby solids at four
months, or wait until six. The answer is: yes. Experts disagree, and the ‘correct’ answer goes
back and forth, but my reading of the literature is that either decision (or starting any time in
between) is acceptable.
My single most important piece of advice for parents is to engage with your child. Talk to them
as babies, and talk with them when they are old enough to converse. Go on outings with them.
It is incredibly important to read to them, until they are old enough that they ask you to stop so
they can read on their own (and physical books are best); libraries are superb for all ages. Play
board games as a family. Have meals together, and please, please, for goodness’ sake, put away
electronic devices during these times. I practice what I preach – I still don’t own a Smartphone.
Pediatric care changes over time, as science evolves. The advice we give now is based on the
best information we have at present, but, as mentioned above, is rarely absolute. What we did
for your parents’ generation does not always hold. For example, we now know that green
mucus does not mean a child needs an antibiotic, nebulizers are no longer recommend
routinely for wheezing infants, and neither are medicines for spitting up. Trust us to keep up to
date here; pediatrics is an ongoing learning experience.
That segues into how to find a good pediatric provider. Knowledge is key here, and I am
comfortable recommending any of our providers as knowledgeable, and in keeping current in
the field. The second factor that goes into choosing a provider is that you are comfortable with
them and trust them. Thus, some parents found my style off-putting (I am a very rapid talker,
for one thing), and switched to a different provider in the practice, even though I had been
recommended to them. This was definitely the correct decision for them to make; one size
does not fit all.
Moving on to more personal matters, I have been asked what I plan to do with my life in
retirement (and you can skip this paragraph if you wish). My first goal is to sleep late. I will do
more reading, and play more bridge and chess. My wife and I love walking – cities, parks, it
doesn’t matter, so we intend to do lots of travel as long as our health allows. Lastly, I hope to
write more fiction – I’m a member of the Mystery Writers of America, have published many
short stories, and expect to have a novel out in a few months.
Lastly, I want to thank everyone for letting me be a part of your family’s journey through life.
It’s been a privilege to have been invited in, and I’ve loved the ride.
