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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
chardonnay24
member
Does your pedi have locks on the drawers and cabinets?
chardonnay24
member
I love my pedi but lately we have been visiting frequently and I'm starting to get annoyed with things in the office.
We almost always wait a good 15 minutes in the waiting room and then another 30 - 45 in the exam room, where there are no toys or books and the cabinets are not locked. He has slammed his finger in a drawer twice with me standing right.there. There isn't anything dangerous or dirty in the drawers or cupboards but they are very easy to open and close and there are two sets of cabinets on opposite sides of the room. I don't know if this is common or if I'm overreacting, but I'm tired of battling with my kid every time we go into the pedi. I bring toys, snacks, and books but he's never interested in what I have to offer compared to the allure of unlocked cabinets.
Should I switch offices or is this just a common thing that I need to learn to deal with?
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Re: Does your pedi have locks on the drawers and cabinets?
bfp#4 3/19/2014 edd 12/1/2014 please let this be the one!
beta @ 5w0d = 12,026! u/s 4/22/14 @ 8w1d it's twins!
no locks but nothing in cabinets. They have books and toys, also have a sick and "wellness check-up" side. I like my pedi
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
I have (only a few times) waited 30+ minutes in the exam room, and I understand a young toddler's need to move.
But, it sounds like it's the ridiculously long wait time that you have every time you see the Dr that's the problem, not the unlocked cabinets and drawers. If you have to wait over an hour EVERY time you see the Dr, that alone is reason enough to find a new Pedi.
Our pediatric PTs office has locks on the drawers and cabinets so I just assumed it was common, I guess not.
A stroller would not go over well but I don't really see much of a choice. I guess if they get angry at a toddler screaming for 45 minutes they shouldn't make us wait so long every time. It sure beats broken fingers.
We've tried distraction, different toys, snacks, books, singing, and playing with mirror baby. All he wants to do all day long is run and explore so the pedi's office is just torture (for both of us). I guess I should clarify that he's never seriously hurt himself. When I say slam, I mean "stuck hand in as drawer was closing" but since I was right there, I had my hand on the handle and we closed it together gently.
I'm glad I'm not alone. I was feeling like a crap parent for not being able to control him yesterday in the pedi's office, but he is unlike ANY kid his age. He is constantly going, touching everything he shouldn't, investigating anything that is remotely dangerous. He hasn't played with a toy in months. He knows the word "no" but will ignore it and redirection is a joke. Even if it's a toy he's never seen in his life, he will take it, throw it on the floor, and move on. I am totally envious of people that can turn their back for a mere second and know that their kid won't have destroyed something/someone/himself in that moment. We do PT/OT for sensory processing disorder and high muscle tone so I think that is part of it - he literally cannot sit still...
ETA: wrong use of there/their/they're
Well, I felt bad that people were essentially telling you it was your fault. My DS is a normal toddler in my opinion and they like to MOVE. The last appt we had, I did manage to keep him sitting in my lap for QUITE some time and had him calm and we were reading books, and after like 20 minutes he was wanting to be put down and move on to other things. I let him walk around and was trying to offer him toys and his sippy, etc...but he wanted to open the cabinets. Since there wasn't anything in most of them, I let him kind of do what he wanted for a while until he saw the ONE cabinet with computer cords and then he became obsessed...prob b/c I wouldn't let him get in it! The pedi should know that toddlers are not capable of just sitting and waiting calmly for that long of a time. My pedi apologized numerous times for the wait, but I've found that I end up waiting that long quite a bit.
BFP # 1 - 12/19/09 EDD 08/27/10 - D&C 1/26/10 @ 9w5d
BFP # 2 - 06/05/10 EDD 02/17/11, DS1 born on 2/14/11
BFP # 3 - 04/10/13 EDD 12/21/13 - D&C 05/15/13 @ 8w4d
BFP # 4 - 07/27/13 EDD 04/08/14 - CP 07/29/13
BFP # 5 - 09/14/13 EDD 05/28/14, DS2 born on 5/22/14
DS2 - Oct 2010 (my VBAC baby!)
He won't watch TV.
My phone would amuse him for awhile but he would either start making calls and downloading apps or (if it was turned off) throw it on the floor.
I had to bring my 3 y/o nephew in once with A and it was awful. I learned quickly to schedule appointments for the morning when my nephew is in preschool.
Yes, toddlers like to move. And yes, they also need to be taught not to mess with things that don't belong to them. Sorry. We always have a long wait, and I make sure to bring plenty of toys, books, snacks, etc. to keep him occupied for that wait. It sucks, but there's no reason for your kid to be digging in the doctor's cabinets.
Our old pedi office had the magnetic child locks on the drawers and cabinets. They kept no books or toys in the exam rooms.
My new pedi office has no locks but they have lots of books and one of these hanging on the wall that keeps DS busy: https://www.amazon.com/CutieBeauty-PP7000-Anatex-Pathfinder-Panel/dp/B0006J0FG4
...but not every toddler is the same. DD1 was always perfectly happy to sit on my lap and read books when we waited anywhere. I used to take care of a friend's DS and he was a wild child and SMART, lol. distraction never worked on him because he knew he was being distracted. I just had to kind of hover but he got in accidents all the time, anyways.
Yup.
I bring a bag of toys she hasn't seen in awhile. And I sit on the floor in front of the drawers. My big issue is keeping her from climbing on the step for the table, playing with it (he's an osteopath, so it's an adjustment table), or getting into the outlets. But we do it. LOTS of lap-sitting. The doc's office just isn't really a on-your-own kind of place . . .
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This is the case with my middle (who is 5 1/2 now) and I'm guessing my youngest will be the same. We bring LOTS LOTS LOTS of sensory diet stuff. For the older, it's rubber bands (actually Silly Bandz, thank god for that fad) on his wrist. He chews gum. Wears a ball cap or I scratch his head (yeah, like a dog). Sometimes I'll even wrap him in a blanket and play the sandwich game in the office itself.
I get that it's challenging, I TOTALLY TOTALLY DO. Perhaps maybe if the drawers are an issue for you, you could request that the clinic keep you in the waiting room instead of the office?
Taking more than 1 kid to the doctor at a time is my version of a nightmare. We do it, but it kills me, because I have really active Captain Dangers.
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