Family Security Matters
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In a Boston Herald op-ed by Michael Graham, he wrote, “They’re watching you right now."
Mr. Graham is lucky he’s on good terms with his daughter. This had the potential to get real ugly. If, for example, he previously told her she couldn’t stay out past his curfew, or didn’t buy her the CD she wanted, or told her the cellphone texting was costing him a fortune and knock it off, who knows what she could’ve told the doctor, and who knows what the doctor could have done to Mr. and Mrs. Graham?
We all know that kids today have been taught that when we scold them, they can rat us out to a teacher, and we can be reported to DSS for emotional abuse. We all know should we need to spank a child, we can be reported to the state’s Gestapo for physical abuse. Our kids know the rules and can play us accordingly.
Don’t get me wrong; child abuse is a legitimate problem that need be addressed when legitimate. But parenting is not child abuse, and kids need be taught that they have to be responsible for all of their actions. State-sponsored terrorism against parents is something none of us should tolerate.
The state has a lot of power over our kids and us. They can use information against us. In some states, they can even take a daughter out to get an abortion without telling a parent who didn’t even know she was pregnant. Our daughters are encouraged to keep such details from us if they think we may get upset.
There’s a world of information, you as a parent, can use to even the score should your kids attempt to get even with you. The state has a lot of power over us. Just wait until socialized medicine goes national.Powered by ScribeFire.
6 Comments:
I wonder how common this is? It is the first I have ever heard of such a thing. I'm the single father of a 15-year-old girl and she has never mentioned anything like this after a doctor's visit. Her doctor does ask her the usual questions about HER behaviors, but I consider that appropriate and welcome. Maybe this was one case of an over-nosy doctor and not something to be made into a national trend? If it is a trend, I would be curious to see other examples.
Please read the link imbedded, the American Association of Paediatrics has issued new guidelines:
"encourages doctors to ignore “legal barriers and deference to parental involvement” and shake the children down for all the inside information they can get."
A quote snippet with no source cited? That is what you are referring me to? I have no idea from what "guideline" that quote is taken or even if the writer simply made it up. Do you take everything you read at face value? Sounds like a lot of hysteria to me, but to each his own. Then I guess since I obey the law and set a good example for my child, I don't worry about what she may tell her doctor or the government for that matter. And just so you don't accuse me of being one of "them", I agree with parental consent laws and my kid has received her share of spankings and, guess what, nobody ever came knocking on my door.
Rob, the article is from the Washington Post, click the link in the post, it's a different color from the rest.
I don't consider you one of "them", I consider you someone who wants to know. Google "Michael Graham" & "Doc, what's up with snooping" and "American Association of Paediatrics guidelines" "legal barriers and deference to parental involvement".
Sure, don't take my word for it!
The issue is not if you can trust your daughter, or even if you spank or how you discipline her. The issue is that these doctors are required by their professional guidelines to investigate families through their children with not even probable cause.
Whoops, Boston Herald, not Washington Post. I apologize.
I read the Boston Herald story the first time. It's actually a column and the snippet that you provided is not expanded on in that OPINION column (not yelling, just emphasizing). So, I Googled the term "legal barriers and deference to parental involvement", just as you recommended. You know where the term appears? Not in a single AAP guideline (you can check it out at http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/), but an AMA guideline regarding abortion for minors (http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/288/6/710). It refers to a guideline that states if the minor's health or life is in danger, the doctor is required to act and not take parental consent laws into account. Now that may be an issue, but it's a quite different issue from what we are discussing here.
So Mr. Graham took that phrase and dropped it into his column, completely out of context, and completely unrelated to the subject. I don't know if I have convinced you of anything, but we need to keep in mind that columnists are generally biased and often sloppy. This is such a case. Mr. Graham might have a confused kid. He might have a kid who isn't telling him the whole story. And he might have a nosy pediatrician. What he doesn't have is an AAP policy that requires pediatricians ask those questions without cause. I hate to call him a liar...I think he simply lifted the quote and assumed that he would never get caught.
Finally, I only mention my daughter because Mr. Parks brought up the "your kids will report you to the Gestapo" myth in the "Family Security Matters" link. My point is that it is pure hysteria. You are still legally allowed to punish your kids, even spank them. 99.9% of the time when a kid calls the CPS or police over a simple spanking, they are reprimanded by the cop. There are, of course, exceptions where CPS or police go too far. They are exceptions. Given some innocent parents having some inconvenience and legal troubles or CPS be slow on the trigger and a kid die - I will take the trouble for the parent, even if it were to be me, every single time. Take Care. Rob.
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