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Doc, what's up with snooping? (Pediatricians turning kids into snitches)
Boston Herald ^ | Thursday, October 4, 2007 | By Michael Graham

Posted on 10/04/2007 4:14:11 PM PDT by SubGeniusX

They’re watching you right now.

They counted every beer you drank during last night’s Red Sox game.

They see you sneaking out to the garage for a smoke.

They know if you’ve got a gun, and where you keep it.

They’re your kids, and they’re the National Security Agency of the Nanny State.

I found this out after my 13-year-old daughter’s annual checkup. Her pediatrician grilled her about alcohol and drug abuse.

Not my daughter’s boozing. Mine.

“The doctor wanted to know how much you and mom drink, and if I think it’s too much,” my daughter told us afterward, rolling her eyes in that exasperated 13-year-old way. “She asked if you two did drugs, or if there are drugs in the house.”

“What!” I yelped. “Who told her about my stasher, I mean, ‘It’s an outrage!’ ”

I turned to my wife. “You took her to the doctor. Why didn’t you say something?”

She couldn’t, she told me, because she knew nothing about it. All these questions were asked in private, without my wife’s knowledge or consent.

“The doctor wanted to know how we get along,” my daughter continued. Then she paused. “And if, well, Daddy, if you made me feel uncomfortable.”

Great. I send my daughter to the pediatrician to find out if she’s fit to play lacrosse, and the doctor spends her time trying to find out if her mom and I are drunk, drug-addicted sex criminals.

We’re not alone, either. Thanks to guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics and supported by the commonwealth, doctors across Massachusetts are interrogating our kids about mom and dad’s “bad” behavior.

We used to be proud parents. Now, thanks to the AAP, we’re “persons of interest.”

The paranoia over parents is so strong that the AAP encourages doctors to ignore “legal barriers and deference to parental involvement” and shake the children down for all the inside information they can get.

And that information doesn’t stay with the doctor, either.

Debbie is a mom from Uxbridge who was in the examination room when the pediatrician asked her 5-year-old, “Does Daddy own a gun?”

When the little girl said yes, the doctor began grilling her and her mom about the number and type of guns, how they are stored, etc.

If the incident had ended there, it would have merely been annoying.

But when a friend in law enforcement let Debbie know that her doctor had filed a report with the police about her family’s (entirely legal) gun ownership, she got mad.

She also got a new doctor.

In fact, the problem of anti-gun advocacy in the examining room has become so widespread that some states are considering legislation to stop it.

Last year, my 7-year-old was asked about my guns during his physical examination. He promptly announced to the doctor that his father is the proud owner of a laser sighted plasma rifle perfect for destroying Throggs.

At least as of this writing, no police report has been filed.

“I still like my previous pediatrician,” Debbie told me. “She seemed embarrassed to ask the gun questions and apologized afterward. But she didn’t seem to have a choice.”

Of course doctors have a choice.

They could choose, for example, to ask me about my drunken revels, and not my children.

They could choose not to put my children in this terrible position.

They could choose, even here in Massachusetts, to leave their politics out of the office.

But the doctors aren’t asking us parents.

They’re asking our kids.

Worst of all, they’re asking all kids about sexual abuse without any provocation or probable cause.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has declared all parents guilty until proven innocent.

And then they wonder why we drink.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: 2amendmentsisters; bang; banglist; doctors; hillarycare; nannystate; privacy; socialism
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To: SubGeniusX; Gabz

I have real issues about lying and have raised my kids not to.

That said, when we’ve started reading about surveys and questions like this at the doctor’s office, I told them that I didn’t mind if they didn’t tell the truth; give them safe answers, no matter how confidential and anonymous it’s supposed to be. DO NOT divulge ANY information that could alert the authorities to anything.

Since the questionaires are nothing but information collecting devices and not really people, it doesn’t really matter.


81 posted on 10/04/2007 8:52:11 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: pandoraou812
ping ping ping ping ping ping........

My father was a doctor. People who do this sort of thing are technicians not doctors.

82 posted on 10/04/2007 8:52:18 PM PDT by TigersEye (Intellectuals only exist if you think they do.)
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To: BlessedBeGod
And just wait until you get Hillary!Care. The snooping’s going to be even worse.

Who's collecting all this 'medical' data now with their HIPAA privacy protections?

83 posted on 10/04/2007 8:59:24 PM PDT by TigersEye (Intellectuals only exist if you think they do.)
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To: TigersEye
I wouldn't let a nurse or a dr alone with Sassy for any reason. I really can't imagine what the he!! would come out of her mouth. She wouldn't answer any questions she didn't like. I think she would question them if the equipment was from China or some other odd thing. I can hear her saying God help us if Hillary is elected...I just asked her if the school has ever questioned her about anything & she says no & I wouldn't answer private questions.

When Jon & Nick were in school they sent a paper home for us to sign allowing them to question the kids about drug abuse etc in the home. I called the school up & said ask me & I will be happy to answer your questions. They had none to ask.

I have no problem with firing drs either. I quite enjoy it. I remember when Sassy was going into kindergarten & needed her check up. That quack dr thought she might have Autism because she knew each of the 50 states & their capitals. He insisted we get her hearing checked too. I told him ever hear of leap pad? I was right there in the d@mn room & he tells her he has to check her privates. I said wtf for & he said it was standard. I said no its not in my book. He was pushing my buttons and insisted on a quick look. He questioned her if anyone touched her & she got mad. She said I know how to wash myself. When we left she said I don't like that man. I fired him asap. And I left a terrible rating on rateMDs.com. I asked her new dr if that exam was part of the standard kindergarten physical & she said no. I truly hate that man.

84 posted on 10/04/2007 9:16:58 PM PDT by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance to the will of Allah & Muslims ...... dilligaf? with an efg.....)
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To: Gabz

Thanks for the ping!


85 posted on 10/04/2007 9:32:23 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: pandoraou812
I expect your girl is sharp enough to know what not to say. It doesn't hurt to remind her now and then that the government is not there to help us and that, unfortunately, teachers and doctors these days are more likely to favor the state than you. The questions themselves tell you where their loyalty lies.

As I said before; if their loyalty lies with the state they are not doctors they are merely technicians. Regardless of what degrees they hold or what modalities they are skilled in. Being a doctor is not just about knowledge and skill. Medicine is called an art for a reason. The healing arts require a mindset epitomized by the old hippocratic oath which is no longer a part of most curriculums and thus not a part of their practice. A real doctor is a real healer and a healer has no loyalty other than to the patient and the practice.

I really POed a 'doctor' on FR some time back. He was spouting some silly PC nonsense about medicine, I forget the specifics now, and I flat told him he was no doctor he was only a technician. I meant it and I drove the point in as hard as I could. I knew a real doctor for the first 30 years of my life. I know the difference and the contrast is stark and undeniable.

86 posted on 10/04/2007 9:42:47 PM PDT by TigersEye (Intellectuals only exist if you think they do.)
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To: TigersEye

FReepers are always good at detecting phonies.


87 posted on 10/04/2007 9:43:33 PM PDT by darkangel82 (All right! Let's go Tribe!!)
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To: pandoraou812

That “doctor” needs a visit from the men in blue.


88 posted on 10/04/2007 9:46:01 PM PDT by darkangel82 (All right! Let's go Tribe!!)
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To: SubGeniusX

First, there’s no reason for a 13 year old to be questioned privately by a pediatrician, as in this article. A parent should have been present.

About 5-6 years ago, the gun question came up during a pediatrician visit. I’d already been alerted to the issue from FR.

I told the doc that I didn’t think he was qualified by training or experience to advise us on firearms safety, and unless he could convince me otherwise (which he couldn’t, didn’t even try to do), that I saw the question as a professional boundary violation, which is a very serious thing.

He got a little huffy and told me it wasn’t, but he dropped the whole thing pretty much immediately.

There’s a nice questionnaire on this topic that the Second Amendment Sisters have. Here, found it:

http://www.2asisters.org/education/PhysicianAffidavit.pdf

Everyone who might be faced with a physician or educator asking nosy questions about firearms, should have that document handy, and have read it.


89 posted on 10/04/2007 9:49:06 PM PDT by FreedomPoster (Guns themselves are fairly robust; their chief enemies are rust and politicians) (NRA)
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To: SubGeniusX
Same Libs who don’t want Drs telling parents about abortions, I presume. But when the Doc questions about the dope stash, well...
90 posted on 10/04/2007 9:50:02 PM PDT by endthematrix (He was shouting 'Allah!' but I didn't hear that. It just sounded like a lot of crap to me.)
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To: darkangel82; pandoraou812
Even 7 yr old FReepers. lol

pandy is raising a woman to be reckoned with I have no doubt of that.

91 posted on 10/04/2007 9:53:40 PM PDT by TigersEye (Intellectuals only exist if you think they do.)
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To: SubGeniusX

Some pediatricians want to know if there is a gun in the home.

They can kiss my ass.


92 posted on 10/04/2007 9:56:05 PM PDT by wardaddy (Here You go God....I can spare a rib if you want to try that again......for Ann)
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To: darkangel82
I should have told her biker daddy but I was afraid he would have gotten arrested. I still get mad I didn’t yank her right out of the office. But I bet if I had the DYFS would have been at my door as I got home. It seemed odd to me and she was quite annoyed. At the time I thought well its to prevent sexual abuse & that it was standard. I am not the sheeple I was. Now I would just tell her get dressed & leave his office. Then I would call her Godfather who is a lawyer. Before using any dr now I check rateMDs.com.
93 posted on 10/04/2007 9:56:25 PM PDT by pandoraou812 ( zero tolerance to the will of Allah & Muslims ...... dilligaf? with an efg.....)
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To: pandoraou812

What are they going to do about it? You didn’t do anything wrong. Tell them “Get off my property and leave my children alone, or I’ll have you arrested.”


94 posted on 10/04/2007 10:10:04 PM PDT by darkangel82 (All right! Let's go Tribe!!)
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To: Smokin' Joe
"They used smoking to get this foot in the totalitarian door."

Thank you! The vast majority of the population doesn't grasp this. In fact they applauded it (smoking bans everywhere)and continue to do so. Once the Nanny Staters realized how easy it was to get people to give up their rights and freedoms it's been downhill like an avalanche over the past 15 or so years. I honestly hate the weak people who allow themselves to be turned into slaves of the state. The biggest losers are the leftists who claim that Bush is "taking away freedoms". It has been the left that has been doing this and now republicans think it is "good politics" to go along also. I don't know if you read the thread about companies not hiring, or firing people who smoke. Now they are refusing to hire people who are fat, or use alcohol, because of insurance costs. It's going to have to give at some point. People keep talking about a second civil war. I wonder if that is what it will come to. The average American is so pathetic that they would probably welcome police going door to door looking for guns or tobacco or trans fats or computers that have politically incorrect websites on them.

95 posted on 10/04/2007 10:13:02 PM PDT by boop (Trunk Monkey. Is there anything he can't do?)
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To: darkangel82

Bump


96 posted on 10/04/2007 10:14:18 PM PDT by dcwusmc (We need to make government so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub.)
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick

may I join the ping list?


97 posted on 10/05/2007 12:32:18 AM PDT by CzarNicky (The problem with bad ideas is that they seemed like good ideas at the time.)
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To: Eric Blair 2084; Just another Joe; Madame Dufarge; Cantiloper; metesky; Judith Anne; lockjaw02; ...
Pediatricians turning kids into snitches) ^


98 posted on 10/05/2007 2:37:26 AM PDT by SheLion (I love Fred Thompson!!!)
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To: SubGeniusX

That is ridiculous! Kids aren’t always honest and they also aren’t mature enough to be reporting on their parent’s behavior. Also suggestive questions can lead to wrong answers. Plus I would think that it would be damaging to the child to introduce these types of subjects (weapons, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual abuse) to young children who wouldn’t otherwise be doubtful of their parents. This sort of crap is very bad for the family IMHO, where alot depends on kids trusting their parents. This is mind-boggling and I can’t believe this would hold up in court.


99 posted on 10/05/2007 2:58:31 AM PDT by visualops (artlife.us)
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To: darkangel82
That's against federal law. You should've reported them for that.

A little off-topic, but a good illustration of abuse of power.

Here in Pennsylvania, the DOT is examining driver license records to find people who have a CDL and a clean record. Then they send those people job offers to come work for the DOT.

If you are unaware, there is a driver shortage in the trucking industry. The commonwealth is under fire from the trucking industry for this tactic, but the officals all just shrug their shoulders and claim it is their privilege.

100 posted on 10/05/2007 3:25:36 AM PDT by Erik Latranyi (The Democratic Party will not exist in a few years....we are watching history unfold before us.)
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