Medical letters addressed the child

[Soubriquet]

Is this normal?

I got one for her as “addressed to the parents of XXXXX”

But then a few days later, there was another address to “for the eyes of XXXX only”

Dc is only 5. So obviously I opened it.

But is it normal for young children to receive these letters?

I've had a mixture of both those for DS2, but he is 17. They cant seem to decide if he is an adult or not. 5 is pushing it I think....

I did think it was odd

It was the exact same letter as the one I received so nothing scary, but she’s seeing a paediatric surgeon to assess whether she would need surgery, so I don’t really want her opening letters that might scare her

I get medical letters address to my infant! Just open it on their behalf, that's what I do (because I'd be waiting a long time for a one year old to open a letter and he'd probably just eat it)

I’m not sure if it’s related to the idea of Gillick Competence (although I don’t think anybody would ever argue that a 5 year old was capable of that!) or if it’s just the way the system works.

The same thing happened here when ds was under the care of a paediatrician. Some came to us, some to him. He was 3 months old. I just assumed he’d be ok with my opening them on his behalf!

Fair enough!

I would have laughed if I had a letter addressed to my infant

It's almost certainly just the system, that doesn't or can't always differentiate by age.

My bank and health insurer send letters addressed to 'Mr' and 'Ms' MiniFourofTwo. The 'Mr' MiniFourofTwos are pre-teen and teen now, so arguably suitable, but 'Ms' MiniFourofTwo is 3.

It’s standard. Always have hospital appointments addressed to DC. Reminder dental appointment is sent to my phone but starts with their names.