to wonder why people let their DC play with the toys at GP/hospital?

[thewintercene]

Today we spent 3 hours in a paediatric waiting room in our local hospital.

Unless someone disinfects those windy wires and beads several times a day, the logic of having one or two toys in a doctor's or hospital's reception or paediatric rooms completely defies me.

Tens of (high probability ill or carrying something from a sibling who is doctor-worthy) children passing through every day, fingering everything.

Obviously soft play is like this too, but it's not a doctor's or hospital where people go when they're ill.

Also, why, when you have a child who is ill already, would you want to risk compounding the problem by having them potentially catch something else?

I'm thinking mainly vomiting bugs here, which are of course highly contagious, you can't ever have immunity for long, and are at a 5 year high this year. There were warnings about it all over our local hospital, and reminders about hand washing, yet nobody seemed to bloody disinfect the toys the whole 3 hours we were there, and when about 20 different children there for different reasons played with them - including one who pooed on the floor then played with the toy. Obviously the poo was cleared up, but the toy was never cleaned.

God, how do you cope when your child wants to play with those germ-ridden filth buckets that are other small children?

Mine also like to lick the fish tank at the gps. Sure they're not the only ones either...

I still stand by definitely NBU!.

So fire, when you child has to spend 3 weeks (or more in a lot of cases sadly) in hospital what are your suggestions for keeping them amused?

YANBU to me but I can see why lots would think you are. I have health anxiety and won't even let my kids touch the chairs in the waiting room. It's embarrassing though and certainly not healthy or normal. I sit them on my knee/pram and we play I spy. My DS plays on my anxiety though and licked the doctor's chair once to get a reaction from me.
I wouldn't worry AS much if it was a dermatology appointment or something like that...

My DS likes to kiss the car when he sees it. GP toys are the least of my worries.

I'd be far more concerned about supermarket shopping trolleys than toys at the GP/hospital. Ridiculous, and I understand infection and immunity too.

I don't mind my kids playing with the toys but I always try and sit us as far away as I can from the coughers and the sneezers.

I did pull this face when DD licked the counter in the butchers.
But when we were in hospital last week while they diagnosed her illness (scarlet fever, it turns out) I was happy for her to play with whatever she wanted. The poor thing was ill and miserable and I wasn't going to tell her she couldn't play with toys that were right in front of het.

lake that must be tough for you, are you getting help?

Sirzy, I did have CBT pre kids but it didn't help much. Got better with my first child (although I was the freak taking dettol wipes to the park to wipe the swing before he inevitably chewed the bar and using a trolley cover at the supermarket).
I do worry that my anxiety will 'rub off' on my kids but I will literally sit there in anxious state all evening if my child does something like crawl on the doctor's floor and then suck their fingers.
Strangely, someone above mentioned kissing the car and how that was worse...this wouldn't even cross my mind as being 'germy' and my kids can do this or eat mud or whatever and it doesn't trigger anxiety. Sorry for rambling on your thread, OP :)

We are spending quite a bit of time in hospital unfortunately ATM. And I would be lying if I said this never crossed my mind but try stopping a three year old that needs to stay as calm as possible playing with the toys on offer. I know why your using a hospital in your op as an example but then you may as well keep them away from toddler groups, nursery or Gavin to use public loos when potty training having said that some of the baby changing facilities leave a lot to be desired. Our children are precise and you want to wrap them up in cotton wool especially when poorly but the older and more I dependant they get this becomes impossible

Who's Gavin ? think I meant having

Don't come across many little Gavins these days

Generally, the only way that those germs can get into your body is through your mouth. So don't eat in the waiting room and wash your hands when you leave / get home. You can't always stop small children putting toys in their mouths but those large abacus type toys don't lend themselves well to fitting in mouths. I bet the plastic play food at nurseries and playgroups is a major germ spreader.

This concerns me a bit but they can only get sick if they then put hands in mouth or rub their eyes. So we wash hands as soon as we are back home (and quick wipe when we are back to the car if snacking before heading off).

YABU. My kids loved going to the hospital because of the play area. Now I think about it I never saw the toys being cleaned, but no major illnesses as a result. Good luck to anyone who is willing to have a 3 hour wait and wants to entertain a young child the whole time.

YABVVU.

I've spent a lot of time in hospitals with my dd and I can assure you that the toys are scrupulously, frequently cleaned.

Yabvvvu, that's life, children touch different things and build up immunity. They are bored, they see nice toys, unless you bring your own, it's cruel to prevent them from playing with the toys.

You kept your child in her buggy for three hours?

I work on a children's ward, the toys are cleaned.

I have had to keep mine strapped in his sn buggy because I don't think other parents want my big lad around their toddlers. Sometimes he is not happy about it but letting him over there would end in tears.
At the hospital I can take him for wanders up and down the corridor but that is not possible at the doctors.