To think the US paediatrician system is weird

[shaniahoo]

I'm on a few parenting groups that are American and the way they talk about their pediatrician is so alien to me. The ped seems to have a lot of power. Like, the hard line of these groups is that you always follow your ped's advice and nobody is allowed to question what a poster's pediatrician told them. But a lot of it seems like non-medical parenting advice? Everyone has their ped tell them when to start solids and they follow that - so they might tell you to start at 4 months so you do that or if they tell you to start at 6 months you do that. And everyone has to have their paediatrician "clear" their baby to start solids before they start. And the ped "clears" you to start sleep training or tells you you must do it or must not do it, and you do what they say. I suppose the equivalent here is the HV but you don't see them nearly so much and there's no sense among parents that you must do whatever your HV says.
AIBU to think this takes autonomy away from parents? Or is it great that they have so much advice and support?

Hahahah I can’t believe you’re all still going at it on this thread, lol.

Goes off to think of the next silly US question that will keep them busy for the next week.

Suspect the infant mortality rates in the US are more down to cultural issues than available medical care.

89.5% of births in my region were to non-smokers (!!!)

30% of all people obese. 60% overweight

20% of births to women ages 15-19

I didn’t see a figure related to drug use, but we have a terrible drug problem in the US and that obviously impacts everything else.

Pre and post natal care is widely available and excellent. I don’t think that’s the issue.

Oh look, the “can’t believe you are still talking about this” fairy has sprinkled her dust here. 🧚‍♀️

The research I have read says causes are inequality and lack of access to pre and post natal care.

hahaha ok. You all get hung up when it comes to the US and I wonder how it’s your problem. You have a lot of issues facing you in the UK but your priority is the US. Keep it up dear.

I am just back to MN in the midst of a busy time so thanks for the studies everyone. Unfortunately the first one I looked at, posted by @OutofEverything at 10.39 yesterday, does not include the UK amongst the nations it studies so does not meet my brief. I already knew and agreed that many of the countries studied had better health outcomes than both the US and the UK as indeed the study shows.

@Cantstandbullshitanymore I’m American and live in the US, as are a number of people participating in the conversation!

Have to agree. There’s always a bit of smug superiority and ridiculous comparisons on MN when it comes to the US. Why choose to compare a country of 67 mil to one of 330 million especially posters who have never lived or stepped foot in it. Rarely see posts about comparing Canada to the UK which is closer in population albeit smaller and a commonwealth country.

That's a great idea. I'll start us off.

Americans are legally required to own a gun, aren't they?

Why don't they have ready meals in the US?

Do Americans realize how rubbish their lives are compared to living in the UK?

*the countries of the UK of 67 mil

From your armchair?

We're not really friendly - we actually all hate each other but hide it behind fake smiles.

Everyone gets their teeth whitened.

Our average weight is 37 stone.

Why the heck do Americans drive on the wrong side?
And use their forks all wrong?
And why are people working in shops or processing returns at customer service desks so often cheerful and friendly - what's the catch?

I’d like to broaden @mathanxiety’s question: why the heck do 165 countries and territories drive on the wrong side of the road while only 75, mostly current and former British colonies and territories, know how to drive?

My statistics above are from wikipedia

also all American homes are required to have an enormous American flag out front and everyone goes onto the porch at 5pm to sing "Proud to Be an American". they have no holiday allotment and work 365 days a year.

really the only thing better than American threads in MN are threads about Australia, which as we all know, has no culture, only spiders.

(I was gutted on a recent thread to hear that M&S ready meals have gone downhill, though. I really do miss them.)

Yeah they do give a lot of non-medical parenting advice. A lot of which isn’t based on a strong evidence base at all. I personally feel like it oversteps their remit. I know many people lie to their paediatrician (about sleep set up etc) as a result. I’ve never come across them ‘clearing’ you for stuff, but they do bring up all the things you mention at the MANY appointments you have (the first being the day after you get home from hospital! No home visits). They are very thorough with physical health stuff though and the regular contact can be reassuring. So as a seasoned/knowledgeable parent who is confident enough to ignore some of the parenting stuff, it’s annoying, but fine. However, I have worried about new parents. It could be quite disempowering and some of the advice is really poor (obviously I’m sure there are some that are great and less intrusive etc. just talking generally here).

And Americans think our public services in the UK are much worse than they are. My American friends and relatives are shocked when they find out what we get free. And we have had excellent NHS care.

Americans without connections to the UK are unlikely to spend time thinking about it.

Even friends I know who travel there frequently, more than annually, never mention the NHS.

Do you mention the 20% VAT you pay?

And as @AliceOlive says, no one in the US gives any headspace to how you do things in the UK.

Mostly they don't think about it. Lately, my impressions of the current state of the NHS are coming from The Guardian and Mumsnet.

The NHS is sometimes a bogeyman in newspaper comments, the way the US system is in the UK. (It seems Anglophones can all ignore the rest of Europe.)

@shaniahoo i hope you got your answer and are happy with display of bigotry and disgraceful idiotic behavior from your fellow Brits.

The funny thing is you seem to have this obsession than Americans spend their time talking about you but they don’t, and yet it’s post after post after post bashing Americans on MN.

We have a lot of issues facing us, our income has stagnated for ages now and output per capita is dropping but but but Americans.

I hope you got the insightful information you were seeking when you started this thread or was it negative information about Americans to help you feel better about your life.

Most Americans wouldn't know or care about public services in the UK. You really don't see much about the UK in the press here.

Americans are more likely to compare their own personal circumstances with those of people living in another state. This state has better schools, that state has higher taxes, better public housing here, etc.

Actually Scandinavian countries are held up as social services utopias in many lifestyle-centered magazines/online outlets in America. And then they get to the part about the tax burden needed to support those services and most people tune back out, LOL.

There is no "free". We get the social services we pay for thru taxes, premiums etc.

I hate to break it to you, but nothing is free.

Someone is paying for all that free at point of service care. Either it's paid for directly by tax or contributions, or it's paid for by money borrowed by the government. Regardless, it's not bestowed by the birds of the air.

Americans don't give much thought at all to public services abroad. They look at good schools and excellent public libraries in a neighboring suburb, paid for by property taxes of the residents. They look at clean, safe, graffiti free municipalities where the police turn up within minutes if you call them, and they plan and work toward moving there. And truthfully, the majority of Americans live pretty comfortable lives, understanding fully that everything has to be paid for somehow, some time.

@Blossomed

A pediatrician appointment the day after you get home from the hospital?