Toys in the waiting room

[Bapi]

Hello
I am a GP in the North West, we get mixed opinions on toys in the waiting room, some parents say they are a health hazard, some think they are a must. We havent got the capacity to sterilise them every day / minute etc.
I am seeking views really

Thanks

They scared me when DD was a pfb baby . I am not a fan of them though and all my friends say the same - I bring my own toys. I think picture books may be nice but the actual toys at our surgery just look filthy.

Health hazard.

Parents can bring their own toys/books, like they do for everywhere else. My heart always sank when I saw those grubby toys, and knew I was going to have let my DCs play with them or face a screaming match. Especially as I knew alot of the children who had played with them were ill with something infectious.

A lot of surgeries seem to have those bead framesnwhich my two love playing with and a few picture books.
I think unless you are prepared to clean them every so often I wouldn't do it.
If you get a few books - can you make sure that they are kept in a decent state - my surgery has some but they're mostly torn/unreadable

I would only offer those that can go into the dishwasher in the evening and books.
Does not need to ba a lot but makes the place a bit less unhappy for the little ones.

I didnt really let my kids play with them as babies at the age when they put everything in their mouths.

At my drs surgery now there is a plastic 'wendy house' in the waiting room with a box of toys and each consulting room has a small box of toys.

I think ts great, i try to avoid taking dcs top the drs unless really necessary as i agree they are more likely to catch something in the waiting room.

But if they do go i dont consdider the toys as a health hazard, any more than them touching the chairs etc. are.

How about a high tv screening toddler programmes like night garden. It may occupy them enough while waiting (volume low) Some toys can look quite scabby tbh even though the risk to health in minimal. Books should be ok if in good condition.

I hate going into a waiting room and seeing no toys there. What is the problem exactly? Germs? Don't kids pick all sorts of things up from mother and toddler groups, playground equipment, schools etc?

You don't see anyone rushing around removing toys from these places do you? All surgeries had toys when I was a child and it never did me any harm, people are being far too precious about it- kids will naturally pick germs up and other bacteria people just need to let go a little.

The wait is so long in a GP's surgery that children need something to be entertained and to keep them in one place instead of running around annoying other ill patients.

I like toys in the waiting room but think they need to be easily wipeable and not noisy. There is nothing worse than a noisy toy that you are constantly trying to stop from making bangs etc as somebody else is sat in the room feeling really grim with headaches etc!

Bead cubes,cars, jigsaws etc are great. And a range of books (but second that they need to be quick stories and in good condition).

During the swine flu our dentist etc stopped providing toys and it was awful - loads of very bored children roaring around or whining.

Definitely keep them - and remind parents of the hygiene hypothesis that explains why people in the West are more prone to allergies! Children need to be exposed to germs so as a healthcare facility you can be compensating for the onslaught of anti-bacterial spray at home

I like toys in the waiting room, you can be stuck there for ages if thing sre running late and sometimers at last minute I don't have anything with me.
Ours has those bead fram table things which are great, and a receptionist wipes them with a wet wipe every day, fine for me.
They also havea train table and some old brio tracks and some duplo but more importantly the children's waiting room is separate from the grown ups one, it's on a corridor end with a window, quite small but there is a gate and you feel you can let the kids loll about on the floor reading/looking out of the window/whatever without disturbing the other patients. even if there were no toys I woudl be fine as long as the room was separate!

TBMOM, When you actually watch kids sneezing all over the toys and then another picking them up its grim. My vote is for a high tv, books, or dishwasher safe toys and a sign which says feel free to bring your own in as we are not providing more due to hygiene isues.

My GPs surgery had very, very minging toys, was disgusting, so I'm glad its something that another GP is considering and asking about.

KickArse- how is that different from a mother and toddler group? Kids are often infectious before the symptoms come out so these places are just as germy. Do you cringe at these places too? You cannot wrap kids up in cotton wool. The pros far outweigh the cons IMO.

Thanks for asking Bapi.

I am a toy hater but really, the ones at our surgery are completely filthy.

Bead frames are incredibly hard to clean.

The thing is, if people's kids want toys they can bring their own - and if people don't want their kids to play with some sticky, revolting item, they face a lot of screamin from their child because the child still wants to.

The one thing I would ask you to consider though, on a bit of a tangent, is that most waiting rooms are REALLY stiflingly hot. It makes people feel awful if they are poorly and I'm sure it makes for a higher bacterial load in the atmosphere.

A few open windows would be lovely and please turn the heating down!

Minging toys are disgusting actually, but plastic ones, books etc that are wipe clean are OK, IMO

I work in a hospital and we have a waiting room. We have toys.

For those who worry about infections'n'stuff, do you prevent your dc from touching door handles, chairs etc ? Do you sterilize the rest of the environment too ?

The odd door handle is inevitable but I draw the line at sticky things. Which many of the toys at ours are.

And the ones at the hospital here are dreadful. It's a shame but there you go. I just wash their hands when we get home.

Yes to toys and books. Never did mine any harm.

A big NO to TV. The majority of patients in the waiting room are not age 3 and do not want to have to put up with their programs.

Can I request some decent literature for the adults as well bapi seeing as we're on the subject? I'm from the North West too, and it's a lovely surgery- the receptionists are all really nice and helpful. The only thing is there seem to be no magazines for the adults to read and it can be pretty boring as most waits are long. The kids have a few tatty books and one of those bead tables which are aesthetically pleasing for the adults but boring for the children I find and no toys.

I didn't like it when dd was little, I was usually taking her because she was rather poorly with a chest infection affecting her asthma. I really didnt want her picking up something else on top of it all. Nor did it seem kind to share her germs with others.

However, a couple of small toys in the gps room itself can be invaluable for distracting a child while the Mum is being looked at.

Speaking of tvs our out of hours service is in the old a and e at one of the local hospitals and they have a high tv tuned to BBC1 permanently. It's not very thrilling, and if you time it wrong you end up trapped in front of some dire shows, but it does dostract dd's for a bit.

TBMOM, Believe me as an attendee of numerous toddler groups there is a difference.

Most kids at a toddler group are not sick and not contagious. The toys are generally put away for a week and then brought out again. In general I'm guessing that most of the bugs will have died in that time because they will have dried . Also kids who have had D and V have to stay away for a period after. The really sick kids get taken to the docs, deffo contagious in most cases, nice warm waiting room, left overnight ( I know most viruses can survive for 24 hrs) so the previous days bugs will be there waiting for the next days batch of sick kids ( and their siblings) to add to and exchange.

I'm not precious btw, I'm practical. When you can see physical grime on toys you know they are grubby, If you went to a toddler group and the toys were that dirty you wouldn't go back.

The Mrs Ravens at my gps are excellent, at their jobs but they don't have time for toy hygiene in their busy day.

If you have kids to take in take toys to amuse them. I have a bag in the car of random toys they only get to play with in places where I need them to be quietly entertained.

What would people think about books?

cardboard wipe clean ones would be great. or bath books (they can go in the dishwasher over night...

It's nice to have something so that children associate going to the doctor's with fun (whether that's their own toys or ones provided by the surgery). I used to love the dentist (despite having lots of horrible work done on my teeth) because they had such great toys - and a rocking horse.

If you provide toys, those who don't like their children using them can not use them.

I think clean books are a good idea