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 are a must and they do not need to be sterile. You cannot sterilise books.

Can I make a different suggestion, our GP surgery has a samllish tropical fish tank which is enough to keep my 2 amused for the wait (laminated chart on the wall for the older ones to identify the fish) etc etc.

smallish .... no excuse

Great to have toys in waiting rooms. Leave the toys for those of us who want them there & those who don't can bring their own toys.

This thread reminds me of a character in the novel who sterilised library books in the microwave before giving them to her kids.

If you do have toys, can they just look NOT grubby? I mean if they are about 15 years old and falling apart and sticky and grey, then NO I really don't want my DC playing with them.

If they look ok, clean, and under 15 years old and nothing is falling apart, then I'm ok with it.

That said, if you have board books, then they can just be wiped every now and again to get rid of stickiness. I do that with my own DD's books every now and again, or ones I get from charity shops.

It just looks like all doctors surgeries have hand me down toys from all the staff who work there, and their children are about 20 now!

After all, my DD has been known to eat things off the floor, so I'm not too worried about the toys

Our GPs used to have a seperate room with a variety of hard toys and small chairs, it was a boon. Now they have a bead table in a corner and it is a total bun fight.

I'd like to see some books as other people have said. Also our nursery has quite a few wall hung 'toys' - like shapes that you move a knob around on, or shapes that hang by a short string and fit over an appropriately shaped peg. Also sensory patches - like foam with raised ribs, and palm/foot shaped prints. And wobbly mirrors. Would things like that not at least provide a distraction for a short while, but be (relatively) easy to clean (and be a bonus not to be dragged all over the floor).

I'd be interested to know what doctors like the OP think. I know you are asking us and that's great but obviously you guys must have a view as to whether the toys pose a cross-infection threat?

My son spent weeks in hospital (including intensive care) at 4 months with a respiratory infection - turns out he had a rare birth defect which is why he was so bad. But still - to all those attacking some of us for being anxious - sometimes there are reasons! There are few things worse than seeing your baby in intensive care and watching them go through all that pain and misery...Having said that I'm a natural worrier anyway - but my life experiences have encouraged it!

Germophobes nightmare. I always took my own books and kept my child on my lap at all times. Luckily both where happy to sit still with me. Toys in the waiting room sent me into a right panic.

My GPs have Milton wipes and a lidded bucket of Milton water in the toy corner. If your child is the ill one (rather cpthan simply accompanying an ill relative) they ask you to wipe or dunk the toys (all plastic, no electronics) after play.

It's not a perfect solution, but it doesn't help assuage fears. Sometimes people (myself included) have cleaned toys whilst waiting for appointments. It's easy as the stuff is there.

does help assuage

The chest of one armed teddies and chewed up plastic bric-a-brac in the corner of the waiting room used to put me off arriving early for appointments.