Caring For Kids And Their Parents

Internet Parents

Scenario Script

Scene 1

Eight-year-old Lily is sitting on an exam table wearing a High School Musical shirt. Her mother, Mrs. Lawson, is sitting in a chair next to the table. The doctor enters.

Doctor: Good morning, Lily. [shakes Lily’s hand] I’m Dr. Petropolis. How are you today?

Lily: Good.

Doctor: Is that a High School Musical shirt you have on?

Lily: It sure is!

Doctor: My little girl loves that show. And who is this nice lady you brought with you? [motioning to Mrs. Lawson]

Lily: My Mom.

Doctor: [turning to Mrs. Lawson] Hi Mrs. Lawson. [looking at medical record] I see you are new to the area. How is Lily doing?

Mrs. Lawson: Lily is doing great. Yes, we just moved into town and when I called the school to register her, they told me to bring her in to get a physical.

Doctor: Ok, we can certainly handle that. But I see from Lily’s records that she never got her second MMR vaccination. Her pediatrician must have dropped the ball on that, but we can take care of that too.

Mrs. Lawson: Well, actually it wasn’t all the pediatrician’s fault. So, I wanted to talk about that today.

Doctor: Okay, sure.

Mrs. Lawson: It’s just that I was reading some things on the Internet and a lot of people say those shots are not safe.

Doctor: [looking annoyed] Mrs. Lawson “a lot of people” don’t know what they’re talking about. The Internet is full of garbage. You shouldn’t even be reading stuff like that.

Mrs. Lawson: I have a friend whose child is autistic, and she told me to check it out because she says it’s true.

Doctor: Well, your friend is wrong, too. You think I would be telling you to get Lily vaccinated if I didn’t think it was perfectly safe?

Mrs. Lawson: I just don’t know why it’s so important.

Doctor: It’s so important because Lily could get sick and even die from some of these diseases. How would you feel then if she died from something that you could have easily prevented?

Mrs. Lawson: I feel like you are pressuring me.

Doctor: I am because you are being unreasonable. Besides, if Lily doesn’t get these vaccinations, she may not be able to get into the new school.

Mrs. Lawson: Can I think about it for a while?

Doctor: [looking annoyed] What’s to think about?

Mrs. Lawson and the doctor are locked in a mutual glare. Scene fades out.

Scene 2

Eight-year-old Lily is sitting on an exam table wearing a High School Musical shirt. Her mother, Mrs. Lawson, is sitting in a chair next to the table. The doctor enters.

Doctor: Good morning, Lily. How are you today? [shakes Lily’s hand]

Lily: Good.

Doctor: I’m Dr. Singh. Is that a High School Musical shirt you have on?

Lily: It sure is!

Doctor: That’s neat. My little girl loves that show. And who is this nice lady you brought with you? [motioning to Mrs. Lawson]

Lily: My Mom.

Doctor: [turning to Mrs. Lawson] Hi Mrs. Lawson. [looking at medical record] I see you are new to the area. How is Lily doing?

Mrs. Lawson: Lily is doing great. Yes, we just moved into town and when I called the school to register her, they told me to bring her in to get a physical.

Doctor: Ok, we can certainly handle that. But I see from Lily’s records that she never got her second MMR vaccination. Her pediatrician must have dropped the ball on that, but we can take care of that too.

Mrs. Lawson: Well, actually it wasn’t all the pediatrician’s fault. So, I wanted to talk about that today.

Doctor: Okay, sure.

Mrs. Lawson: It’s just that I was reading some things on the Internet and a lot of people say those shots are not safe.

Doctor: Not safe in what way?

Mrs. Lawson: Well, a lot of people think they can cause autism…

Doctor: And where exactly did you read this?

Mrs. Lawson: It was some chat room about autism. I have a friend whose child is autistic, and she said that I should check it out.

Doctor: Okay, Mrs. Lawson, let me give you some information. First of all, no shot or vaccination is ever completely safe. There are some kids who have reactions to different shots, but that is really very rare and the reactions are usually not serious.

Mrs. Lawson: But what about autism? That’s serious.

Doctor: It certainly is. But you need to know a couple of other things. First of all, there is an enormous amount of information on the Internet, but not all of it is good or correct. Chat rooms are often filled with people who are angry or have some idea that they want to push, but they often don’t have the facts right. Or they don’t choose to look at them.

Mrs. Lawson: So you’re telling me there is no connection between autism and vaccinations?

Doctor: It’s not just me telling you that. There have been several very big and very well designed studies by the best researchers in the world, and they have not found any evidence that vaccinations lead to autism in children.

Mrs. Lawson: But why take a chance?

Doctor: Because even though vaccinations for things like measles, mumps, and rubella—the ones we’re talking about today—carry no significant risk, not getting those vaccinations carries a very big and real risk. Those diseases can do a lot of damage and even sometimes can be fatal.

Mrs. Lawson: But you hardly ever hear of anyone getting them today.

Doctor: That’s because nearly everyone gets vaccinated. And every kid who is not vaccinated makes it more likely that those diseases will become common again. So it’s not just about Lily, it’s also about all the kids she goes to school with and plays with.

Mrs. Lawson: [looking annoyed] I was just trying to be a responsible parent, you know, study up on things before I came in…

Doctor: And that’s a good thing. You should learn as much as you can about your child’s health… and your own as well. But you can’t believe everything you read. I’ll give you the addresses for some websites that are run by national organizations that have good information, and you can check them out yourself.

Mrs. Lawson: Well, okay…

Doctor: So do you want go ahead with Lily’s MMR today? Or do you want to look at the information on those websites?

Mrs. Lawson: I would like to read a little bit more about it…

Doctor: That’s fine. How about if we follow up and check with you next week?

Mrs. Lawson: Okay, I’ll feel more comfortable after I’ve read more about it.

Doctor: And you should, okay? [turning to Lily] So, what’s your favorite part of High School Musical?

Scene fades out.

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