Questions Parents Should Resist

Abstract

To take decisive part in a child’s medical care, parents must know what questions to ask physicians — and themselves. I wish to examine three questions often asked and answered in pediatric decisions, namely, (1) “What would I do if it were my child?” asked by physicians of themselves; (2) “What would you do if it were your child?” asked of physicians by parents of ill children; (3) “What is in the child’s best interests?” asked by both physicians and parents.