Dr. Laura Secret #5, Credible Info
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| show details 9:26 AM (2 hours ago) |
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There's certainly no question that parenting has changed a lot in the last several decades, and even the last several years. And one of the things I find that parents today have to deal with that parents in past generations didn't have to deal with is taking on the huge the amount of information that we're all faced with when it comes to being a good parent. And that's why one of the keys to being a good parent today means that you need to know what's good information. What do you trust and what don't you?
If we just look at how much information is out there, there is so much! We now have the internet, 24 hour news feeds, our cell phones and every other contraption which makes our lives easier. Unfortunately, all this also runs the risk of having parents beomg bombarded with information. Also, a lot of times that information is conflicting. So, as step one in being a very good parent and filtering through this information is making sure that the information you are using to make your parenting decisions is good credible information. When it comes to what I do, when I'm looking to give people advice, answering questions, doing television interviews, and talking to parents, I always make sure that when I'm fact checking. I turn to credible sources like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and Children's Hospitals.
For example, if you're going to be looking on a website, be careful about what site you go to. Anybody can put up a website. Don't just go to any website, go to one that has good credible information. One of the tips I have heard is you should look at sites that are .edu instead of .com, that means instead of being a commercial site, it's an education site. Similarly .gov means that it's a government site and they have to adhere to all sorts of rules that a random website may not have to adhere to.
Another tip is to talk to your doctor. Yes, it's fine to go and Google whatever it is you want to know about, but I always caution the parents I talk to. Just Googling on a topic may turn up things that can scare you. Not only that, but if you're looking up a symptom that your child has or an illness that you're concerned about, you may find the worst case scenarios or the wrong information. You may find treatments that are harmful.
It's okay to look at those things, but take this unfiltered information with a very big grain of salt until you run it by your doctor. Certainly on home remedies, any sort of treatments, any sort of medications, beware until you've made sure it's good credible information. That way when you're making decisions about your child you don't have to be pulled in a hundred different directions by tons of different sources. And I find that unless you know how to filter that for yourself, you're going to feel like you're being pulled in far too many directions and at the end of the day it tends to leave parents feeling like we don't know which way to turn.
You can take control of parenthood. You can be confident in your decisions and part of being confident and one of the keys to being a successful parent has got to be find the information that's credible. Use credible sources. Talk to your doctor and make sure that what you're basing your parenting decisions on is good information. And then, in the words of Dr. Spock who in generates past was the authoritative voice in parenting and pediatrics, as a parent you are able to step back and trust yourself.
If we just look at how much information is out there, there is so much! We now have the internet, 24 hour news feeds, our cell phones and every other contraption which makes our lives easier. Unfortunately, all this also runs the risk of having parents beomg bombarded with information. Also, a lot of times that information is conflicting. So, as step one in being a very good parent and filtering through this information is making sure that the information you are using to make your parenting decisions is good credible information. When it comes to what I do, when I'm looking to give people advice, answering questions, doing television interviews, and talking to parents, I always make sure that when I'm fact checking. I turn to credible sources like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and Children's Hospitals.
For example, if you're going to be looking on a website, be careful about what site you go to. Anybody can put up a website. Don't just go to any website, go to one that has good credible information. One of the tips I have heard is you should look at sites that are .edu instead of .com, that means instead of being a commercial site, it's an education site. Similarly .gov means that it's a government site and they have to adhere to all sorts of rules that a random website may not have to adhere to.
Another tip is to talk to your doctor. Yes, it's fine to go and Google whatever it is you want to know about, but I always caution the parents I talk to. Just Googling on a topic may turn up things that can scare you. Not only that, but if you're looking up a symptom that your child has or an illness that you're concerned about, you may find the worst case scenarios or the wrong information. You may find treatments that are harmful.
It's okay to look at those things, but take this unfiltered information with a very big grain of salt until you run it by your doctor. Certainly on home remedies, any sort of treatments, any sort of medications, beware until you've made sure it's good credible information. That way when you're making decisions about your child you don't have to be pulled in a hundred different directions by tons of different sources. And I find that unless you know how to filter that for yourself, you're going to feel like you're being pulled in far too many directions and at the end of the day it tends to leave parents feeling like we don't know which way to turn.
You can take control of parenthood. You can be confident in your decisions and part of being confident and one of the keys to being a successful parent has got to be find the information that's credible. Use credible sources. Talk to your doctor and make sure that what you're basing your parenting decisions on is good information. And then, in the words of Dr. Spock who in generates past was the authoritative voice in parenting and pediatrics, as a parent you are able to step back and trust yourself.
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