Are Nurses Overprotective?

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Noticed that most of the nurses responding to the thread about

child abductions state that they never let thier kids play outside alone, etc..... I know that my poor kids hear from me all the time....Don't do that, you might fall and crack your head. Don't do this, you might break your arm. Don't eat that, it's not good for you. Don't talk to strangers they might steal you and hurt you. This has resulted in my teen having a lack of the ol' I'm a teen and nothing bad can happen to me. He still takes some risks but not without thinking of the consequences first. I hear him say no, d/t fear of possible injury. Is this a good thing??? Most young adults fear little. They think nothing bad can happen to them, and that is normal for teens. So now I think my kids are not like all the other kids, does this mean he's not normal. Is he missing a normal part of psycho development? I don't know.

I have seen too much, fear something could happen to ones that I love, that I see at work. Disease and illness slap us in the face every day and it is our reality. I've tried not to drill my little ones so much..but, recently heard one of them telling the other not to do that b/c they could end up hurt. They wash thier hands, every time they go to the bathroom, and everytime they eat. It's almost compulsive to watch...but that is what I taught them. I don't see to many of thier friends even concerned with handwashing and I doubt they even have a clue to what germs are. I feed my family a healthy and nutritious diet to decrease risks of future disease. I see what the other kids bring when I go to have lunch with the young ones. The content of the lunches leaves much to be desired. So, I wonder, is it just b/c I'm a nurse??? Is it too much to put all those thoughts in my kids heads? Should we just eat like everyone else? Are nurses overly protective of the ones they love?

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I think it's just called good ole fashioned common sense in an often dangerous world. Nothing more.

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:roll

I find myself being the same way with my four year old daughter, I think it stems from working in a peds icu. Just tonight my dad was letting her ride her big wheel with out shoes and a helmet and here comes me running out the door yelling atthe both of them, recalling what I see everyday.

I think being overprotective to some extent comes with the work that we do.

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I have learned with my 3 1/2 year old grandson. When he does something that is not safe (ie climb a fence) I just say don't get hurt grandma is off duty and does not do blood and it is Dr F's day off who would take care of you. He is back to safe practices right away. So far it works and Dr F laughs when we tell about it. My daughter was upset when I told her I have been teaching him that Policeman and Fireman are SAFE STRANGERS. She thought I was giving him permission to walk away from us in a crowd. Sorry I think we need to arm the little children with all the knowledge we can. Let's keep them all safe 1 kid at a time. Nurse Hag

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I don't think it's overprotective, and I don't think that your kids' cautious natures are necessarily due to your job and your concerns.

Yeah, teens are supposed to feel invincible. But I didn't. No nurses in my family. I just up and decided at some point that pain is bad and that being careful often removes causes of pain. I wore seatbelts from an early age. I stopped watching TV when I was a young teenager - I decided that when I died "they" weren't going to take into account that I'd accumulated "X" number of days/weeks/months in front of the tube that didn't mean anything to me, so I'd stop doing it and do something that didn't make me want to ask for a refund.

Kids are just different - some of them are MORE daredevils and some of them are LESS. I vote for LESS as being the easier to live with and parent!

Love

Dennie

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No, nurses aren't overprotective. The moms on this other bb I surf say/do the same stuff, and most of them are NOT nurses.

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Mom was a nurse, we ran all over our neighborhood, climbed trees, swam in ponds, you name it. The only time I remember her coming unglued was when I biked off to a friend's house without telling anyone where I was going. Then I got the "you could have been dead in a ditch" lecture.

Of course, when I was growing up, we didn't lock our doors, either.

I think the world has become more dangerous.

We have more stuff in our homes (more stuff to climb on and get hurt on). Although stranger abduction is rare, most people don't want to risk it when kids get snatched right in front of their homes or right from inside their homes. So kids play inside more (more likely to get hurt -- easier to fall on grass than furniture).

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Specializes in Trauma acute surgery, surgical ICU, PACU.

Going back to Research Methods class here... consider your sample. I noticed that the people who replied to that thread all had a similar style of thinking also. But I don't think that indicates anything about nurses in general.... rather, it just indicates the type of people who are most interested in that type of discussion. Lots of board members may have read that post and chosen not to respond....

I don't think that nurses are any more overprotective than any other group of people. I know lots of nurses who would just respond to "risky" situations with casual common sense and won't get all "worried" over things....

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I'm not over protective I don't think.

My kids (15,11,9) all have motorcycles and ride frequently.

I let them take off into the woods to explore.

But...I always know where they are at, what time they are due home and who they are hanging out with.

-Russell

ps: Yes they wear their helmets.

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i have been accused of being over protective by my kids. and also by coworkers of being over protective of my patients. but i really don't think i am. i just use what i think is common sense and protect them the best i can.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

I agree with others-just common sense....It is difficult to enforce as the children get older...Why should my 12 yr old son be the only one in the 'hood wearing a bike helmet? Because I said so!! Last summer at a family 'do I watched my 5 yr old niece ride a bike barefoot-just as I opened my mouth to say" That isn't such a good idea" (at the risk of p*ssing off my sis-in -law) She fell off and caught her toes up in the spokes-tore herself up quite badly-luckily she did not loose any.I have one child and chalk up some of my caution to that-my sis-in- laws each have many and seem more relaxed? Careless? Less attentive? I can't find the words to express what I mean to say-they are not bad mothers...Just approach things in a different way then I....

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

Yep!

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