Wondering When Your Child Switched from a Pediatrician to a General Practicioner

Hi Shauna ~
The general rule of thumb is that you go to a pediatrician until the child is 18 yrs old. But I can see where a teenage boy may not be comfortable with a female doctor, but it may not be an issue (how often do females have male doctors?)
At my house, my son hasn't been to a pediatrician since he was about 4 yrs old...we switched, together, to a family practice doctor. I love having 1 doctor for the whole family! He knows what's going on with all of us, they are still up to date with what's is appropriate for kids (immunizations and stuff), and it's easier. I remember when my son was small and we'd both get sick, usually on a weekend, and we could both go to 1 appointment to be seen, instead of trying to make 2 different appointments.
good luck!
D.

Most Internists will not take over until age 18 or close to it. The ped in our group even sees college age kids, they don't usually switch to an IM doc in our practice until after that. It is certainly your call, and if you find that he is terribly uncomfortable you can research to see if you find a doc. There are *some* IM docs who specialize in adolescent and young adults...however, ours just left our group to be a hospitalist. Goo luck.

My four children, including a girl would have stayed with their pediatrician until they were forced to leave at 27 yo. They could talk to him and felt very comfortable with him. Unfortunately, there was an insurance snafu and because of that we had no ins. for a while. When the ins. became effective once more, we could not see the pediatrician. My kids were 20, 22, 25, and 28 at the time.

Hi shauna, mine have never been to a pediatrician. Neither my 15 yr old nor my newborns, except in the hospital. I have a fantastic md and wouldn't change for anything. I would talk to your son about it, maybe he would rather stay with the same person or maybe he would rather change, maybe there is a male in the same practice that you can transfer to. I would really leave ulit up to him. I think they can get fabulous care if you pick a good md ours has kids a couple yrs older than ours which I think helps. Good luck.

I think kids should see a ped until they are 18. If he is uncomfortable find a male ped. Is there one in your office? My ped is male and WONDERFUL... I have a son and daughter and specifically chose a practice with both sexes so that my daughter can switch if she wants when she is older.

Hi Shauna:

I just switched my son from a female pediatrician to a male pediatrician by his request (he's 15). I don't plan on switching to a regular doctor until my kids are fully grown. Does your current pediatrician share a practice with any male pediatricians? I'm sure she's dealt with this same situation before and her feelings won't be hurt! Good luck.

A family practice doctor can take care of all your child's needs, so the timing of the switch is up to you. They even often take care of infants.

We switched from a pediatrician to a family practitioner fairly early.

For us we wanted a single Dr. who could get to know our entire family.

Hi Shauna,

We went from a male ped to a female ped after the male retired, when my now 14 year old turned 12 we have him see a male ped for physicals, sports physicals, etc...

Until he turns 18 he can still see a pediatrician, and luckliy there were a couple males to chose from in the practice.

Good Luck!

Hi actually, your right, I have 4 daughters, and at that age or before, we asked to see a female Dr. Before the age of 16yr at some offices, 18yr, the children must see a Pediatrician, however hopefully you can request your son see a male Dr. in the office. Good question, hope this helps