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I know by law what a child feels does not matter. I know a doctor can do whatever a parent lets them do by law. I want to know though do you believe a child at least has a right to know why they are doing the treatment? If a kid asks "Why do they want my blood"? or "Why do I need this shot"? Should they tell the child? If they give them a shot and the kids ask should they not at least be obligated to say "Its a measles shot".
I think that children have a right to know these things.
It would almost be considered torture to force an adult to undergo treatments without even telling them what they are for or why they are getting them except for in circumstances in which the adult is incapable of understanding (car accident trauma, etc.).
I don't think that children should be conditioned to believe that ignorance is OK.
Well they often don't. They just demand the child does what they wish without giving them a reason. I started to wonder why do you have to wait till adult hood to be given the right to know why they are testing you? It does not seem right or fair to children. We have the rights why don't they?(Thank you for your well thought out comment)
Well, one of the reasons why they don't have the same "rights" as an adult is because children typically don't have the same capacity to make decisions as an adult does.
However, I still believe that children who ask about what is going into or being done to their bodies should be given a decent and comprehensive answer. One can't expect a child to understand the mechanisms of a flu shot or exactly what is being done to the blood being drawn for them but most children can understand "They are giving you medicine to help keep you from getting the flu" or "They are testing your blood to make sure that you are healthy".
There are so many people taking pills that don't know what is does to their bodies and I don't think that children should be conditioned to not at least question what is going into theirs by being forced into ignorance. It teaches them to accept helplessness and ignorance and with the way modern medicine is now, ignorance is the LAST thing children need to be taught is OK.
To not at least attempt to help them understand is pure laziness on the part of the adult.
Kids understand a surprising amount if we take the trouble to explain in appropriate language what's going on. They can co-operate with their treatment rather than fight it; which many will if it is painful or tastes disgusting, etc. Even a child who can't speak yet can choose to swallow medicine that tastes vile because it will help them, I've seen this first hand.
They are definitely not too dumb.
Kids deserve the truth. They are curious by nature and depending on how complicated the situation is, they should be given the facts. But it probably isn't wise to read of a list of all potential side effects to a drug you have given them. That information isn't always helpful to give adults, let alone children.
Well obviously explaining to them that they are unwell and they need to make these visits to a medical centre on a daily basis is enough.
But I'm saying going into all that medicine jargon can confuse a child in an already traumatic situation. We need to take into consideration of the psychological affects it could have on a child.