Usually the first thing kids do at the doctor’s office is head for the toys, but that could be a thing of the past. More and more practices are removing books and toys from waiting rooms.
For some children the doctor's office can be a scary place. "She plays with the toys, that's what soothes her," Amy Jennings said of her daughter Isabella as she played with a kitchen set at Pediatric Care of York. "She knows when she comes in she can play with toys before she sees the doctor," said Jennings, who is from Hanover.
Pretty soon Jennings will have to bring her own toys along for her daughter to play with. "It's a little sad but I understand. That's how germs spread, it's everything they touch," said Jennings.
Like many practices, Pediatric Care of York is removing toys and books from the waiting area. The change comes from a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics to help reduce the spread of germs.
"Almost every illness passes around by either direct contact or indirect contact, like a toy or something like that," said Dr. Sean Campbell with Pediatric Care of York. The change will be made in both the "well child" and "sick child" waiting areas. "Even though your child may come in with influenza, the other child next to you may have retrovirus, and the other child next to them may have another virus, so you don't want them swapping," said. Dr. Campbell.
"A fomite is a surface on which you can get sick. For example, the grocery cart bar, every kid puts their mouth on that. That is covered, that is a massive fomite. So the AP's argument is, let's get rid of toys because kids pick up one of my trains and puts it in their mouth and then put it down. Then you end up having the next kid put it in his mouth," said Dr. Campbell.
