Guest guest Posted August 24, 2002 Report Share Posted August 24, 2002 I'm so glad we found this group. We both feel so much better about a's situation already - it helps to know we are not the only ones dealing with this problem. We were wondering how other parents handle questions about their baby's DOC Band. I'm not interested in sharing our baby's medical situation with strangers (and only want to give a brief answer to friends). We think the best thing is to downplay the DOC Band to help ensure that everyone treats her normally so we don't want to make a big deal about this. What are some polite (or not so polite!) but firm responses some of you have come up with the inevitable questions people have? I'm sure people will ask me what is wrong with my baby or ask if she has seizures. Unless someone is asking because they are going through the same thing or have experience with this and are trying to be supportive, I'd like to nicely tell people to mind their own business. Also, how have you explained the DOC Band to friends and family? We don't want to get into a long discussion or explanation because we think that might emphasize this issue and we want people to focus on what a smart, happy, fun baby a is. Has anyone had a friend or family member make jokes about their baby's DOC Band? How have you handled this? I know of one person (an adult and father of 2) who will likely be very cruel about this. Short of ending the friendship (which isn't completely posssible), any advice on how to handle this? We tried looking through the archives about this but couldn't find a lot on this subject. Any input is greatly appreciated! and Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 25, 2002 Report Share Posted August 25, 2002 & Matt: I am happy to see you already rec'd great advice from Gail & Kellie about this. How ever you decide to handle the questions or comments, is of course a very personal decision of yours. I told you yesterday how I compare the bands to teeth braces. You could politely tell strangers or even family members that story, I think it's a simple way to get people to understand seems how everyone knows what teeth braces are used for. I did get a lot of people asking if the band was simply a protection device - Like I'm THAT over protective for pete's sake! I never really got any horribly rude comments, and personally preferred people to ask me what the band was for instead of jump to their own uneducated conclusions or rudely gawk at my pretty girl! You have to also remember, you'd probably stare at a helmeted baby too if you didn't know what it was for. It's human nature to stare at something that is considered " different " . You will probably be shocked at how many people already know what the band is for. On Abby's & mine FIRST trip out in public in her STARband, we were shocked to see a cute little boy in a STARband at JC Penney! The mom & I talked & talked for almost an hour! It was a huge relief to us both. Since then, I " ve seen 3 other helmeted babies in my area, that totals 4. But all in all, I was very happy to tell people why Abby wore her band. It was one heckuva lot easier for me to deal with stranger's stares and/or rude comments for 8 mos as opposed to Abby dealing with her peers making fun of her flat head when she's 10 yrs old coming home from school crying about it every day! Abby didn't know what was going on & it helped her in the long run - as it will a! Debbie Abby's mom DOCGrad MI > I'm so glad we found this group. We both feel so much better about > a's situation already - it helps to know we are not the only ones > dealing with this problem. > > We were wondering how other parents handle questions about their > baby's DOC Band. I'm not interested in sharing our baby's medical > situation with strangers (and only want to give a brief answer to > friends). We think the best thing is to downplay the DOC Band to > help ensure that everyone treats her normally so we don't want to > make a big deal about this. > > What are some polite (or not so polite!) but firm responses some of > you have come up with the inevitable questions people have? I'm sure > people will ask me what is wrong with my baby or ask if she has > seizures. Unless someone is asking because they are going through > the same thing or have experience with this and are trying to be > supportive, I'd like to nicely tell people to mind their own business. > > Also, how have you explained the DOC Band to friends and family? We > don't want to get into a long discussion or explanation because we > think that might emphasize this issue and we want people to focus on > what a smart, happy, fun baby a is. Has anyone had a friend or > family member make jokes about their baby's DOC Band? How have you > handled this? I know of one person (an adult and father of 2) who > will likely be very cruel about this. Short of ending the friendship > (which isn't completely posssible), any advice on how to handle this? > > We tried looking through the archives about this but couldn't find a > lot on this subject. Any input is greatly appreciated! > > and Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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