Findings by the University of Michigan CS Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children Health reveal that two-thirds of parents confess they do not always follow the advice from their child's doctor.
The poll showed that 56 percent of parents said that they followed the doctor's advice most of the time, while 13 percent said they listened to the advice occasionally.
"Parents need to ask for clarification if they are unsure about what the provider is saying, or why it's important," said Dr. Matthew Davis, director of the poll. He also said that the doctors should be clear while advising the parents; ask parents about their concerns, and give practical examples of what works with children.
For this poll, the parents were asked about which topics they were most and least likely to follow the advice for. Those who said they followed the advice occasionally were the ones who listened to recommendations on nutrition, visits to dentists and using car seats.
However, 40 percent from this category said they ignored the doctor's advice given on discipline, 18 percent said they did not follow the recommendations given on sleep, and 13 percent did not follow the advice given about watching TV.
Vitals.nbcnews.com reported that whether parents followed advice was linked with how highly they rated their doctor's quality of care. Among parents who rated their child's doctor as excellent on "talking to me in a way I can understand," just 6 percent said they followed provided advice only occasionally, whereas 46 percent of parents who rated their doctor as good/fair/poor said the same.
Parents who said they occasionally follow doctor's advice were mostly from the lower-income group. Sarah J Clark, associate director of the poll, said that this habit of parents may put their children at risk on the health front.
A national sample of parents of children up to age 8 was also included in the poll.
