With some experience, common sense and guidance, a mother can learn to differentiate the common illness from the serious ones. Being the primary caregiver, she would be able to note the symptoms and condition of her child before she even bring the child to the doctor. Therefore, mothers will help greatly if they jot down some of their observation like the child’s temperature, changes in eating pattern, bowel movement, discomforts expressed by the child or any out of the ordinary behavior and provide them to the doctor during consultation. At the same time, it will be helpful if they also jot a few questions beforehand to ask the doctors.

In a paediatrician clinic, usually the queue and waiting time are long because of the number of patients. Coupled with the stress of dealing with an irritable, whining and ill child, one tends to forget many things. Moreover, one can feel being rushed through a doctor’s visit. Thus, in that few moments in the paediatrician office, a mother may not be able to concentrate fully on the communication with the paediatrician. Hence, the notes and questions will come in very handy. A kind and friendly doctor will not hesitate to entertain an occasional follow-up phone call or two from the mother. She may be unduly worried because her child’s condition did not improve but getting worse upon returning home. Therefore, a mother will save the hassle of consulting several doctors for one illness which is term as ‘doctors shopping’.

On the other hand, doctors ought to be given the chance to follow-up with their diagnosis and treatment. If we bring our child back to the same doctor, it will ensure that he receives a more comprehensive check-up and attention. Some illnesses may not be diagnosed and cured with just a single consultation and a bout of medicine. At times, the illness will naturally progress to other problems. This does not necessary mean that the earlier treatment is not effective. It merely means that the patient needed further treatment for the subsequent condition.