• A mother’s instinct is like an alarm bell that sounds a warning to make swift reactions
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Most of us who grew up in the 90s had at least one working parent who would pretend to be a doctor, especially when you were sick. I can’t be the only one whose mother pretended to have studied nursing so she ‘knew’ what to do when I was ill.
Like what would happen if I did not take the medicine or how the doctor would come and give me an injection the size of my arm! It is almost the same as our parents pretending to have been the best in their class during their school years. These are just some of the crazy things parents make up to have an edge in authority over some areas in parenting.
However, this past week, I learnt that there is an element of truth in the case of mothers being ‘doctors’ or having relevant medical knowledge. As my child is still small, I have not gotten around to utilising the fib that I am a doctor as a way of encouraging him to take his medicine. I do intend to utilise this fib for as long as I can get away with it!
I have, however, learnt that a mother’s knowledge of ailments and medicine comes from experience. Through experience, we learn which medicine to use, when to go to the hospital or when to administer a painkiller and observe the little one first.
As my son’s seventh tooth came in with more ease than its predecessors, I thought, “Ah finally! I have gotten to the point where I don’t have to deal with teething issues!” Boy was I wrong. By Sunday evening he was moppy, feverish and attached to me at the hip. I imagined the teething symptoms to have come in later and waited for the storm to pass.
By Tuesday morning, I already knew there was more to the illness than simple teething. It was time to see the doctor! Doctors must love mothers because we go in there with our details down to a tee! When the fever started, which medicines I gave, the dosage, how many times, and so on. However, this time I found that experience pushed me further. I explained to him what I suspected the problem to be and why I thought so. Lo and behold! I was right!
It took a few tests to show us what was wrong and that my suspicion was right all along. I felt vindicated as a mother who was up all night with their restless child. I also felt reassured to trust my instinct before listening to other people’s opinions and guesses.
This does not mean our instinct replaces a doctor’s diagnosis. It just means that we have more information to provide to the medical practitioners so they have enough data to work with. A mother’s instinct is like an alarm bell that sounds a warning to make swift reactions. This week, I understood the reason we lie to our children about having medical knowledge stems from an indirect truth of us being their caregivers from the time they are born.