Paging Dr. Google
New and expecting parents big users of online health information
A bump, a rash or a tantrum can send parents running to their favourite resource: Google. For better or worse, Google has an answer waiting.
A Google survey conducted two years ago found that new and expecting parents do twice as many online searches as nonparents. The survey reported health is their primary concern.
“Googling is tough,” said Dr. Lindsay Uzunlar, a pediatrician at North-Shore University Health-System in Illinois. “You want to Google because you want to diagnose what your child has or you want to reassure yourself about something. But, more often than not, it’s not going to be reassuring.”
Uzunlar, who has an 18-month-old daughter, added: “My husband likes to Google things. I know it can be reassuring for him and a lot of people. But, as a doctor, I only see the people that it doesn’t reassure.”
Googling has become the norm in everyday life, and parenting is no exception. Yet, as parents seek answers to medical and developmental questions about their children, they may have a hard time filtering all the information the Internet has to offer.
“When parents think their child has a rare disease they read about online, they are already scared (when they come in), and you end up having to calm them down first,” Uzunlar said.
“Outside of Google, the Internet — from Facebook groups to YouTube videos — can be really supportive for new parents,” she added.
Jenny Stalker, 31, of Chicago, finds reassurance in a Facebook group for moms from her alma mater.
“There are 900 moms in the group,” said Stalker, a mother of two who attended Moody Bible Institute. “It helps to hear ideas from moms who are also in the trenches.”
She said she’ll post questions to the group or scroll through older messages to find opinions on issues ranging from sleep to discipline. But she mused: “What if our Internet was down? It would be helpful to have a comprehensive book.”
Before the Internet, parents had to make a call or find a book that addressed their concerns.
“My first call would always be to the doctor’s office. I knew all the nurses by name, and there would be live people I could talk to,” said Debbie Erbland, 62, of Fairport, N.Y.
Erbland, who has four grown children and one grandchild, said she also had a set of medical books published by an encyclopedia company. “It was my bible,” she said.
While encyclopedias have largely been overtaken by crowdsourced Wikipedia, doctors and grandparents can recommend some tried and true parenting resources.
“The one I use the most is HealthyChildren.org, which is run by the (American Academy of Pediatrics),” said Uzunlar. “All of the answers are up-to-date, from ‘What should I feed my baby?’ to ‘When should I take my son to the dentist?’”
Uzunlar also suggests new parents read “The Happiest Baby on the Block,” by Harvey Karp, and “Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child,” by Marc Weissbluth.
“Dr. Weissbluth is a Chicago pediatrician. It not only has a ton of information, but if you’re in emergency mode, it tells you, ‘Turn to this page,’” she said.
Stalker’s mom handed down her favourite parenting book, “How to Really Love Your Child,” by Ross Campbell.
“I read tons of parenting books, and this one has really practical advice,” said Stalker’s mother, Glenda Childers, 63, of Chicago.
When she was bringing up her two daughters, Childers said, she would often call her mom or ask a neighbour for advice.
“I had a large group of friends who lived nearby who were raising kids. We really supported each other,” she said. “Moms these days are much more isolated.”
This may be why parents so easily turn to the Internet.
“We use our phones all the time, but not to call people,” Stalker pointed out.
The 2014 Google survey also found that new parents do most of their online searching on their phones.
“Perhaps they’re constantly seeking answers to new questions, and mobile lets them do so right in the moment,” the study authors wrote in an article published on Think with Google. “They can also use their device with one hand, baby in the other.”
Even grandparents are making the leap to mobile web searches.
“I was just babysitting (my granddaughter), and she was having a tantrum,” Erbland said. “So, there I was, the grandmother Googling ‘18-month-olds and tantrums,’ and I found it was completely normal.”
Still, Uzunlar cautions against Googling everything.
“There are things you can Google that are completely fine,” she said. “You can look up Tylenol dosing, and it’s spelled out in black and white. But sometimes you end up Googling something that would be better asked to your pediatrician.”