Is
some fun...
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Depending on demographic data and what's
in the tap water, your practice may be situated in the
middle of Toddlerville while you are playing more hide than
seek. If your practice is not yet kid approved then these
baby steps may help with your separation anxiety.
Kids play a constant role in how big your
practice grows up to be. Not being willing or prepared to
have some fun could cost you. Kids should not dread nor be
scared to come in for an appointment. Work on ways to make
the experience as painless as possible. Remind parents to
avoid scheduling any appointments during meal times or nap
times if possible. All welcome forms are not created
equally. Kids should have a welcome form of their own that
they can relate to. Encourage parents to have their kids
write down vision questions or concerns for the doctor and
staff.
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Your reception area doesn't need to look
like a toy store, it should be kid welcoming though with kid
size chairs. If square footage permits, create a kid's
vision room with eye catching décor and stimulating vision
activities for all ages. Make sure the rules of the room are
posted and point them out to the parents and kids. Become
that Wii friendly practice. Kids can be working on their
eye-hand-body coordination while waiting to see the doctor.
Come on doc, an ECP supervised sports vision workout could
have a huge positive impact on a kid's life.
Do everything possible to help kids feel
normal if they are getting their first Rx. Kid's self esteem
can be as fragile as fine china. Parents often shatter it
when they see little Johnny trying on frames for the first
time. Some parents will even act like kids and make fun of
little Johnny. You might not have much of this if your
doctor decides to trial frame the parent with the kid's Rx
in the exam room. The doctor should set the dispensing table
with a menu that includes no glare lenses in Trivex or
polycarb material. Mind your dispensing table manners. Don't
go through the parents to talk to a kid that is sitting
right there in front of you. You will never know what can
come out of the mouths of babes if you ignore them.
Sitting on the floor with toddlers might
be the answer to bonding more quickly with them. Come up
with fun ways to talk about products and tools. If you
dispense photochromic lenses, tell the kids that the lenses
are magic and super smart because they change from light to
dark when you need them to. When measuring a kid's PD you
need to be quick and accurate. Have them look into your big
pair of binoculars to see if they can look straight ahead
and find a circle and tell you what color it is.
Props can help get kids on board with
choosing new frames. A super hero frame section can be good
for those imaginative kids that can be convinced their new
eyeglasses will give them super power vision. For your
little princess patients let them wear a tiara and pick out
frames from your castle boutique. Do a frame pinkie promise.
Get kids to promise you that they will never try to bend or
fix their own eyeglasses. The same pinkie promise should
probably be used on their parents also. Let them know that
you are there for them if they need you.
When kids are trying on frames the look
down and shake your head back and forth test is not for
everyone. It's time to kick it up a notch. Have the kid do
some jumping jacks and sit ups to see if the frames stay in
place on their face. Offer to take pictures of the kid
modeling different frames and instantly send them to the mom
or dad that couldn't be there.
Note to parents: If kids don't like the
looks of their eyeglasses they are more likely to lose them,
break them or come up with every excuse not to wear them.
When all is said and done and you are
dispensing the eyeglasses give the kid a copy of your
practice's kid eye contract similar to this one:
I, ___________, will do my very best to
take good care of my new eyeglasses. I will need to wear my
eyeglasses _________. I will take my eyeglasses off with
both hands and put them in my hard case when I am not
wearing them. When I brush my pearly whites, I will clean my
super sight glasses. I am not allowed to share my eyeglasses
with my friends. My eye doctor is Dr. C. Kidz. His phone
number is (888) 123-4567. The next time I visit Dr. C.
Zidz's office I will bring in my report card and pick up my
surprise.
Make sure that pediatricians in your area
know about you (in a good way). Have a networking drop in
and invite local medical professionals specializing in other
fields. Make the theme be kid focused. Word spreads quickly
about businesses that are kid friendly. Parents avoid and
kids can sense when they aren't welcome somewhere.
As ECPs we should work harder to get the
word out that vision screenings are not the same as vision
examinations. Visit the local schools and nurseries and talk
to them about the importance of vision care for kids. Take
something in print to hand out to parents that explains the
services your practice offers. Attend health fairs and make
sure you have something special to hand out to the kids.
Every kid's perception of your practice
will be different and ECPs should be constantly asking for
feedback from parents as well as kids. You can't go wrong if
you remember that kids just wanna have fun. Let's take that
a step further and include all of the big kids that are our
patients. There's no age limit that defines a kid. Age is
just a number so everyone should wanna have fun.
