ABSTRACT
Previous chapters have looked at children’s development and understanding at different ages and why their involvement is important (Chapters 2 and 3). This chapter will discuss practical techniques for promoting the involvement of children in the consultation process, and how to make our communication with children and families more effective. Research has shown that in doctor–parent–child consultations only 6–14% of interactions occur between doctor and child, most of which is limited to social chit-chat. 1 This means that for about 90% of the consultation both adults ignore the child. Clearly, we have a long way to go in our efforts to involve children.
