The Australian government has just instituted a requirement for all parents to bring their child into a GP for a health assessment

The Australian government has just instituted a requirement for all parents to bring their child into a GP for a health assessment. Compliance with this requirement will determine whether you do or you don't get the family allowance. Letters are going out to parents this week - some have already been received.

Vaccination is a big part of this requirement and it is not impossible that doctors will deem unvaccinated children to be 'at risk' with an intervention such as forced vaccination or removal from families for these kids. Remember, Australia is the home of the Stolen Generation and that happened because one group of people considered themselves to be experts in how children should be raised.

Next year, mental health assessments will be added to the mix - there are questions on here already in that regard but they are not required at this point. Imagine when they are, the number of children who will be medicated as a result! Please read this excellent blog for more information on this situation -
[link to www.drjoetoday.com]

What if your primary care practitioner is not a GP? What if your health philosophy has indicated that mainstream medicine is not in your child's best interests? What if you are a Christian Scientist whose religion says that you don't see doctors?

Are there exemptions available for those who don't normally see doctors? And if the doctor - whose philosophy and practices differ from you own - determines that your child is at risk, what are the potential outcomes?

Will breastfed babies be at risk because of their slower weight-gain as compared to those fed artificial breast milk (ABM?)
Will children who are not using full sentences at 3 years of age be labelled as developmentally delayed and forced into treatment even though a proportion of children at this age will not be speaking in sentences but will catch up later without intervention?
Will this one doctor's word be taken as gospel even though his training does not give him any expertise in these areas (they are actually meant to assess the nutritional requirements of children when doctors learn almost nothing about nutrition in school).

It is hard to imagine anything good coming of this move and the downsides could be disastrous for many families who are not mainstream in their lifestyle and health choices. After all, the government is proposing a 'report card' on your parenting skills and if anyone wants to see a dysfunctional family - just watch question time in Parliament any day of the week when they are sitting! Who are they to try and tell us that our children are healthy or well-adjusted?

Here is a link to allow you to download and read the letter that has been sent out.
[link to library.constantcontact.com]