What I deeply love about our profession as osteopaths, is that we all have the opportunity to find fields we feel passionate about and where we are at our best.
I do love treating everyone from any age and background and I feel fulfilled and thankful every day for doing what I love.
I found myself having special interest in paediatric early, even before my life as an osteopath, I knew I wanted to work with children.
For me, children are the best patients, and here is why:
- Their body is full of vitality. They have not been worn out by life, they are only discovering the world and learning to grow up.
This makes treatment more efficient and quicker but also challenging at times when they are jumping everywhere.
- They always, (always), tell you what they think and how they feel. Or if they can’t talk, they will make you understand in their own way (biting, gazing, avoiding your hands..).
If you don’t do your job well, they won’t spare you. They are your best critics.
- They don’t care about what others think. They are their own mind and person and if parents do well they will manage to contain them. But they will do things the way they intend to do them and no one will change that. Even if it includes getting into their dippers for treatment when you don’t necessarily need them to undress.
- They are your best Personal Trainer ever: making you work out, muscle strength by lifting and carrying them, and cardio, by running after them when they decided that they didn’t want treatment this day.
They challenge your mind, pushing you to your limit and make you tougher, reminding you how a toy thrown in your face is great and non painful (AT ALL).
- They push you to be fashionable, by making you change your top up to 2-3 times a day sometimes, due to food or ‘body fluid’ incidents.
- They make you become the best illusionist and multi-tasker of all time, as you need to find ways to distract them when you are treating them if they are having one of those days.
- They show you their gratitude with cuddle, drawing, smiles, screams, kicks, saliva, and only other great things they produced themself!
- They inspire you and remind you how life does not have to be so serious all the time. They make you travel and play by telling you all about their imaginary world.
- They are your best parenting training ever, as you have been treating so many of them. And if they have a tantrum during your consultation, you can let the parents taking care of it 😀
- Making them feeling better and helping them recovering, supporting their family is the best rewarding feeling as their osteopath.
These points are probably very familiar to most of parents but obviously nowhere near true parenting challenges 😉
