Care for children and families

Bringing a child to a chiropractor makes some parents uneasy, and that is a reasonable instinct to have. Here is how it actually goes.

Children

A parent stays in the room, at every age, without exception. Not in a waiting area, not watching through a door. In the room.

The contact used with a child is lighter than what is used with an adult, which on a scale where the adult work is already a fingertip resting on skin means very little pressure indeed. There is no twisting, no thrust and no sound.

Nothing happens before the child is comfortable with it. Nothing happens without being explained first, to you and to them, in words they can follow. If a first visit turns into a conversation and a look around the room with nothing else happening, that is a perfectly good first visit.

If your child does not want to be on the table on a given day, that is information, and we work with it rather than around it. Nobody here will talk a frightened child into being touched.

Children stay fully clothed, the same as everyone else.

During pregnancy

Care during pregnancy follows the same principle. Positioning is adjusted as things change, with cushioning and side-lying as carrying gets further along, and the pace is set by how you are feeling on the day rather than by a plan made six weeks ago.

Roughly half of pregnant women report back pain at some point, which is why this comes up often enough to have a page. What is right for any individual person is a conversation with you and with the people already looking after your pregnancy.

Where the line is

This is care alongside your pediatrician or your obstetrician. Never instead of them.

We do not diagnose. We do not advise on vaccination, feeding, medication, or anything else that belongs to your child’s doctor. If something you describe sounds like it needs a pediatrician, we will say so, and we would rather lose the appointment than have you delay that call.

An unwell child needs a doctor. That is true regardless of what else is going on, and nothing on this page should be read as suggesting otherwise.

Before you book

Ask us anything you want to ask first. Call the front desk and ask to speak to Dr. Todd about it, or come in and look at the room without booking anything.

Being cautious about who puts their hands on your child is not an obstacle to get past. It is the correct instinct, and a practice worth bringing them to will treat it that way.