Physical exams with a family member present

Growing up I was examined with my brother up through high school. Every summer my mom would take us for our yearly school physicals. After a short wait our names would be called over the intercom to enter either Hallway A or B. A nurse would walk us down the hallway to an open exam room. Once inside, the nurse would turn to our mom and say make sure they are completely undressed. So we both had to strip nude. My bother was older so he usually took a seat on the exam table first. I would have to sit nude on a chair across from the table.

It wasn't for the full exam, but my dad took me to my pediatrician once when I was about 5 or 6 (ironically, my mother who was a nurse, was working at the clinic that weekend). My mom walked into the room in her white dress and cap, stating the doctor just wants to listen to my chest, then left. My dad stayed in the room while I took my shirt off & the doc listened to, percussed, and palpated my chest and lungs. That was the only time he was in the exam room. My mother took me all the other times, but to be honest I was so focused on what was happening I'm not sure if she was in the room for the entire exam or not. She stopped going into the room when I was 14/15.

Never had the experience myself though in elementary school, the dad of one of my classmates was the school doctor who came in to do physicals. I always wondered about that family dynamic!

My brothers kids hung around with kids whose parents were doctors. They sent them to a pediatrician and never looked at them. Once the they were sick and the dad was all grumpy when mom made him look at my friend.

My mom usually went to doctor's appointments with me, but dad went with to the physical. That wasn't awful.

I remember being sick in the hospital once though. My dad was sitting beside my in a chair. The nurse was going to give me a suppository and had me roll onto my side. I remember having to sit there and me and my dad looking at each other while it went up my butt.

I remember I was in high school. I had to take doctor permission to attend sport races. my mother and I went to my GP. I was sitting on a chair. He put the stethoscope on my Erb's point and listened for almost 1 minute. he said everything is normal and gave me permission. I wasn't MedFet so much in that age, so I wasn't nervous and my heart rate was normal.

But next year I had to use some hormonal medicines which caused increased heart rate. my heart rate was almost 100 at the time. once my father, brother and I went to my GP. I don't know why. He examined me and said to my father that my heart rate is 103. my father surprised, but doctor said that we assume heart rate up to 100 as normal. I was very ashamed of knowing I may have a problem in my heart in front of my father.

A favorite fantasy would be acting as nurse or medical assistant for a 40-something male gynecologist giving a very first pelvic exam to an 18 or 19 year old teen with her parents in the room, and explaining what he is doing as he does it, to further the humiliation.

Moms often go to boys physical exams. My mom always was there for mine, she still comes with me. It's better than going alone.

She goes with my brothers, too, and sometimes I have had physicals with one or the other of my brothers.

Keeps it all in the family hahaha.

My mom say in the room for every doctor's visit until I was 18.. super embarrassing to be naked in front of her especially when puberty started!

My mom was present at all my physical exams. And i was also often examined together with my Brother.

@examined_teen what ages were you examined with your brother?

Not dad but mom.

I go for physical alone always but any other "non- physical" appointment: that's when I am sick., my mom comes with me to the doctor. Anything above 99F fever, I am taken to the doctor, mom is there with me and I am examined in her presence. Auscultation over the clothes, checking throat etc everything happens in front of her and I have no problem even to this date. Dad rarely comes now but I don't think I will have any problem with his presence either

Except for one time when visiting the pediatrician for a yearly physical, mom always brought me there and remained in the exam room the entire time until I was ten. Dad brought me there once for a physical, probably because I'd bitched so much to both of my folks, telling them I didn't need to go to the damn doctor. Remember bitching to my dad when it was just him and I alone, about how much I hated getting a physical when around thirteen years old. His response to me, 'get over it.' He was career military and had to get and pass a physical exam every year, as well as pass a pt test in order to stay in an armed forces organization.

My mom was present at all my physical exams. And i was also often examined together with my Brother.

Similar to you, either my mum or dad came in with me when I went to the doctors until I was 13 as did my older brother. Although never examined together, which looking back would have been cool, I saw him stripped down to his boxers, and he see me down to my briefs or boxers getting examined - weighed, height taken, stethed all over, reflex checks etc while the doctor talked to my parents discussing me as though I wasn't there.

My mother was ALWAYS with me, that was never debated. I was present, but she spoke for me even as a teen, and that led to me being much more like a child with my nurse.

My mother was ALWAYS with me, that was never debated. I was present, but she spoke for me even as a teen, and that led to me being much more like a child with my nurse.

Are you independent now? I hope so. I have a son who has trouble with every job he has had and can't answer a simple question without her. If I ask him anything she answers for him and he's 50 years old. Still living at home of course in his childhood room.

Towards the end of 2019 I became generally unwell, and my doctor, who is female and lovely, wanted to give me a thorough examination. I am 70 years old. My granddaughter who is 22 years old drove me to the doctor's for this examination, and she actually came into the examination room with me.

She stayed throughout the examination, and saw me have a thorough check-up. I was totally naked towards the end of the exam, and she saw the doctor do everything, including checking my penis and testicles, and performing a rectal examination on me, with me lying on the couch on my left side with my knees drawn up to my chest. As I lay there the thought popped into my head that 'Oh God. She can see my anus!'

It was quite an embarrassing experience, but at the same time it was very comforting to know that my granddaughter, Veronica, was there in the room with me.

On the way home she apologised for staying with me throughout the examination, but I told her that I was very grateful to her.

My bio mom took me to all my physicals up until age 8 or 8 when she lost custody to my dad. Then my step mom brought me and she made me change doctors to my step sisters pediatrician and she stayed in the room during the exams. When I turned 16 they said legally I could go in by myself. It was very embarrassing.

I was almost 12. The hormones hit, and I’d had my first crush on a girl, along with a sense of modesty around my mom and my sister. I had a sore left testicle, & I was nervous about telling my mother, the doctor in the family. She took me to see my pediatrician, a woman. Female doctors stick together. Mom figured I was old enough for her to wait outside for the exam. The nurse had me strip to my boxers for the exam. The doctor did my genital exam last, having my drop my boxers, I was naked. When the doctor examined my testicles, she found the problem was the swollen veins around the cord that was the problem. “I’m going to have your mother check the veins every six months or so, Ted,” said the doctor. I registered a look of shock on my face she recognized as adolescent shyness. “She’s a doctor, Ted.” She asked the nurse to get my mother. I turned red, as Mom hadn’t seen me naked for 3 years, at least, since I took my own showers. The doctor had Mom feel the veins when I was standing; when I lay on my back the swelling went away.

“Just check Ted every six months or so. The best time is when he’s finished showering. He’ll be warm and the scrotum will relax.” And she did.

Brat ...... this just had to be embarrassing. Or at least, uncomfortable.

@Bryn - yours is an uncommon reversal of the more typical 'pubescent boy naked in front of Mom' story here. These boys were mostly embarrassed at the time in front of a curious Mom, but afterwards found this event a sexually arousing memory. Dare I ask, how do you feel about your experience in retrospect?

Work in Family Medicine and Adolescent Medicine and take my three kids for their physicals. I think it is important to have a parent present to address health concerns. Just my opinion.

I was almost 12. The hormones hit, and I’d had my first crush on a girl, along with a sense of modesty around my mom and my sister….

Oh boy, that sounds like you had an awkward several months after that visit. How did those follow up checks with your mom go?

Looking back I still feel embarrassed that my granddaughter saw me naked, being intimately examined, but I have no sense of sexual arousal at the thought of it 6 months on. I was grateful to her for taking me to the doctor's and, strangely, grateful that she opted to stay with me in the examination room throughout. We haven't spoken about it since, but I think that she was and is embarrassed by the episode. I don't think that she thought the examination would be as detailed and intimate as it turned out to be.

Follow up on my exam with Mom and the pediatrician.

Sure enough, six months later Mom told me it was time for the examination of the “varicocele” the swollen veins. I left the door to the bathroom open, an as soon as I turned off the water, she came in. It was pretty quick. She lifted my balls with her left hand and felt the veins with the right, asking me if it was tender (no). She took out a small ruler and measured the length and width. Happened again six months later.

The next time I got an erection while she was touching me. “Do you know why your penis gets hard like that?” she asked. I shook my head. I hadn’t had the sex talk, was really naïve, so here it came. She told me to dry off, not to get dressed and she’d be back. She returned with a thick book called “Surgical Anatomy.”

I knew that my younger sister grew inside Mom. She opened the book to the male reproductive organs and showed me the pictures, having me feel the different parts. Then she showed me the drawings of the female parts. My eyeballs popped out. She didn’t overwhelm me with all the details but explained to me the reason for erections, and basic reproduction. The talk was about 45 minutes.

She examined me several years. She would take the opportunity to touch upon sexual matters, like masturbation, sexually transmitted disease. A couple times she waited until I put on my pajamas, & she had me open the fly of the pants. Somehow it felt more embarrassing, exposing myself. When I was 17 the pediatrician told Mom not to worry about it.

Brat

My mom was always in the room for my physicals growing up. I went to the pediatrician until I was about 19 and she would be in the room each time. The way he examined me left enough room for my mom to see exactly what was going on and where/what he was touching. Always so embarrassing! Only when I turned around 15 would the doctor start to give me an option of her being in there when he laid me back to finish the exam.

Growing up it was mandatory at my doctor's office to have a chaperone present over the age of 21. It usually meant a parent, but as long as the person was over 21 it was considered ok. This was until the patient reached 18 years old. My dad was the one who usually came with me, unless he was out of town on business, then it was my mom. When the doctor came into the room they had me dressed only in underpants, and toward the end they came off as well. It was kind of embarrassing the few times my mom was there, but I never really felt embarrassed with my dad in the room.

My dad never took me or my siblings to the doctor, but my mom was in the room for my exams up to and including my first gyno exam. My sister and brother and I were all in the room for some of our exams when we were younger, but as we got older, we would wait in the waiting room until mom came to get the next kid for their exam.