In legal lingo, a child under the age of eighteen is considered a “minor.” A very misleading legal name for a child. Ask any parent – nothing about a child is minor.
Parents today have a lot to handle. Beyond the basics like nutrition, health and education, parents also need to juggle extracurricular activities, play dates and doctors appointments. And when there is more than one child in the family, these stressors multiply. Juggling everyday life can be a challenge for even the most organized parent.
Fortunately, most families have help. Whether it’s grandma or grandpa taking the children for a Saturday, a neighbor watching the kids after school, a babysitter who allows mom and dad to have an actual “date,” or a full time nanny who helps in a variety of ways, this trusted person (or people) is part of what keeps the family happy and balanced.
These are the people you trust with your most precious creation. They watch over your children, protect them and care for them. Making sure that they are prepared for such a monumental task is your job. And it’s simple.
There are things you know about your child that are second nature to you. You know that your daughter has ear tubes. You remember that peanuts make your son break out in a rash. You know that he needs an inhaler when he runs. This is all knowledge that you have down pat at this point. And it’s information that you carefully pass on to your child’s care givers. Or do you?
Well now you don’t have to worry that you forgot something, or that the new sitter won’t remember the little details that you take for granted. You can do all this simply by enrolling your child in Minors Matter.
Minors Matter is an emergency access card that provides immediate access to the information and documentation that any of your child’s caregivers would need in an emergency if you are unavailable. This includes health insurance information, pediatrician information, immunization records and an additional information form that you supply for each child. Along with the information the card provides access to, it also displays critical allergies and medical condition information. So health personnel have immediate access to the information they need to provide proper care.
And the Minors Matter service includes an alert sent to you whenever your child’s card is used to obtain their information. This text and email message includes the phone number of the requestor so that you can call them directly to follow up.
There are legal documents that you can put in place to protect your children in your absence. Temporary Guardianship forms indicate who will take temporary care of your child until permanent guardians can be contacted, should something happen to you. Medical Parental Consent forms are used to designate those people you trust to make medical decisions about your child should you be unavailable. These documents, or some version of these, might be a good idea for your family and can be included in the Minors Matter program.
For more information about how to create an action plan for the care of your minor children and how to enroll in the Minors Matter program, contact us at 831-920-0205.