no more, no less. a pediatrician looks at ALL parents as POTENTIAL abusers.

[MineralMan]

146. Respectfully, that's a pediatrician's job, really.

As a mandatory reporter who is concerned with the welfare of patients, it's part of the pediatrician's responsibility. Same with cops, and others who deal with people on a professional basis and are charged with preventing bad things.

As for myself, while I'm aware that some parents abuse their children, I'm not charged with the safety of children. So, I don't think of parents as potential abusers unless they show serious anger management problems or other issues in other situations. And, most parents don't abuse their children.

If it is part of a professional's duty to inquire into things, then that's one thing. Doctors, for example, inquire into many areas of a person's life, in an attempt to treat the whole person. Others, however, have no such responsibility. I don't think of people as potentially ill. If they're obviously ill, then I recognize that, but I don't concern myself with whether a person who doesn't seem ill is "potentially" ill.

Bottom line is that some people are required to look at people in different ways, and be always alert for issues. The rest of us aren't.