Oct 6, 2026 · 11 min · 6 segments
Beyond the Sessions is answering YOUR parenting questions! In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Hershberg, Dr. Emily Upshur, and I talk about... - What to make of advice that tells you not to comfort your…
Sarah BrenHostEmily UpshurGuestRebecca HershbergGuest
So a parent wrote in with a question about dealing with some tricky situation at the doctor.

So she writes in, hello, I went to a neurologist for my two-year-old to get him checked and I followed the doctor's instructions.

But the moment she grabbed him a little too fast and laid him on the desk to get him checked, his survival instinct started and he was trying to get up.

The neurologist started talking to me with a tone that I shouldn't be doing that because I'm reinforcing his inappropriate behavior and that I should not respond when he is in distress so he can learn to regulate himself and leave him to cry and accused me that I was being permissive.

From what I have read on attachment theory and psychology, responding to a child's distress is very important.

Additionally, she suggested that my child go to full-time daycare and spend less time with mother because that can make children dependent and addicted to their mother.

I was just left with a very bitter feeling after that appointment and it didn't make any sense to me and I had no one to ask.

I'm really glad this mother was tuning into her own intuition and instincts to say

So a parent wrote in with a question about dealing with some tricky situation at the doctor.

So she writes in, hello, I went to a neurologist for my two-year-old to get him checked and I followed the doctor's instructions.

But the moment she grabbed him a little too fast and laid him on the desk to get him checked, his survival instinct started and he was trying to get up.

The neurologist started talking to me with a tone that I shouldn't be doing that because I'm reinforcing his inappropriate behavior and that I should not respond when he is in distress so he can learn to regulate himself and leave him to cry and accused me that I was being permissive.

From what I have read on attachment theory and psychology, responding to a child's distress is very important.

Additionally, she suggested that my child go to full-time daycare and spend less time with mother because that can make children dependent and addicted to their mother.

I was just left with a very bitter feeling after that appointment and it didn't make any sense to me and I had no one to ask.

I'm really glad this mother was tuning into her own intuition and instincts to say
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