Hi everyone,

We've recently moved to Bezirk Meilen and it seems it will be too much of a headache to get to our old pediatrician on the other side of the lake, as it will take about 45 minutes of travel time each way.

My daughter is now 10 years old and I was wondering if I should be looking for another pediatrician, or if a local "Hausarzt" would be sufficient? I will need one anyway, so just wondering if I need to search for one or two doctors locally. And any recommendations in the general area would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

There is no obligation to go to a paediatrician ever if you don't want to.
It seems to me that paediatricians here are just GPs who deal with children so if your daughter is generally fit and healthy I would just register her with the GP that you use.
You'll just need to keep up with her vaccination schedule.

Agreed- coming from the UK, I find it a huge waste of peadiatricians' skills to look after healthy children for coughs and colds and minor ailments. Same for obs and gyneacologists.

Hi OP,

I'd say stick to the GP who is good at dealing with kids, and if there is a specifically complex illness go to the pediatrician.
Wouldn't the age up to which pediatricians keep their patients depend on the illness in question and not generally on the age, since illnesses don't disappear or appear on birthdays?

Just my 2 cents

Thanks. My real issue is that we moved and need a new doctor anyway. So do I need to specifically find a new kids doctor or not. I am leaning towards a GP for all family purposes, but am not sure if there is something I would require a pediatrician for now that she's getting older. I really liked my old one, but honestly it's not worth the travel anymore!

I'd say get a GP (as you said, for everyone) and ask him/her how s/he is with kids. Mention any illnesses your child has which might require attention of a pediatrician and see what the GP thinks and if he recommends a pediatrician.

Good luck

The older she gets the less likely she is to need anything specific from a paediatrician and if she does develop something that needs specialist care the GP ( hausartzt) will refer you anyway.
The GP is perfectly able to administer the vaccinations she will need so I would just concentrate on finding a good GP that you are all comfortable with and use him/ her for the whole family.