I'm Obsessed with Doc Martin (and a Bit Concerned)

And I'm not talking about the boots!

I've shared before how I'm kind of obsessed with British TV, and I finally have started watching Doc Martin which has apparently swept the world by storm.

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Season 6 just started over in Britain however up to season 5 is available on Amazon Prime. Since we're a diehard Roku family we have Amazon Prime linked and watched most of our shows on it. Hooray for no commercials!

Doc Martin, according to my husband (yes, he sometimes watches with me!), is a lot like House (no, I don't watch that show), but basically he's a crotchety doctor with absolutely no bedside manner. Oh and he's scared of blood!

And I really like him!

Here's a clip to give you a gist of his demeanor:

 

See what I mean?

Well, the show got a little bizarre after the 1st season with way too many crazy medical (and often gross) emergencies happening left and right for such a quaint little village that the show is set in.

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I'm just into the 5th season and the first episode was fascinating to me as there were a few controversial parenting topics addressed: car seat usage and the CIO (or Ferber) method.


SPOLER ALERT
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When Louisa is preparing to be driven home from the hospital she is seen holding the baby in the backseat of a car. Panic set in when I saw this remembering how the hospital requires (and checks!) that you have a car seat to take your baby home in even if it's a taxi (NYC laws however do not require car seats in taxis). I thought perhaps it was a cultural thing as I've traveled around the world and have not always seen children in car seats. However, the local police officer swooped in with a car seat telling Louisa she'd be breaking the law if she didn't have her baby in a car seat. "Whew!" or so I thought...Cut to the next scene and they're in the car and what do I see but the car seat in the FRONT SEAT! I couldn't believe it and ran to look up British car seat laws to see if that's the norm.

Turns out it's legal to have a child under 3 in the front seat but illegal to have them rear facing if there's an airbag present. Martin's airbag has gone off several times in the show but never the passenger airbag.

Perhaps this is thinking too deeply but for such a prominent show with a huge worldwide following to display is missing out on the opportunity to showcase car seat safety education.

Oh and about the CIO method: Martin and Louisa are seen implementing it on Day 1 home from the hospital as Martin says you have the train the infant. As someone who studied and used the CIO method that is NOT how it's meant to be implemented. Another educational opportunity missed!

I do love the show, but this episode really bothered me.

Has this ever happened to you with a show you like? Should fictional programs be accountable for portraying the correct way to do things involving child safety?



P.S. Have a fab weekend, and I'll be back next week with a preview of my Blogalicious 5 experience!