Positively Adopted - Who has to be told about a child's HIV?

Quick Quote

"There is clearly no basis for excluding any student from sports if they are infected. -- I personally feel parents have no obligation to disclose the infectious status of their children to anyone." -- Dr. Steven J. Anderson chair of the Academy of Pediatric's Committee on Sports Medicine and Team Doctor for the U.S. Olympic Diving Team.

Families Open about HIV

Thousands of families who have adopted children with HIV have chosen to be open about their child's virus in an effort to educate others and help banish the stigma that lingers due to secrecy and needless shame.

Blogs of Positive Families

Who has to be told about a child's HIV?

Generally families with HIV+ children are not required to tell anyone about their child’s HIV because in every setting where a child MIGHT have an accident or blood spill of some kind, the adults in charge are already supposed to be practicing “universal precautions” on EVERY individual. (School nurse, dentist, daycare provider, etc. This is why your nurse ALWAYS wears gloves when you have your blood drawn.)

Beyond those universal precautions, the risk is so unfathomably lowfor everyone around your child that it’s not even worth mentioning... LITERALLY.

Again, the reason being that this ‘risk’ of someone accidentally contracting the virus in a non-sexual/drug needle/birth related way is over NINE HUNDRED TIMES LESS than the risk of death from putting your child in the CAR every day.

However, that being said, there are many OTHER reasons that DO make it “worth mentioning” that your child has HIV. Many parents have found that by being open and honest about their child's HIV status, they have been able to educate many people in their child's life and they do not have to live in fear of people finding out that their child is HIV positive.