Calpol 6+ tablet

[Ripeberry]

My after pre-school mindee has a bit of an ear infection and the mum this morning gave me a Calpol 'melting' tablet for him. Problem is that it is 6+ and he is almost 4yrs old.
She said that the normal Calpol is not strong enough, but I'm not really happy about giving it.
I'll get her to sign a medication permission form at the school when I take him up to meet his mum, but she did catch me on the hop.
He is only with me for just over 2hrs so hopefully he won't need it

[FizzysFriends]

I wouldn't give it to them as its against manufacturers guidlines therefore you would have no insurance if anything (god forbid) did go wrong, or he was ill after.

When babysitting I was asked to give a med to a baby before they went to bed once and when I read the label it was a 6yrs + one and the baby was under 1!! I didn't give it him and asked why he was getting it when I saw the parents and they said it was to make him sleep so they got a lie in

[Ripeberry]

I wouldn't give it to them as its against manufacturers guidlines therefore you would have no insurance if anything (god forbid) did go wrong, or he was ill after.

When babysitting I was asked to give a med to a baby before they went to bed once and when I read the label it was a 6yrs + one and the baby was under 1!! I didn't give it him and asked why he was getting it when I saw the parents and they said it was to make him sleep so they got a lie in

Poor baby! Drugged up already They could have caused damage to the 1yr old's kidneys

[TheBTeam]

I wouldnt give it either!

[francinejayne]

I wouldn't give it. If the child needed it and the parents hadn't provided age suitable calpol, I would ring them and ask them to come home from work so they can administer it themselves!

[sonia ann]

just to clarify the situation ....you can give paracetamol syrup 6+ to children over the age of 1yr as long as you give them the correct dose...the instructions say clearly the dose they can have.

Also in hospital medication is worked out by weight of the child so it is possible that a 4yr old may be given the equivalent of a 6yr olds dose if he is big for his age. If this is the case for the OP's mum then she should get the paracetamol prescribed by the gp at the apprpriate dosage for his weight then the OP would be covered as it would then be prescribed

I always gave my own children the highest dose possible because they were all bigger than "normal" but we can't do this as childminders and rightly so.

[The Juggler]

i might if ibuprofen but only with doctors prescription as in Europe the children are given adult dose and my docs told me to give more when my dd was in pain. However, calpol is paracetamol and you have to be so careful with doses

[carol cameron]

I certainly wouldn't be giving him 6 plus I am afraid.I am very awkward these days and won't give any medicine at all unless it is prescribed and has the child's name on the medication. This is to cover my own vunerability- if I give medicine like calpol to a child which then can mask more serious symptons guess who would be in trouble? It's a great shame really as calpol has worked wonders for my children over the years but we need to protect ourselves as professionals. Cx

[Ripeberry]

Well I collected him from pre-school and they said that he had been crying in pain for the last 15 mins, he was feeling really sorry for himself. Mum was advised and they asked if I had the medication.
Showed it to pre-school and even they said not to give it.
Took him home anyway and rang his mum, told her that I have Calprofen (new bottle) and that is more age appropriate.
She said OK and I gave him a 5ml dose and completed the medication form.
He had a lie-down on the sofa and watched some Cbeebies and later felt well enough to eat lunch.
About 1hr later he was back to his normal self. He is going to the GP later today to get some antibiotics. Got mum to sign the medication form and gave her the tablet back.
She seemed to think that just snapping it in half was OK, but I just told her that I would rather use medication that is age appropriate.
Hope he feels better tomorrow.

[flora]

hope the little one feels better soon x x

[bexcee]

I think you did the right thing there and if you got the medication forms signed then you are fine.
I wouldn't give 6+ medicine to a younger child unless it had been prescribed by a doctor and had the chemist sticker on it stating the child's name and dose required.

[Ripeberry]

He was here today again and I gave him a dose of his antibiotic suspension and this time his mum supplied the correct painkiller as well
So two lots of paperwork to sign.