Over Medicated Children - Need Advice Please
Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive January-June 2005:
Over Medicated Children - Need Advice Please
So I babysit for two children 3 and 6 monthes whos mother WAY overmedicates them. I always knew that the older one was over medicated but it just keep getting worse. Through the winter these children are sick NON STOP. Now that the baby has come its just unbelievable. The older child in the last year has been through at least 2 regular sized bottles of Motrin Cold, and now one large bottle just bought a few weeks ago of Equate Cough and Cold is nearly gone (she has started giving this to the baby now as well). The baby 6 monthes old has gone through at LEAST 4 bottles of infant suspension cough and cold, two bottles of generic mylicon drops (I know these are not harmful).
I believe their mother is under the impression these medications are a CURE though I don't know how she could think that. She says if she doesn't give it to them they get sicker (well no kidding you actually see the symptoms you are suppressing). She gives them cough and cold with fever reducer when there is no fever. Monday morning she said she gave the baby medicine but wasnt sure if he needed it. Then this morning said he needs it for sure as he is getting sick again. I never know what she means by again these kids have so much medicine and if they go off of it its only for a few days a week at the most. All bottles of this sort say not to use more than 7 consecutive days and so much in a 24 hr. period. She definately gives it to them more than that. NEVER TAKES THEM TO A DOCTOR!
She recently said her mother told her she over medicated her kids but she said her mom didn't know her kids like she did because if she didnt' give it to them they have more of a runny nose and cough. This is year round ladies though I will say its not at frequent in the summer but the winters are terrible.
I just don't know how to approach it. Is it even my business - where is that line you don't cross. I feel this is harmful to the kids. I non chalantly tried to tell her well my oldest DD was recently sick and she was definately exposed to something that will not cure without an antibiotic so you might want to get her to the doctor for safety's sake just to make sure she doesnt have anything. She sounds terrible (deep cough)and even if it goes away it will be back in a week! The baby can't breath through his nose (again)! What should I do!
I don't think I've been through that much OTC meds EVER! I've actually thrown someout for knew as it was getting a little old (and for the new flavors).
Could you search for some articles (and ask your own doctor for some) on over the counter medication and the dangers of it for her? Some OTC's are addictive and can cause the syptoms they're meant to treat if used constantly. She's treading really dangerous territory and needs some straight up information on what she's doing to her kids.
If it doesn't work you may need to decide if you'll continue lookng after the kids. After all, if all these meds lead to problems (though it sound like they may have already if they're constantly 'sick', more like withdrawal possibly) and you're the primary caregiver in the day you may get looked at closely by authorities. Personally I'd be tempted to tell her calmly why I was leaving and then go home and put a call in to children's services. They might be able to shake her up and educate her.
A year round cold sounds more like allergies to me and all the OTC stuff in the world isnt going to help beyond supressing the syptoms, is it possible you could get her to take the kids to the doc to see if they have allergies? That would at least get them into the physician. Does she bring them in for immunizations? You might want to plant an idea. "The next time the kids go to the doctors I would ask about why they are sick all the time" She acts like she really wants people to notice that the kids are sick, if you could get her to take them in maybe that would start a dialog.
Just make sure YOU are not dosing any of those medications to her children. I made it a point of telling the parents that if their children required medication it must be given to them prior to them being dropped off at my house. The liability of giving medication to children not mine was too high a risk as far as I was concerned.
Do over-the-counter cold medicines work?
Sounds like she should just take those kids to the doctor. I don't think dosing them constantly with otc meds is all that good for them!
I would be worried about organ damage - there are always these warnings on labors about liver failure, etc. from prolonged use.
Good grief - kids get sick...it's a fact of life. I'd hate for these kids to grow up totally reliant on a bottle of pills for every discomfort!
I admire you for being concerned as their babysitter.
Yes, liver damage, Kay. There's a REASON why their nose runs...to GET RID of what they've got! She's making it worse and is impatient...ask her to wait it out. I doubt they will get "more sick". Does she think it's "normal" for kids to take that much medicine?
She needs to seek pediatrician advice first. My ped said not to give anything but tylenol for a fever. And, DEFINITELY at that age! She could seriously be damaging her children.
Please do say something...let us know how it goes!
I gave my kids that stuff once in a great while. Usually the med would expire LONG before it was ever used up. Most of the time, my kids hated taking that stuff because they thought it tasted bad.
Pixie , i understnad what your sayign adn how you feel. My god daughter who is now 7, during the ages 5months-3 yeas of age i used to ger her every weekend. And when she came she had a bottle of Pedia Care if it was almost gone she had a new one togo along with it.And when I first strted gettign her I vould tell that she had a terrible cough and I gave her the medicane every 4 hours as her mother asked. I wold get her on Fri. adn by the time Sun afternoon came this bottle of medicane was just aobut gone. At first I didnt' say anythign until the next weekend came and when I picked her up her mother again gave me the cough medicane and again you heard the child coughing so I took the medicane.
But this time I was keeping her for the week so when I got home I put the medicane in the cabinet and I didn't give her any instead I made sure she was well hydrated and gave her orange juice, yes after a day or maybe shorter she stop coughing so much and then stopped all together. Because I too read the labels adn like you siad not to consume so much in a 24 hr. period or take no more then 7 days. But the main thing that made me not give it to her was the question that I had to ask myself if I was taking OTC medicane for myslef and it wasnt' helping( liek it wasn't helping my sweet GD) would I keep pumping it in? And of course I wouldn't.
I told her mother (who is also my cousin) that I didnt give her any medicane thta week adn that shehad been dong fine the cough was gone and that she was sleeping through the night without any problems. Well wouldn't you know it but the very next weekend I got her she came with a cough agian adn another bottle of Pedia Care. We where up my aunt's house one day and she siad something that go tmy to thinking. My Aunt made the comment that whenever the child is with us(at mines or her house) that she is fine and that hwen she goes hom ehtat she she gets colds) So I finally approached my cousin with wht I felt was over medicating. And I told her that how I felt that she was givign the child too much medicane and that I didn't think it was helping her but that it could be doing her harm , because in small children medications could bother there nervous systems( may explain why she wasnt' sleepign through the night she was too jumpy)I told her how she could be unwillingly and unknowiling making her child dependnet on this medicane that her body will produce ( what she think is signs of a cold or cough) because she is dependant on the medicane.
I offered to take my GD to the doctor for her if she ws unable to. And I convinced her to let me take her because I told her that her daughter could really be sick but it could be something else and we are giving her unnecessary medicane that she doenst' need and that wasn't fair too her. That we as adults and parents are responsiblle for her well being, and that we wouldn't wan't to do or foind out that we had done anythign to compromise that.
I guess what I'm saying is offer the take the kids to the doctor for the mother. Yes I knwo that this may be hard because she can take it the wrong way. But maybe if you tell her that the cough medicanes aren't helpign the kids adn that maybe they need somethign stronger that only a doctor can prescribe.
|
Members
