about the syringes they've started putting with medicines?

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The ones you get with Calpol etc these days.

I'm sure the reason is supposed to be to make sure the dose is measured accurately but I'm not convinced it actually helps on that front, it really isn't that hard with a spoon and does the difference between 5ml and 4.75 ml really matter?

The syringes are difficult to clean, it's more plastic for landfill (because how many do you really need?) and they're fiddly and messy to use. I'm sure they lead to more waste too as I end up with medicine down the outside of the bottle.

AIBU or does anyone prefer them?

Love the syringes, mess and stress free! Also can sneekily shoot it into back of mouth..

Oh and .25ml can really make a difference in medication OP.
The doctors don't just come up with random doses!

My 2.5 yo is quite proficient at squirting it into her own mouth.

She was on various reflux meds as a wee one and I found the calpol syringes perfect for administering this as the wee hole at the end is wider than the nozzle of the one the pharmacist provides. The meds she had were gritty so needed a bigger hole.

We wash ours in the dishwasher then eventually she gets them for her doctor kit

Just take the stopper thing out and use a spoon

I also put the syringe in the dishwasher.

But more seriously with a very poorly toddler who is frantic and batting the thing out of your hand being able to slide a tiny bit in at a time really helps

There not new my children are in their 20's and I used them when they were children. It's much easier to get the correct dose and also get the medicine in a child's mouth with a syringe than it is with a spoon.

Mine go in a mug and get boiling water put on them to clean them.

One word: suppositories

Op, put them in the dishwasher, (separate the two parts) they come out spotless!

So much easier to use than a spoon. I just chuck them in the dishwasher.

I prefer them for the reasons mentioned above and also the new stoppers on the bottles.

Stops children having a swig of the bottle like my DD did when she was a toddler when I had my back turned!

I think they're brilliant. I used to buy syringes at the chemist to give medicine with before they included them with the medicine. So much easier and less likely to spill it. I put them in the dishwasher to clean them.

Syringes makes things much easier.

One of DS meds is 4mls at a time so syringe is the easiest way to measure that

I prefer the syringe. DS thinks it's a sweet, he sucks away on it and it's easy to get it down him (but he's not good with spoons). To save money, I kept the syringe and plastic bottle neck insert from my Calpol bottle and I reuse it with the cheaper Wilko's Infant Paracetamol (which is the same stuff at half the price). The insert for the neck of the bottle fits in fine. I find it all easy to clean as long as the water is very hot - just rinse under the running tap and leave to dry on the bathroom windowsill.

I much prefer them, far less mess! Kids love them too. I just put them in the dishwasher and the kids use the extra ones knocking around as water pistols in the bath

Huge advantages for me:
You can use them much easier with one hand-dd2 (11yo) gets migraines and self medicates occasionally when she needs to, she has one hand. She can't manage the spoons easily to pour accurately (ie not all over the floor), but put the syringe in the end, tip upside down and pull out stopper with her teeth is quick, and easy.
Much more accurate.
Much less likely to spill either the bottle if knocked over, or once it's poured.
Much easier to take. When dd2 has a migraine and is feeling sick she can take it little bit at a time, when half a spoon may make her vomit.
You can give it to a sleeping child. If they're lying on the side, then putting the syringe in their mouth, they'll usually start sucking and you can slowly release the medicine.
Cleaning is easy, pull in water, squirt out.
They make excellent water shooters in the garden (or occasionally on dh down the stairs)

A tip for using them as water pistols, buy a cheap pool from a pound shop ( they are tiny) but perfect for refilling water pistols.

I love the syringes, Much easier than trying to spoon feed an ill child.

Hospitals use them to dispense Oramorph to adults. I just decline the unused ones as have enough at home. Never had a problem washing a syringe.

I'm so jealous of all these kids who take their medicine willingly.

snotqueen bribe of a sweet or chocolate did help but also I found letting DS hold the syringe and help pushing medicine in himself helped, now at 4 he has to do it all himself.

They are brilliant. Have used them for 15 years since dd1 was a baby. Much less mess, more accurate, less spillage, much easier to get into babies (including breastfed babies), fighting toddlers etc etc. not hard to clean at all, suck up water, squirt out, repeat. You can even sterilize them with bottle if you are ff. we bunged them in the dishwasher. Easy peasy.

I have no idea why anyone would prefer the wee cups, tbh.

I love them. Poorly child doesn't have to sit up. No risk of spilling. I use old ones for cookery (drizzling a tiny amount of balsamic, for example) or for arts&crafts but I need at least 3 at a time reserved for proper medicinal use as I dishwasher each one after giving a dose which may not be clean when the next dose is due.

I prefer them as I use the old ones to give the cat her medicine. She wouldn't take it from a spoon. On the vet syringes the rubber perishes, but the calpol ones can be cleaned and used numerous times.

They used to just come with nurofen but now come with calpol too.

They are great - so much better than faffing about with a spoon and ending up with sticky medicine all over you, the DC, the floor and on one memorable occasion the cat (who had to be washed but survived into old age).

The ones you get in baby paracetamol from French pharmacies are better though as they measure out the dose by the child's weight so you are getting a more precise dosage.