AIBU to give my 4 year old a syringe to play with?

[NotThatAgainJo]

SIL just told me I shouldn’t let ds play with syringes . It was one from an old calpol bottle and, I’d cleaned it obviously, and he squirts water in the bath with it. Sometimes into his mouth but bath water do pah, spits it out.

She says he’ll be a drug addict or will take medicine if he can get to it. He’s 4.

Oh good Lordy! Your SIL is batty.

Thank you! I had a moment where I thought I was going mad!

She's an idiot

But I would have a word with your DS about never picking a syringe up off the street, of if he seems them in the park.

Oh my goodness your SIL is absolutely batshit! You get play medical cases with them in, it’s just pretend play! Never heard anything so ridiculous!

They're good for squirting (fresh) playdoh too.

Haha that's ridiculous! My two year old has been playing with them since she was tiny, she loves giving pretend Calpol to her poorly toys.

Actually I'm not sure I would, it blurs the line between medicine and toy. The former should be taken seriously, the latter is for pleasure obviously. At four he's too young to differentiate, so I'd buy a little water pistol instead.

Yanbu. My ds has things in his toy Dr bag that would probably make your Sil hyperventilate.

WorraLiberty Good point.

Incoming don’t tell my son! 😩😀

I'd buy a little water pistol instead

I reckon SIL would kick off about "GUNS!"

SpitefulMidLifeAnimal

I am SURE she would!

oh ffs. My dd had a toy doctors bag that had a toy syringe in it, she loved it. It's fine, it's not like there's a needle in it.

Oh god how silly.

FWIW my children used old Calpol syringes to play in the bath too, and have never shown any sign of not recognising that medicine and toys are very different.

I think if your attitude to medicine is responsible/normal in that it has its own cupboard out of reach, is administered with noticeable care and attention to dosage, etc., there is really no danger at all of this line being blurred.

When my DS was in hospital the staff often gave him his own one whilst they administered his meds.

I wouldn't be worried about it.

My ds wants to be a nurse, so I got him a big and filled it with all sorts of bits including a couple of those Calpol syringes and a medicine bottle (washed out).

My Dad used to bring us the really big syringes back from work to play with in the bath, great fun until one of us ( three in bath at the same time) squirted water at the ceiling which made the hot light bulb explode, cue glass shards in the bath!

Dd(9) loves syringes, she eats yogurts with them and invariably all her fluids are administered via a calpol syringe. She’s a total clart. Drives me mad but I have no concerns about her becoming a drug addict.

Mari50

Omg I wonder if ds would start eating yoghurt again if I showed him that

Your SIL is unhinged. Does she also say to keep him out of cars so he doesn't start stealing them when he's 15?

Seriously?! In that case I better worry about my ds’s nerf gun and lightsaber. He’s obviously gonna grow up to be a serial killer. Or a Jedi.

Wow! She's bonkers!

My dd now 17 used to love playing dr/nurse with hers in and out of the bath.

If it makes any difference we live in an area with MASSIVE drug issues and she has never tried nor wanted to try drugs. She doesn't even like smoking (which unfortunately a few of her friends do).

Sil is being ridiculous.,

But yea make sure he knows to never pick up 'toys that aren't his' without asking you first in park etc. It's easier to say that than try and get him to understand the difference between what to him is just an object but we know is something potentially dangerous. It's not just syringes but other paraphernalia too.

My DS (4) uses the Calpol syringes to eat yogurt as well! DD (18m) has started copying him, which had actually made the process of feeding her less messy! Plus, it takes longer to eat yogurt that way, so I can get a good 10 minutes' peace from a couple of petit filous.

Don’t see what the problem is as long as you teach him he can only play with “clean” ones you give him and not “dirty” ones he might see outside.

Will NOT increase the chance of him getting involved in drugs later! (Speaking as an addiction specialist!)

Actually I'm not sure I would, it blurs the line between medicine and toy. The former should be taken seriously, the latter is for pleasure obviously. At four he's too young to differentiate, so I'd buy a little water pistol instead. Not blurring the line between weapons and a toy then?

How funny. My DS had a toy Doctors's bag complete with toy syringe. He's 19 now and not injecting drugs.
He also had a large collection of Nerf guns and water pistols but he's not shot anyone for real. 😂