To give toddler in my care calpol?

[GloopDeLoop]

Babysat today for a friend of mine. Her 1yo daughter was clingy, hot and generally not feeling too well. I tried to ring mum to ask if she has been unwell through the night but mum was at work so didn't answer. I gave her daughter calpol and text mum the time, so she had an idea of when to top up dosage if needed.

Speaking to NDN, general chit chat about the kids and I mentioned baby girl hadn't been well but made a comment about how calpol fixes everything and she was as back to herself within half an hour. Neighbour made a really stern face at me and said she would have kicked off if someone gave her child 'drugs without asking me'. WIBU? What would you have done? For context when my friend came to pick her daughter up she did ask why I'd sent her a message of the time and when I explained she said thank you, she would let me know how baby got on and left. Nothing in the conversation stood out to me that she might have been upset or angry about it. But now I'm not sure. Is it stepping over boundaries? Would people really leave a baby to feel ill or would they give medicine? Have I made a really stupid mistake I honestly thought it was the best thing to do given the situation.

You don't know about allergies - which parents should always tell you, but shit happens
you don't know if she had a dose recently

so yes, YABU
I would have waited for mum to get back to me.

It's fine. Leaving a child to feel ill is just terrible imo. You were very considerate to send a text to mark the time of the dose.

Doses marked on medicines like Calpol are often overly conservative anyway. Even if the child had a dose less than 4 hours earlier I doubt very much that the recommended dose one time early would do any damage.

I’d be more annoyed if a babysitter hadn’t given my dd calpol if I was unreachable for whatever reason.
You did the right thing!

I don’t give the care of my children to anyone unless I trust them implicitly to make the best decision for my children’s well-being in the immediate circumstances.

If you were looking after my child and decided to give my child Calpol, I would trust that they needed Calpol. Simple. Likewise if a child was in my care and I judged that they needed it, I would call the parent to provide an update but if I couldn’t get hold of them and I judged that they needed medicine, I wouldn’t hesitate to medicate.

Given Calpol shouldn't be given solely because a child has a high temperature I would be annoyed, yes.

Would only have dosed if I'd known shed been with me for 4 hours first. What if the mum gave her calpol, 3 hours later dosed her early knowing she was going to be babysat for a few hours, and then after an hour you gave her another dose? She could conceivably have had 3 doses in 4 hours.

It was a bit silly to send a text with the time without saying what it related to though. Would have been helpful in case child had had medication already of any type and or was allergic.

No I wouldn't.

She could have given her calpol two hours before and you just overdosed her.

Giogirl

Well surely her mum would have mentioned that...
It’s all a bit “BUT WHAT IF”.
You never know, her mum might have given her a dose of meth too

Yes absolutely her mum could have given her meth and spiked her wotsits with heroin needles.

But with a baby if you absolutely don't know what she's already had when shes clearly unwell and at greater risk of already having calpol it's really best to avoid or try hard to get hold of the Mum. Fair enough if she hurt a finger or became otherwise quickly unwell.

Its the parents responsibility to tell babysitters what to do if DC become unwell and to answer their phones.

Paracetamol is a very useful medicine but v dangerous in overdose, never try suicide with it it damages the liver and is a painful lingering death. People underestimate it. I think the mum should have told you if ok, or been available for emergency advice. Everything was ok and no harm done. Mum didn't seem upset, surely she would have told you?
Next time ask her views, if any allergies or meds taken in last day or so

I think you were on very shaky ground, due to the possibility of allergy or overdose. I would definitely not have done it without speaking to a parent first.

It depends. Calpol makes my DD violently sick so I wouldn't be impressed if someone gave her some without asking. Also did you know she hasn't already had medicine?
If you knew this information and knew the child was ok with Calpol then I think it's fine to make a judgement call. Otherwise I think you should've waited until you had spoken to one of the parents.

It wouldn’t have bothered me at all. I don’t understand people who won’t give calpol for a temperature, I had my first fever as an adult last year and I felt bloody awful so I took paracetamol. I think you did the right thing.

In a handover of my child I would have given all the information required.of you were looking after my children, youd know all allergies and risks.
I'd rather you gave my child paracetamol or ibuprofen rather than they are uncomfortable!

Don’t stress about it- your (sane) friend was fine 🌷if I trusted you to have DD, I’d trust your decision on calpol.

I’m really tight with giving my kids calpol for a number of reasons.

I’d be interested to know what they are and if you (and others if the same opinion) take pain killers yourselves?

Overdose 🙄there’s a big difference between over dosing and giving a dose early. If the little one had been given several doses before she was dropped off I’m sure her mum would have mentioned having been up all night. So the chances of her being anywhere near her 24 hour limit were virtually nil.

You never know, her mum might have given her a dose of meth too

what a stupid comment

that also highlight the ignorance of people towards paracetamol and think it's a harmless sweet.

I’m really tight with giving my kids calpol for a number of reasons.
I’d be interested to know what they are and if you (and others if the same opinion) take pain killers yourselves?

only when absolutely necessary.
I didn't take paracetamol when pregnant, apart from the 2 days I had high temperature that could have harmed the baby.

My GP strongly advised not to give paracetamol for the slightest bout of temperature!

It's unnecessary, it's not a sweet, and it's awful to start building resistance to medication from an early age.

I’ve been in this situation but I didn’t give medicine until I had checked with the parents - 2 separate children and occasions. I did give to one and not to the other. The one I did was because I knew she was ok with the medicine and also hadn’t had any within the last 4 hours. The second I couldn’t be sure and didn’t want to give too much. Now the parents let me know when I they drop them off if I can or can’t just in case.

ThatMuppetShow

Well that’s a bit assumption that I think paracetamol is a ‘harmless sweet’.
And my comment wasn’t stupid. It was making a point that why would you assume a child had been overdosed before it came into your care? You wouldn’t. It’s a daft assumption.

If I had left my child and they were fine and then been told that a professional carer had administered calpol without my consent I’d be annoyed. However, if it was a friend I’d be ok.

That’s bizarre. How does the status of the person administering it make a difference?

Hmmm, if it was a friends DC and I knew that they were ok with Calpol I’d likely give them some. I would expect them to have told me if they’d given some that morning.

But if I wasn’t sure of either then I wouldn’t.

I don’t like the whole “I don’t like giving my child medicine” thing. They are in pain and unwell, why wouldn’t you give them Calpol make them feel better? I once was like that - believing they can fight it off naturally - then my DS ended up in a&e and all he need was some ibuprofen to bring his temperature down.