Calpol!

[Poliosmolio123]

Why does everyone always jump to using Calpol straight away and it's always the first bit of advice they give?

Baby sad, ah must give them calpol
Baby teething Calpol!
Baby has a temperature raised by 0.2 of a degree, oh they need calpol
Baby not sleeping - give them Calpol!

Like, is it only me who just doesn't like the stuff or want to medicate my child willy nilly?

Its the first thing any of my family members do or say and it makes me feel like a shitty parent for not wanting to give it to them! Obviously I would if I was advised by a HC professional.

Is this totally unreasonable?

YABU - I use Calpol all the time
YANBU - I don't use it all the time

Don't get me started about anbesol.

Have you heard of paragraphs? Each paragraph addresses a new topic, not necessarily related to the one above it.

Not overly. I'm just pointing out that your judgment about why people give Calpol isn't necessarily correct. And that it's not fair on small kids to leave them miserable.

Whether the latter sentence applies to you, only you know. You say it doesn't, so yay!

@NoWordForFluffy well, since you have @ previously I assumed you would do that, if it wasn't addressed to the previous person and your comments were still, directed to myself? Anyway. I'm over this now. Seems the be quite a torn subject at 50/50.

Hi OP

I think you are right that some people overuse calpol, I recall a primary school teacher telling me how shocked they were that numerous children from a class were sent in with calpol from parents on a residential trip to “help them sleep”.

I must admit that I would indeed feel that this was not great parenting!

Personally, I have been lucky that my own children have only been ill a handful of times and I have generally had to throw it out due to expiry. Now my older daughter is a teenager, I am perfectly comfortable providing her with paracetemol for period pain, it’s not as if I am trying to not use it.

@NoWordForFluffy and I've stated multiple times my judgement is for people I know and have seen first hand. So, you wouldn't know that either, would you? I'm not leaving any small child miserable. I can't even think about leaving my daughter to cry, I'm not that parent. Given Calpol for a child who is obviously sick or obviously teething is different than doing it to shut them up.

As a last resort I will take painkillers or anti inflammatories but not before trying to address the cause of the issue first. If I have a headache my first thought is “ah I haven’t been wearing my glasses, have I had enough to drink today, do I need some caffeine if I haven’t had my morning coffee, is my ponytail too tight?” Then if I conclude that none of the above apply and the headache can’t be fixed by removing or adding something non medicinal, I might take medication.

You do realise that caffeine is a drug?

It was a general comment. Not for @ ing to anyone. That's the point. If it was meant for somebody specific, I would have done the @.

As I said: paragraphs.

@cuckooplusone that's crazy isn't it! So many people here claim that no one uses that as a statement and how could anyone ever think that but, it really is what a lot of people think, there really must be something behind it imo! I personally think its overly used in these situations, obviously if a child is poorly, obviously teething etc that's totally different and/or tried everything it may be but I've seen so many people just give it without trying anything or without any symptoms.

Of course you give Calpol if a baby or child is in pain or has a high temperature, why wouldn’t you. Why would you want your baby to feel pain.
My son had paracetamol suppositories almost daily for a couple of months until he had his tonsils and adenoids out. Consultant advice, we were in hospital every other week with chronic infection and needing fluids, he was in such pain he used to spit out saliva rather than swallow it.

Why does it matter what other parents are doing OP? If they think they’re doing the best for their child then that’s up to them. If you don’t want to give Calpol then don’t. I take paracetamol if I’m feeling poorly so I’ll happily give it to my child if I know it will make them feel better.

Maybe some people mix Calpol up with the one you could buy in the past, which is now banned? It was paracetamol / antihistamine mix which apparently did knock them out? I think someone referred to it above (Medised?).

My kids aren't old enough to have ever had that, so I've no idea what it was like.

@NoWordForFluffy Well, I do apologise then for getting so irate to you, but, i genuinely thought it was towards me and I don't take lightly to being told I am trying to ignore my child and her symptoms by not giving her medication when I don't feel it's necessary

@Llamazoom and @amymel2016 again, totally missing the point here. Different to giving a child who is poorly relief than to giving it to a child to shut them up or try send them to sleep.

If Calpol did shut kids up I'd give it to mine daily! (Joke!)

The thing is, @Poliosmolio123, you say your judgment is for people you know. But your OP starts like this:

'Why does everyone always jump to using Calpol straight away and it's always the first bit of advice they give?'

That's a very wide-teaching term you used in 'everyone'.

You then set yourself up as the only parent who wasn't flinging Calpol down your child's throat in reckless fashion:

'Like, is it only me who just doesn't like the stuff or want to medicate my child willy nilly?'

So you were accusing / judging the wider parenting populace as a whole initially. But you're now saying it's a very specific judgment against - what - a handful of people? Which is it? Is every parent medicating for no reason, other than you, or not?

@Poliosmolio123 sorry, I haven’t read all the thread. Yeah, totally agree with you there, Calpol is a pain killer not a sedative, I imagine the sugary sweetness could be a comfort to a crying but otherwise well baby.

@NoWordForFluffy I admittedly wrote this in a fury. Which didn't help, obviously. But, i assumed (wrongfully) that the post would have a general idea of that it was the people I'd seen around me who I've gotten this jist of, hence why coming here and asking otherwise surely I'd of had my opinion and ran with it at home? Yes I used the word 'everyone' maybe I should of added the word 'everyone I know' at the end but I did give examples. Maybe i should of sat and reread my post properly before pressing send but after being told for the tenth time in 5 days to give my child Calpol when she absolutely in my eyes doesn't need it, I wasn't overly happy so maybe I was unreasonable and clearly I am as I've upset a lot of people on here.

That was a genuine question though, I meant it more of the fact, when and why do you give Calpol, surely for a genuine reason and not just to shut them up or get them to sleep.

Next time, I'll read my post more thoroughly and ensure my wording is correct.

I do apologise.

To be fair an extraordinary amount of people have suggested to me that I give my non-sleeping 3 year old a dose of piritin.

I’d never do that.

While I am sure there are parents who use it in some of the ways the OP has described. I seem to come across many who will not use it without first consulting a medical practitioner. In my experience lots of parents need reassurance about using it. Now this observation is likely to be influenced by the fact that someone who is using it for things other than pain, temp etc is unlikely to mention that to a medical practitioner but a worried parent with an infant with a mild virus will present to a doctor/nurse. However, among my friends with children I have come across those who are very nervous about giving it. So while there are those out there that may give it thinking it will help a baby sleep- I’m not sure that there are many of them tbh.

@Bluebellpainting It's nice to hear from another side and that not everyone has the same experience as myself. It's a hard one really, it's stuck in a world of, do we or don't we, either way, it's seemily judged (and I can't speak for judgement!) in the times I've used it, i have consulted a doctor first but, only because she didn't have a temperature and she had other symptoms i.e an ear infection, red, pulling at her ears and he said to give it, so I did!

If I genuinely thought my child might be in pain and nothing else was working, I would give them paracetamol. But, it's not good even for adults to take it regularly, so in general I will try and see whether a glass of water and a nap will resolve it before reaching for drugs. My mum has worked in a pharmacy since I was a kid and she's very much against taking unnecessary medication.

I only use it if my babies have a temperature. I think I've only given it once in a whole year for my 3 year olds immunisation. If they tell me they're in pain, I would use it yes. I have a small baby who can't tell me, she's had it twice for her 2 sets of vaccinations and that's it.

I give my baby it before bed when shes teething i would much rather give her some so she has a good night sleep than let her suffer. If i have toothache it always worse at night. Toddler rarely gets it only when unwell.

For all those saying that Calpol doesn’t make children drowsy- on the odd occasion I have given my baby Calpol it has definitely sent her off to sleep. Maybe it has different effects on diff babies?

No, it’s doesn’t. It’s a painkiller. Can you sleep if you’re in pain?

Maybe i should of sat and reread my post properly before pressing send but after being told for the tenth time in 5 days to give my child Calpol when she absolutely in my eyes doesn't need it, I wasn't overly happy so maybe I was unreasonable and clearly I am as I've upset a lot of people on here.

Do they usually tell you to use Calpol that often? Every family is different, but if my loved ones were telling me twice a day for the guts of a week that DD seemed unwell or in pain I'd be listening tbh.