To have put water in the syringe??

[rabbitheadlights]

Whining, moaning, Mardy 4yr DS has been going on for hours over the tiniest scratch on his foot. "It hurts" "it stings" "owwww" "I can't have a bath my foot hurts" .... Arghhhhh

DP then helpfully asks "do you want some medicine?"

I'm not giving medicine for a scratch so put water in a syringe and gave that.

DS none the wiser and he's stopped moaning!!

DP thinks I've conned DSant "that's tight!"

So YABU ...as DP says

Or YANBU ... there's a lot to be said for the placebo effect, DS has stopped moaning, no need for unnecessary medicine everyone's a winner!!

It is dp's fault for offering unnecessary medicine you were just undoing his mistake.

We used to use 'magic cream' sometimes - squeezed onto your finger to be rubbed in to the sore place without remiving the cap from the cream.

My kids are only given something if they have bits hanging off, benefits of having a mother who is a Paeds nurse (maybe). I just rub sore bits. I’d not do what you did not because it’s wrong just wouldn’t occur to me as he didn’t need it.

Haha to the person who thought you were injecting your son with water via a needle, v odd thought process. Even when we give IV meds it’s via a cannula - no needles after initial insertion. Many do think it’s a wee needle in your hand or arm however not a plastic straw - one child told me she didn’t want to bend her arm in case the needle came out the other side. She was very relieved once I explained. My 10 year old likes a plaster to cover any bump or scratch etc as if it won’t be sore anymore. I always forget to buy any. Youngest son had a fight with a stick recently and scratched his nose, cue big Dora plaster I found in a box from when he was tiny on nose, parenting is such fun

I've done similar but used yogurt so it had the same thicker consistency of calpol. I also stick plasters on any random bruise or scab that healed over days ago if it stops the whining.

Yanbu we did this so much when DC were small. Calpol is fricking addictive I'm sure

@SunshineCake

Your partner is an idiot and I suspect never has the child alone nor would know how to deal with a proper emergency.

Wow. That's a bit harsh.

The placebo effect can actually work.

So he had water to drink from a syringe?

Had did that fool him?

At first I thought that you'd squirted water aka pretend medecine over the scratch.

My dd complains of tummy ache when she can't sleep.
I put 5ml of gripe water in a syringe instead of giving calpol every other night.
But then I suppose gripe water might actually help tummy ache!

The placebo effect is great, you've made him feel better, done him no harm so I can't see a problem.

On my 3 year old grandson a kiss and rubbing it better seems to do the trick.

We used to use a leaf off a plant as they are "cowboy* plasters. They worked well.

A syringe of orange squash was a miracle cure when Ds was younger!

I read a thread almost identical to this a while ago. It happened that shortly afterwards my DD (then almost 3) got to whining about a sore finger. So I offered her the choice of chopping it off or a placebo. She asked what a placebo was and I explained it was tap water in the Calpol syringe.
She chose the placebo and apparently it helped. Even though she watched me fill it from the tap.
Still works to this day.

I actually studied the psychology of pain. Honest, genuine course at university.

The placebo effect is very strong. Up to 80% of the effect of opiates is placebo effect. The more drama, the more effect. White coats, holding the medicine in gloves or tongs, colour of medicine all have an effect.

Rubbing it better actually works because pain and touch both have to travel on the same pathways. If you 'block' the highway with touch sensations, the pain can't travel as efficiently in the same way. You can rub or even lightly tap or slap (not hard obviously).

Sugar is a painkiller. Or at least there was enough research to make DD believe this. It's a fairly small effect but it works.

Germolene is 'magic cream' in our house. If it hurts going on I have convinced DD that counting to ten works to reduce this (which I suppose it does in that by the time ten comes, it doesn't hurt as much).

However, DD is a very stoic child. No idea what I'd do with one of the sensitive ones.

She chose the placebo and apparently it helped. Even though she watched me fill it from the tap.

That's science too. Placebos work even when people KNOW they are placebos. Now that's weird.

I have twins, when they were little if one had medicine the other felt left out. So one had the proper medicine and the other had a spoonful of orange juice. Worked every time.

Placebos work on tiny babies and on animals. Neither of them know it's not active drug, but they still appear to improve.

Now that is weird.

@mouse70

Did I read correctly.You stuck a needle on a syringe of water in a child to pretend it was medicine. Great parenting I do not think!!!!

Most kids' medicine comes with a syringe to give it orally. The OP didn't inject their kid with water. 🙄🙄🙄

@2bazookas

Also you need some special magic cream. A fingertip dab of Magic cream on the forehead , chest, knee, palm, cures anything from insomnia to cramp, scary dreams, football injuries and screaming abdabs. My magic cream lives in various secret locations around the house and smells quite like Nivea.

I used to use arnica cream as magic cream - it worked a treat. The boys are now 23, 25 and 27, so I don’t know if it would still work - I am tempted to get a tube, and hope that one of them gets a minor injury over Christmas - is that really evil of me?

My grandpa used to cure my ailments with a teaspoonful of sugar but it had to be measured very exactly (completely level with the top of the teaspoon) and I had to help check it was exact before taking it because my eyeight was so good.

Tell DH you gave the DC homeopathic medicine. People pay for it and all.

I always gave my son a glass of water when he felt unwell and told him water WAS medicine. It worked until he was around 7.

*I did give medication when needed, but for any usual groans I'd first try the water trick

My 7 year old has rumination syndrome. There is no medication that helps but we felt awful not doing anything so with his consultant's agreement we now give him a children's multivitamin tablet every day and tell him it's medicine to help his rumination syndrome. It seems to work for him.

Same idea, but I used to use small peppermint sweets as medicine when my kids were whiney. Worked a treat. Well done. Everybody is happy leave it at that.