What makes you feel confident as a parent when your DC is feeling under the weather? Tell Nurofen for Children for a chance to win a £250 Love2Shop voucher! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Nurofen for Children have asked us to find out whether Mumsnetters feel confident in making decisions on their DC’s health. We’d also love to know what would make you feel more confident in these kinds of decisions.

Here’s what Nurofen for Children says, “Our research shows that 7 in 10 parents feel judged on the decisions they make for their children and a quarter of those surveyed said the health of their child is the most difficult subject to make decisions on. As parents, you want health advice you can trust. Nurofen for Children is trusted by parents - 9/10 parents who used it would recommend it to a friend*. If your child is struck down with cold, pain or fever, Nurofen for Children offers products to help manage their symptoms. It starts to work in just 15 minutes to bring down a temperature and is clinically proven to last longer than paracetemol to relieve a fever.”

So, what makes you feel confident in making health-related decisions? Would you like more support and if so, from who? Would you like more practical advice on treating your child’s symptoms? Would you like more resources available from your pharmacist? Or is it emotional support that would help your confidence? Would you appreciate more help from your partner or more advice from your friends? Whatever it is, we’d love to hear it.

Everyone who leaves their comments below will be entered into a prize draw to win a £250 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Terms and conditions
• To enter the competition simply post a comment below telling us what makes you feel better when you’re down with a winter bug
• Competition closes on 22nd December 2014.
• Entries posted after the closing date will not be considered
• One winner will be chosen from all entries
• Entrants must be aged 18 or over
• Competition hosted by Mumsnet, Deane House Studios (Studio 6), Greenwood Place, Highgate Road, London, NW5 1LB
• Mumsnet will choose the winner at random after the closing date
• Mumsnet will contact the winner privately to organise delivery of the prize
• The prize is £250 Love2Shop vouchers
• Full T&Cs can be found here.

*Survey of Survey of 2,000 parents by OnePoll. March 2014

**Survey by Mum's Views of 225 mums ‘9 out of 10 mums who used NfC would recommend it to a friend’. Last accessed August 2013

EI: Nurofen for Children Cold Pain & Fever 3 months to 9 years Orange / Strawberry. Nurofen for Children Orange / Strawberry 3 months to 12 years. Contains Ibuprofen. For relief of cold, pain and fever. Always read the label.

One of my DC has a significant health need so I'm quite confident in this department! The main thing I do is trust my instinct!

It'd be good to be able to get a GP appointment when needed as this can be stressful.

As for support/advice, it'd be good to be able to speak to a paediatric nurse. I find at the nhs walk in centre they either can't be bothered (I'm telling them what's wrong) or they err on the side of caution & send us straight to the hospital!

My pharmacist does offer quite a lot of services but I've never used them as I feel they're not qualified as a GP/nurse (rightly or wrongly so!)

Emotional support would be good! The health visitor used to do this by just ringing & checking everything was ok but now they are older I suppose I get this from my own mum or dh!

Definitely gut instinct, when I was a new mum I relied heavily on my mum's judgement.

Maternal instinct! Also the pharmacist. I have more faith in them than the GP to be honest.

I have more confidence in Mumsnet than I do in 111. For example, once I called 111 looking for advice for myself, as a diabetic with low blood sugar levels. They immediately panicked, called an ambulance and told me not to eat anything...! When the paramedics arrived, they raced up the stairs with a tonne of resus equipment, to find me sitting on my bed eating a jam sandwich. Another time I called 111, because I was pregnant and had food poisoning. Their advice was to have a hot water bottle on my tummy, and to try and sip water... that would have been fine if I hadn't been dehydrated for 3 days already... In the the end I went against their advice and got a lift to A&E, if I hadn't done that I would be dead.

In contrast, Mumsnet has been great. People have suggested things, and made me feel more confident about my skills as a mother. I now have more self assurance in regards to using my own knowledge of when my children are ill, and also to treating them with the correct level of skill.

I'm pretty confident, but the NHS website and our fabulous pharmacist are great ports of call. And MN of course

When the kids are sick, I find that my usual confidence suffers. I read and reread the nurofen and paracetamol bottles just to check the dosages. Although I follow the instructions I find that I have to run things past dh or my mum.

I would love to rely on pharmacists more but when they hear that the child is under two they are more inclined to simply say "If you are worried take her to the doctor".

I feel more confident once we've got the digital thermometre out and checked temperature. That gives us a good idea if there is something really wrong and we can start giving the nurofen if temp is high.

I think having a good GP that you can phone for advice is also good because they never make us feel silly when you contact them about a child. They take it seriously and try to fit you in for an appointment if necessary.

Giving the meds is a lot easier with the nurofen for kids syringe - so that really helps me feel confident that they have had an accurate dose of medicine.

I'm lucky to live in a village with a fabulous health centre. The receptionists, doctors and nurses are all kind, helpful and, most importantly, they listen. DD had some health problems early on (fine now) and they gave me so much confidence in my own opinion. "Mum knows when there's something wrong."
We also have a good village pharmacy, and I've used the out of hours phone service a few times.
DH is also supportive and we usually come to a conclusion together.
Reading the internet is often best avoided as the usual web diagnosis is imminent death!

Only you know your own child, I hope I have good judgment and generally do checks for major signs, rash, high temp, vision etc, then let them sleep it off and keep fluids up.

I use an in ear thermometer and the combo of neurofen and cal pol. I also have a child health book that I use

I think I haven't got or gained confidence with child illnesses, but with dd2 now 9mo, I have gained experience. I'm a HCP and have worked with sick kids in the past, and part of my brain does leap to the worst case scenario, especially wrt high temperatures, rashes etc. I have a "wait 10mins" rule, which gives me time to take a step back and look at the big picture, and more often than not 10mins and a dose of paracetamol will calm things down a bit.

I've no qualms about seeking help from GP or OOH. That's what they are there for, and children can get very sick very quickly.

I have 4 children so don't get too stressed with common ailments, I've usually been through it before and remember the advice I was given. Of course there are the occasions where I phone for advice, our GP surgery is fantastic and will speak to you straight away or see your child on the same day. The NHS out of hours service isn't always great, it really depends on the call handler you speak to.

I feel confident dealing with the usual childhood illnesses but our local GPs are wonderful when I don't. They never make me feel silly, the phone triage is great and when they need to they give a very long and thorough consultation.

I feel I have the confidence to treat most minor illnesses and injuries and if it's something I'm not sure about then I would ask on social media, the local pharmacist or visit my gp depending on the severity of the problem. Nurofen is one of the first things I turn to if they have temperatures, colds etc. because I know it works so quickly.

I think that as a child gets older in some ways it becomes easier but on the other hand its harder despite they can tell you whats wrong and you can give them nurofen you still wonder if its just a cold or flu. When mine were very little i had lots of advice thrown at me about every illness a little one could have and get..its scary as soon as a little one has a sniffle your wondering if its everything in the book. When they are older its very hard to find the right answer without having to go to a doctor my DH had swine flu years ago and finding the right answer was hard work without the internet. Even now i worry about my DD she suffers from lots of bugs through the year and even going to emergency doctors they told her the wrong thing it was only when she got back to her own doctor they prescribed the right medication but its harrowing watching your child in pain and not being able to help. If there was a simple resource that you could put in symptoms rather than go through trying to point on a body and even that doesnt get it right.
I think as a mum i am quite confident now to know whats wrong and what to take but just sometimes i would like the extra advice when i ask for it without having to wait days for an appointment or queue in the out of hours centre.

I agree with most of the above, particularly having confidence as a mum, which comes with experience. I also feel strongly about instinct, and learning to trust your self as mummy, you know when the DC's are just not right. However, I wish there was more comfort type medicine, like a type of lemsip for kids would be nice, perhaps with calming herbs and a mild decongestant...

I always check symptoms with gp or nhs direct, which we still have I wales, but I feel confident doing thus because I know my workplace is flexible and understanding.

I find reading information from NHS choices helps.

Talking to my mother who has medical training but also trusting my instincts and knowledge of my children - I know if they're not right, if they're hotter than normal, if they're not behaving like they normally do. Having the same GP for my children that I had growing up - a rarity now but I feel he knows my children well.

Think it's experience that helps the most, however a bit of experienced advise from a seasoned mum is always welcome.

Nurofen for children has helped my children no end over the years.

I did an infant and child first aid course at my local children's Centre, it was excellent and definitely helped me feel more confident when my son is I'll.

I usually ask my mum for advice first, as she is a nurse. Otherwise, I like to speak to a GP over the phone at the surgery rather than go in, to avoid exposure to more germs and long wait times.
More help from pharmacists would be a good thing.

I'm usually stocked up with Calpol & Nurofen for the kids, especially at this time of year. I find the kids eating a lot less than normal used to be stressful - but when I eased up on that, it'd be much easier dealing with bouts of illness. All they really want is to be picked up, cuddled and commiserated with!

I recall my son had a really high temperature a while back when my hubby was abroad for work and Calpol alone wasn't helping to bring it down, so I rang the local pharmacy - was told he could have Nurofen after an hour - gave him a dose of both as instructed and did the trick.

I am not confident when my child is unwell. I've learnt, through trial and error and many doctor trips, to understand when he's really unwell and when he's got a straightforward cough or cold. But you still question yourself all the time, and you never quite know whether it's a chesty cough, whether it needs antibiotics, whether their temp is high enough that they need to be seen etc. Or I don't anyway. NHS24 is great but I feel bad calling them to ask advice about the more minor ailments that he has, and it's often hard making the decision whether to stay off work and take him to the doctor, or to go to work and leave him at nursery.

I don't know what would help - I guess access to medical advice without feeling that you're wasting someone's time or putting an already groaning system under more pressure would be handy. Either that or some basic medical training for all new parents.

The friendly pharmacist and a biiiiig box of tissues!