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.

Working in the care industry and having a fantastic mum I think I have encountered most illnesses so I feel quite confident. Its just a matter of time and patience. If I was in any real doubt a quick call to the surgery or I would be straight up the hospital

I think that having a great GP is essential. If that is in place then you can feel much more confident about the health of your kids, and the family in general. If the illness is something like cold or flu, untreatable by GPs, then good medication can make a big difference.

I'm lucky I have a medical background and know when an illness is serious enough to call a doctor, go to hospital and when it is something that will pass.

experience and knowledge of my own child - I just "know" when they are really poorly...

being a nurse I feel confident that I know what to do or if I am unsure how to get help!

I ask my mum, check nhs website and my gps always give same day appointments for sick children. Knowing my children... my dd often has a headache and hates bright lights when she's ill and often had rashes with viruses as a baby..very worrying but I know that's her now.
I would verymuch like to be ill on my own, can't remember the last time I didn't have a sick child to look after too!

Trust in my parents' advice and remedies

following my gut instinct - it hasn't failed me so far!

I am always worried when my child is ill. Having the support of my husband for a second opinion is great. If we are at all in doubt we always err on the side of safety and visit the doctor. I would rather be regarded as a pain down at the surgery than be sorry for not doing anything.

I gain confidence with the help of my own mother and draw from her experiences. At times I would have felt out of my depth without her.

Hot chocolate. If he is still whingy/ whiny/ floppy afterwards he is officially sick.

Doctors who don't patronise you when you have a baby would also be great. I had a little one who went to feed and pulled off screaming for months - and it was getting worse not better at 4 months. Then he stopped drinking anything on one of the hottest weeks of the year. I eventually had to get very assertive stroppy with staff at A and E who obviously thought I was attentions seeking. I insisted that a paediatrician watched me trying to feed him and his first comment was 'Well he obviously has acute silent reflux - that's a classic reaction. Just look at the way he is arching his back, he is in a lot of pain. But don't worry, we have some great medicine that will help.'

Which was great but by then I had been trying to get help for MONTHS. One GP had even sent the community psychiatric team out to assessment because I kept making appointments to ask about it. Why aren't mothers' observations taken more seriously?

Support and advice from other parents/friends always helps

I find the local chemist is always very helpful if I feel I need extra advice

It would help if NHS Direct was any use at all. Every time I have called, no matter what symptoms or how severe or otherwise, their advice has been identical: "You'd better take them to A&E just in case".

The doctor

Just going with my own instinct usually keeps me confident, no-one knows a child better than a parent, a doctor can give reassurance and medication but deep down only 'You' know when your little one needs that extra bit of care love and attention when not well and of course talking to other moms as they have been through what your going through at the moment

Having people tell me that I am doing things right and my child receiving support from the family doctor.

We always have plenty of Nurofen in the house, this always sorts out headaches, tummy ache, temperatures, or having a cold. We snuggle up and have lots of cuddles, it always works

It's hard to feel confident when your DC is under the weather. What I try to do though is to seek advice from different sources: friends, family, pharmacist and mumsnet. Sometimes it's just to get a bit of reassurance to know you're doing a good job.

not panicking when she is ill, children do pick up bugs from time to time but thanks to my parents and older siblings I do know the signs to look for when I think she does need to see a doctor

I think you just have to go with your instincts and take advice from a pharmacist, doctor or NHS direct if you are unsure.

I have a stock of all the basic medicines at home, so I feel prepared if either DD becomes ill. I try to avoid visiting the GP unless I think that either I don't know what the ailment is, or it's something I haven't encountered before. I think antibiotics should be avoided unless absolutely needed. I will use the 111 service or google symptoms if I need more info quickly, and I also speak to other parents to compare symptoms. That's also a good way of finding out if there is a particular 'bug' going round at school etc, and it's reassuring to know that other parents are going through the same thing (by comparing notes etc).

until recently I would be very confident but sadly my amazing GP retired & her job share GP moved on to a different field in medicine. Since the new GPs took over I've been very disappointed in the treatment they've given us, refusing to do house calls as they say they are reserved for the elderly

I have learnt to trust my instincts and this has made me more confident when it comes to dealing with illness. I seldom panic in normal life so this also helps to make informed decisions. I tend to make sure i always have the basics stored so that im prepared (cough medicine for the eldest, plasters, calprofen, thermometer etc). The Biggest advice is trust your own instincts.

What makes me more confident? well with small illnesses the Pharmacist seems to be more available than the doctors for advice, and I've always found the advice to be really sound - if like me you find getting a doctors appointment almost an impossibility then I would seriously recommend you get there (and unlike the doctors that you cant get an appoinment for, they are open late in the supermarket pharmacy and are always seem happy to help you). I am quite confident with our son when he is ill but that is due to experience of going through a few sticky moments where admittedly one of them had me in a panic - once we needed to use the emergency out of hours doctor who was absolutely fantastic (just a shame the service seems to be almost unavailable during the day) and after an overnight hospital visit and reassurance from the staff there it was easier to cope with. I think as mums we do feel judged on what we do and question ourselves on whether it was a right or wrong decision - but what you have to remember is that you always try to do your best for your children and never feel bad if there was something you should have done but you didn't know about it! We continue learning throughout our life and as long as you are doing your best then that is what matters. Children can seem well and just turn completely and get so ill very quickly and it can be a very frightening experience when you are a new mum or haven't gone through it before, but don't worry after a few years you will be whistling along as you put the rubber gloves on and clear up the mess....