handling own medicine--what age?
 

At what age can kids be responsible for taking things like tylenol or
allergy medicines on their own as needed? My son is turning 15 and
occassionally gets a headache and suffers from some mild seasonal
allergies. Until now I've kept all the medicines in my room and he has
to ask for pills. I'm thinking he is old enough to have tylenol and
OTC allergy medicines in his own bathroom to take when he wants. Any
experiences to share? I'm not really worried about him ODing on
tylenol, but wonder if there are some issues that maybe make this a bad
idea that I hadn't thought of. Or have I been way overprotective for
years!

Chris

handling own medicine--what age?
 

"Chris" wrote in message
oups.com...
At what age can kids be responsible for taking things like tylenol or
allergy medicines on their own as needed? My son is turning 15 and
occassionally gets a headache and suffers from some mild seasonal
allergies. Until now I've kept all the medicines in my room and he has
to ask for pills. I'm thinking he is old enough to have tylenol and
OTC allergy medicines in his own bathroom to take when he wants. Any
experiences to share? I'm not really worried about him ODing on
tylenol, but wonder if there are some issues that maybe make this a bad
idea that I hadn't thought of. Or have I been way overprotective for
years!

It depends on the maturity of the kid. Who will your kid go to for meds when
he is in college in two or three years?

I think letting him have access to Tylenol and OTC allergy meds is
reasonable.

And make sure he has access to condoms, as well. That is something he is not
going to ask you for.

Jeff

Chris

handling own medicine--what age?
 

On Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:34:43 EDT, "Chris" wrote:

At what age can kids be responsible for taking things like tylenol or
allergy medicines on their own as needed? My son is turning 15 and
occassionally gets a headache and suffers from some mild seasonal
allergies. Until now I've kept all the medicines in my room and he has
to ask for pills. I'm thinking he is old enough to have tylenol and
OTC allergy medicines in his own bathroom to take when he wants. Any
experiences to share? I'm not really worried about him ODing on
tylenol, but wonder if there are some issues that maybe make this a bad
idea that I hadn't thought of. Or have I been way overprotective for
years!

One way to ease into this is to leave the medicines he needs for him
to get himself, but ask him to let you know when he's taken one. This
was the route we went with our kids,(starting at that age or a year or
two younger, I can't remember) and it worked fine. This meant that
there was still an easy opportunity for the parental-caretaking-
sympathy conversations which the teenagers appreciated but maybe
didn't want to ask for.

In working with teenagers at a camp, I've noticed that it seems to be
quite common among teenagers to be reluctant to take medicine for
headaches, menstrual cramps, or other common ailments. It sometimes
seems to be a point of pride or way of distinguishing themselves. As
a camp director, I've sometimes found this frustrating, because it
strikes me as making a choice to be rude or unproductive.

The one possible issue is that your son may find himself in some
environments where rules prevent him from carrying or taking medicine.
So that he will need to learn that although you consider it
appropriate for him to carry ibuprofen and a penknife, he needs to
remember not to carry either at school. In particular, schools tend
to frown on students passing on over-the-counter medicine to other
students.

Louise

handling own medicine--what age?
 

On Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:34:43 EDT, "Chris" wrote:

At what age can kids be responsible for taking things like tylenol or
allergy medicines on their own as needed? My son is turning 15 and
occassionally gets a headache and suffers from some mild seasonal
allergies. Until now I've kept all the medicines in my room and he has
to ask for pills. I'm thinking he is old enough to have tylenol and
OTC allergy medicines in his own bathroom to take when he wants. Any
experiences to share? I'm not really worried about him ODing on
tylenol, but wonder if there are some issues that maybe make this a bad
idea that I hadn't thought of. Or have I been way overprotective for
years!

I think he's old enough to get his own OTC medications. However, it
is important that you discuss the risks with him. Specifically, many
people think that if 2 Tylenol is good, 4 must work twice as well. But
Tylenol is very hard on the liver. The extra does not make the
headache heal any faster or better, it just messes up your liver.
Teenagers are especially likely to think that taking more than
prescribed won't hurt and may help. So make sure he knows why it is
so important not to use them in any way other than as directed on the
bottle.


--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

handling own medicine--what age?
 

Louise wrote:
On Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:34:43 EDT, "Chris" wrote:

At what age can kids be responsible for taking things like tylenol or
allergy medicines on their own as needed?

One way to ease into this is to leave the medicines he needs for him
to get himself, but ask him to let you know when he's taken one.

Yeah, this is sort of what we've been doing the last year or so (before
that I can't remember him ever needing medicine since he was pretty
young).

In working with teenagers at a camp, I've noticed that it seems to be
quite common among teenagers to be reluctant to take medicine for
headaches, menstrual cramps, or other common ailments.

My husband is like this. He'll have a pounding headache and refuse to
take any medicine, I guess he thinks it is "manly" or something. We
are definitely not a pill popping family, but it seems silly to me not
to use the medicines that are available.

I have tried to impress upon him the need to take medicines as directed
and we have discussed the whole schools and pills issue, but those are
important points to emphasize over and over again!

Chris