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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 |
#2
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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 |
#3
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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 |
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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 |
#5
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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 |
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