The one thing to keep in mind when it comes to giving your baby or toddler medicine is that they are more sensitive to medications than adults are. With this in mind you need to realize that it is very easy to accidentally overdose a baby or toddler. If given the wrong dose of medication or given medication at the wrong time this can become harmful for your baby or it can make the medicine ineffective.

Here are some tips that you can follow to make sure that you are giving your baby and toddler medicine in the correct manner.

Tip one:
Always talk to your doctor or pharmacist about the medication that you will be giving your baby, whether it is prescription medication or over the counter medication. With prescription medication, you want to find out what the medication is for, how long the prescription should last, if there are side effects, and how soon the medication should start taking effect. Some other questions you will want to ask your doctor or pharmacist are:

• Will it interact with other medications that your baby is taking?
• What should you do if you miss giving your baby a dose?
• Do you need to store the medication in the refrigerator? Should the medication be kept out of the light or heat?
• Can you mix the medication with food? Are there any foods that your baby should avoid while taking the medication?
• Can the medication be taken with food or should it be taken on an empty stomach? Should certain foods be taken with the medication to ensure that it is absorbed effectively?
• Are there any other precautions that you need to take while your baby is on the medication, such as avoiding exposure to sunlight?

If you are giving your baby over the counter medications or are planning to give them over the counter medications, you need to find out if the medication is considered safe for your baby or toddler. The best source for this is your baby's doctor or your pharmacist. You can also look on the back of the package to see if it is recommended for babies, toddlers, chances are if there is not a dose listed for your baby, or toddler it is not safe for your child to take. Even with over the counter medications you are going to want to find out what the possible side effects are and how this medication can interact with other medications that your baby or toddler is taking. Make sure that you understand the dosage and how and when to give any medication to your baby before you head home.

Tip two:
Seventy percent of parents have trouble figuring out how much medicine they should be giving to their baby or toddler. According to researchers at Emory University's School of Medicine, only 30% of caregivers can accurately identify and measure the right amount of medicine for their child. The best thing that you can do to make sure that your child is getting the correct amount of medicine is to always read the label carefully, and the follow the directions on the label to the letter. If you have, any questions or you do not understand the instructions you can call your baby's doctor or ask your local pharmacist. Here are some other things to keep in mind to make sure that your child gets the right amount of medication:

• Look at the numbers in the directions very carefully. This will prevent you from misreading the numbers when you are in a hurry. When reading the directions and measuring the medication do it in good light so you can see clearly.
• Some over the counter medications are concentrated, such as infant acetaminophen. Look to see if the medication you are giving your child is concentrated; if it is, do not give them their usual dose. Read the directions to give the correct dose of the concentrated form.
• Know how much your child weighs, some medications are based on weight, while others are based on weight and age. Keep a piece of paper hung up in your medicine cabinet that has your child's most recent weight on it.
• If the instructions say to shake the medication before giving it to your child, make sure you shake it. This ensures that the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the medication, which means your child will not get too much or too little.
• With babies and toddlers, it is very rare for them to be given a medication that requires a full tablespoon, so think in terms of teaspoons. Just pay careful attention to the teaspoons and tablespoon measurements to ensure that you do not confuse them, when your child gets older. T or Tbsp. means tablespoon and t or tsp. means teaspoon.
• Never give your baby more medicine than what is recommended on the label, no matter how sick they are. More medicine is never a good idea because the amount of medication that your baby is receiving is based on the level that is safe for your child, not the severity of their illness.
• Do not estimate the amount of medication that your baby is receiving. If you do not have a dropper or syringe that has the correct measuring marks, use a measuring spoon for the time being. However, make sure that you go and get a properly calibrated syringe or dropper for the next time. Keep in mind that 1 milliliter (m) equals 1 cc and 1 teaspoon equals 5 cc.
• If you notice any unusual side effects, you need to call your doctor right away. You should also call them if you gave your baby a little too much medicine to be sure that it will not affect your baby.

Tip three:
Using the right measuring device is an important tool in making sure that your child is only getting as much medicine as they need. This means that rather than using kitchen spoons because they vary in size, you will need to use a dosage spoon, medicine dropper, dosage cup, or an oral syringe. All of these tools are designed to help you measure and give the correct dosage of medicine to your child.

With babies, syringes work better than spoons because you can put the syringe directly into your baby's mouth and push the medicine in. This ensures that you are getting all of the medicine into their mouth and down their throat. If your baby tries to spit the medicine out when you use a dropper, you can use your finger to pull their cheek open and placing the medicine into their cheek pocket. Leave your finger inside their cheek until they have swallowed, this ensures that the medicine went down instead of back out.

Tip four:
Find out how often your baby should be taking the medication and give them the correct amount on schedule. Some medications require you to give it to your baby a certain number of times each day, this does not mean that you need to wake your child up to give them the medicine, you simply give it to them the correct number of times while they are awake. Other medicines require you to give your child a dose every so many hours, if this is the case you will need to find out if you have to wake your child up to receive their medicine or if it is only when they are awake.

Tip five:
If your baby is not getting any better and you have been giving them medicine for a long time, double-check the directions. If you did, everything right and your baby are still not getting any better goes back and talks to your doctor. The reason for this is that continuing beyond the recommended time is not going to do your baby any good; chances are they need a different medication. If your baby is receiving, antibiotics make sure you finish the full course, which is usually until the antibiotics are gone, such as 7 or 10 days, even if your baby seems to be fully recovered. The reason for this is that if you do not finish the antibiotic treatment there is no way to tell for sure that the bacterial infection is gone.

Tip six:
Store all medications safely. Some medicines need to be kept in the refrigerator all of the time, while others can sit out for a few minutes. Always ask the pharmacist about the proper storage recommendations for medications that your child is taking. All medications should be kept in their original packaging, including over the counter medications. The only exception is if the complete instructions and ingredients are right there on the bottle.

To ensure that your child does not accidentally overdose on medicine make sure that you keep all of the medication out of your child's reach. The best spot is in a cupboard that is up high, you should also place a childproof lock on the cupboard to prevent your child from getting into the cupboard.