Pizzagirl–just make sure it’s not a permanent sleep.
And again, not a debate. Just my PSA-- It is very easy to get way too much acetaminophen from taking cold combo meds and people don’t realize it. Yes, they are over the counter, easily available and deemed safe but that doesn’t mean the drugs don’t have very serious effects especially in combination. And Tylenol (acetaminophen) which is in a huge number of pain/cold meds can cause irreversible liver damage when taken in higher doses. It is not easy to recover if you over dose on it.
So back to “what I’ve taught my kid”! I taught them this very thing.
One pretty key thing I guess we should stress, in all seriousness – ask to consult with the pharmacist if you have any questions about which OTC drug products to buy, and whether they might interact badly. I just did this yesterday, and they’re always such a help.
Agree–pharmacists are trained to help and WILL read the labels and advise you when you feel awful and just want relief. They are no extra charge and they WANT to help! [-O<
Our kids all seem to learn what they need to–sometimes via YouTube videos or other means, but they figure it out. It is interesting sometimes to know the tools they use and hey, they teach us!
Back to topic–I wasn’t taught a bunch of stuff but have happily muddled through on my own.
As to make-up application–google is great My mom couldn’t have possibly been as informative as the videos on youtube.
To have so much information at your beck and call is amazing. I’ve fixed my car, my air conditioner, my toilet by searching google. Pretty sure my kids will do the same.
My school years were spent in a library learning to research how to find information. Now you google with more time to actually learn information and delve deeper.
OTOH I have a greater respect (and ability I think) for how to find information and get it than my kids do.
I gave this some thought in the months before my D1 left. She learned to pump gas; check her oil; and make a doctor/dentist appointment, go to it on her own, and figure out her copay. We went through OTC meds; what not to mix, when generic is ok and how to tell if it’s equivalent to name brand. The generic vs. name brand lesson was extended to a lot of products – Dawn has many uses, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is great, with sensitive skin it’s best not to experiment with detergents and soaps, but many other things are fine in generic form, etc. I’m not sure she can sew on a button, but she has the sewing kit if she can con her roommate into it.
Oh yeah – I also emphasized to always check the care tag on a new piece of clothing BEFORE throwing it into the laundry. On a side note, she was amazed recently to find that some clothing has tags in places other than the neckline…
Oh yes, D found out the magic of “color catchers,” which allow her to mix colors and whites and have them keep their colors instead of bleeding all over one another. She hates doing laundry and loves this way of minimizing loads. I will have to re-emphasize reading labels on OTCs more carefully. D does take more pain-relievers than I’d like.
OP here, the pain reliever discussion brings to mind a situation with a different child than the one I first posted about.
I knew D was struggling with headaches a lot but didn’t realize that she was taking ibuprofen every single day, usually more than once. She was never exceeding the recommendations but still, that is way way too much.
Coming down off of an ibuprofen dependency was very, very unpleasant. We are all way more careful about OTC pain killers in our household now.
A girl who ran cross country on another team against my daughter died suddenly in their senior year of high school. After much testing, it turned out that after much overuse, the chemicals in Icy Hot and Bengay creams had built up to overdose levels in her blood. My kids do know that, but no one really knew before that.
Yes, OTC meds are NOT nearly as safe as many presume. It definitely CAN and DOES build up, and often several different meds have overlapping ingredients, unknowingingly adding to doses folks are taking. I try to minimize my intake of all Rx. I know that Zyrtec and other antihistimines are VERY tough to get off as well.
A friend’s kid did serious damage to his immune system and bone marrow with taking pretty massive amounts of extra strength tylenol - kept taking two w/o seeing the max dosaging (and he is a slight guy). Ended up in ER/ICU. Many think OTC means it is totally safe.
Wow about the icy hot, muscle cream, etc.
Even with some adults it is communication issue. Finally got H on the page to take 81 mg ASA/day - I thought he was still regularly taking ASA. And yes, he also was one to have to wean himself down from tylenol/Extra Strength Excedrin/Ibuprofen. As a RN, I couldn’t tell H anything (H is engineer).
Some kids do look around and ask questions on things they don’t know.
Yes, snail mail, postage etc was something they needed to be educated about (I guess they never paid much attention to their mailed birthday cards as to how address and how postage was applied).
Just saw where a boy at DD’s college was hit by a car, compound fracture to be repaired in surgery. YIKES! The car driver doesn’t always look/see you!
Yes,our D is very petite and very cavillier about OTC Rx. We try to talk with her, with limited success. She has frequent pain. We have purchased her some massagers, that we hope she can use to supplement and replace some Rx. We will continue.
Cute story from a friend, whose daughter posted “I know I’m 20 and in college and should be grown up, but going to urgent care without your Mom is scary”…
I need to teach my kid how to open various food packaging. Things like the bags inside cereal boxes, chip bags, etc. it always looks like a chimpanzee has opened them.
