Parents have been dosing out lots of questions about how to give medications properly to their children and avoid unnecessary errors.

This week, I’ll prescribe some helpful information on this topic.

Medication errors are a common occurrence. In fact, a recent study in the journal Pediatrics indicated that more than 200,000 out-of-hospital medication errors occur in this country with 30% involving children less than six years of age.

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What kinds of errors?

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The majority of errors we are talking about involve dispensing of liquid medication to children followed by mistakes dosing tablets and capsules. The younger the child, the more errors there are, with 25% of errors occurring to infants under one.

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What can you do?

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¯ Review how to dose a medication carefully with the staff in your child’s doctor’s office.

¯ Even if it is an over-the-counter medication — read the label on the package or package insert telling you how much to give.

¯ If you are unsure or want to simply recheck, call your child’s health care professional’s office or your local pharmacist to see how much to give, how often and how long to give it.

¯ You may also need to see if a medication is to be taken on an empty or full stomach to improve the drug’s absorption into the body.

¯ Use the measuring device that comes with the medication and not kitchen tablespoons or teaspoons which are usually not accurate compared to the dosing spoon or dropper that comes with the product.

¯ If you are confused because of seeing measurements in milliliters or mls and you are using a teaspoon, again get clarity by talking with your child’s health care professional or local pharmacist.

¯ Do not use an adult over-the-counter medicine on children without checking first to again confirm safety, dosing, and frequency.

Remember, over-the-counter medications are not an automatic solution for helping your child with minor illnesses. Colds, for example, get better with good hydration and rest. The risks of an over-the-counter cough or cold medication in a child can outweigh the potential benefits so please check with your child’s health care professional before using these medications.

Hopefully, tips like these will be just what the doctor ordered when it comes to avoiding unnecessary medication errors when giving medications to your child at home.

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Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.