Giving your child or infant TYLENOL shouldn’t require a Ph.D.

Luckily for me, my kids were never sick with a fever at the same time. But I do remember being concerned that the bottle of baby acetaminophen looked so similar to the child version that I used for my older son. I wondered how easy it would be to give the baby an accidental overdose if I grabbed the wrong bottle, especially since I was so exhausted and brain dead at the time. I ended up using a marking pen to write each child’s name in big letters on the bottles.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there was the hassle measuring the medicines. First, I had to chase down the right measuring device – cup, syringe or that measuring tube thingie I got at the pharmacy. Then I always would wonder how accurate the darn things were.

I must not be the only mom wondering about dosing and measuring out medicine, because TYLENOL® is listening and making some changes. This cold and flu season, the makers of TYLENOL will be adding safety and convenience enhancements to both Infants’ and Children’s TYLENOL products.

For example, Infants’ TYLENOL will be available with a new bottle that has a protective opening and a new pushing syringe that will:

• Reduce the risk of children being able to get to the medicine in the bottle.
• Provide even better dosing accuracy and ease of administration to your child.
• Allow for better control when dispensing the medication and reduce spillage.

Makes me almost wish I still had a baby in the house. (Well, not really. But it’s nice to see that TYLENOL is making things easier for parents and caregivers.)

Most importantly, in my opinion, TYLENOL is coming out with one concentration of acetaminophen for single ingredient TYLENOL products for infants and children. This change is being made to standardize dosing across their products and age groups. Also, Infants’ and Children’s TYLENOL products will include specially designed dosing devices appropriate to the age of the child, like the pushing syringe that fits into the opening of the infants’ product and a measuring cup for the children’s version.

TYLENOL’s also working closely with other manufacturers of pediatric acetaminophen products to encourage an industry-wide transition to one concentration across infants’ and children’s acetaminophen products. I think this is a great idea since it’ll remove much of the confusion about dosing for parents and caregivers.

To read more about this, check out the official Tylenol products update page .

It’s important to be note that you (or grandma or your daycare provider) may have an older version of the infants’ acetaminophen product in your medicine cabinet. Also, there might be older versions still available in some stores into the later part of this year.

All medicines are good until their expiration date, so no need to throw them out. Just make sure to read and follow the dosing directions on the product that is being used.

• Never give adult medicines to children.
• Use the measuring device  (syringe, dropper, dosage cup) that comes with the medicine every time you use it. Don’t use kitchen spoons (teaspoons or tablespoons).
• Read and follow instructions on the label. Never give more than the recommended dose and do not give the medication more frequently than recommended. 
• Store all medicines out of the reach of children. Immediately following use, always restore the child resistant cap and put the medicine back into a high and out of sight location. 
• Every child grows. Know the infant’s or child’s weight and/or age to help determine the appropriate dosage. If you have questions about dosage, contact your child’s healthcare provider.

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I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Tylenol and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate