HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury
Giving medicines to children
Rongoā mō ngā tamariki
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Important
If you think your tamaiti (child) may have taken too much medicine, get medical help immediately. Take your tamaiti to your general practice team, an after-hours clinic or the hospital Emergency Department. Take the bottle of medicine with you to give the medical team as much information as possible.
It's much easier to give a tamaiti medicine if you're calm and confident. While some tamariki (children) may find it difficult to take medicine at first, most will get the hang of it with practice.
If your tamaiti is taking medicine, make sure you measure the dose carefully with a syringe or small medicine cup. Tamariki come in all shapes and sizes and need to have an exact dose according to their weight and age. This is so that the medicine works and doesn't do any harm.
If you think your tamaiti is not taking full doses of their medicine, talk to your pharmacist or general practice team.
The links below provide tips on easy ways to get your tamaiti to take their medicine correctly.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Giving medicines to children
Easy-to-follow advice from PHARMAC.
- KidsHealth – Medication safety: Tips for parents
Factsheet about medicines and tips for dealing with medicines.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed March 2023.
Sources
Review key: HIMEC-48022
