Many over-the-counter medicines, such as paracetamol suspension, come with a plastic spoon with dosages in millilitres marked on it. If not, you can buy plastic medicine spoons at most chemists for a few pence.
However, a conventional spoon can be impractical for a small baby who isn’t used to feeding from a spoon, and messy for an older baby or toddler, who may not want to take the medicine! In this case you could try:
Medicine syringe These usually have dosage graduations on them but if not, you can draw the correct dose up from a marked spoon. To give the medicine, you hold your baby upright on your lap, support his head, and very gently squeeze the medicine into the side of his mouth.
If used properly, these can be an asset, as your baby is less likely to get the full taste of the medicine. However, if you shoot the liquid in too quickly over his tongue, he could gag on it or spit it straight back out.
Shaped medicine spoon These have a deeper bowl and a hollow, see through handle. They are designed to reduce spillage when giving medicine to babies or toddlers.
