Medications

1 in 6 parents report their child complains about belly pain at least once a month. Among parents whose child frequently complains about belly pain, 2 in 5 have not talked with the child’s doctor. 1 in 3 parents are very confident they can tell when their child’s belly pain may be a sign of a serious problem.

9 in 10 parents agree that running a low-grade fever helps a child’s body fight off infection. 2 in 3 parents are very confident they know whether their child needs medication to reduce fever. 1 in 3 parents would give fever-reducing medication for elevated temperature below 100.4°.

Nearly half of parents have leftover prescription medicine at home. Only 1 in 5 parents think it is unsafe to take medicine past the expiration date. 1 in 7 parents have flushed expired or leftover medicine down the toilet or sink.

3 in 4 parents say CBD for children should require a doctor’s prescription. Among the 7% of parents who have given or considered giving their child a CBD product, only one-third talked with their child’s healthcare provider about CBD use. While 83% of parents think CBD products should be regulated by the FDA, only 58% say FDA approval would be very important to their decision about whether to give a CBD product to their child.

1 in 6 parents say their teen experiences frequent sleep problems, having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep 3 or more nights per week. Among parents of teens with frequent sleep problems, only 40% say they or their teen have talked with a health care provider about how to address sleep problems. Parents believe that over-the-counter sleep medicine is safer for teens than prescription sleep medicine.

Over half (55%) of parents gave their child over-the-counter seasonal allergy medicine in the past year. One in seven parents have given their child over-the-counter allergy medicine that was labeled for adults. One in five parents did not check the expiration date on over-the-counter allergy medicines they had at home before giving them to their child.

One half of parents reported their child had leftover pills from a pain medication prescription. Only one third of parents said that the prescribing provider discussed what to do with the child’s leftover pain medication.

10% of U.S. adults either have a medical marijuana card or know someone who does. 36% of adults agree that their state should allow medical marijuana for children under 18. 80% of respondents agree that adults should not be allowed to use medical marijuana in the presence of children.

Only 1 in 100 parents believe their teens have used “study drugs,” while recent studies report 1 in 10 10th-graders and 1 in 8 12th-graders have used these drugs. 50% of all parents say they are “very concerned” about teens using “study drugs” in their communities.

Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines have warning labels that say these products should not be given to children under four years old. 4 in 10 parents reported giving cough medicine or multi-symptom cough and cold medicine to their children under four years old.