Another Case of "What Were They Thinking"

[Cafe MichelleP]

Teacher Gives Kids Prescription Pill Bottles Full of Candy

Jacqueline Burt Cote

Hey, here's a good idea! You know how it's really, really hard to convince little ones that Mommy's and Daddy's prescription meds are off-limits, even though they look like candy? How 'bout let's put ACTUAL candy in a prescription bottle and see if they can't figure out the difference! Wait, no, that's actually a terrible idea -- but try telling that to the college professor who recently handed out amber pill bottles filled with M&M's to a bunch of little kids as treats. 

Of course the (unnamed) pharmacy technology professor from South Carolina's Horry Georgetown Technical College wasn't trying to play a criminally confusing prank on kids by giving away candy labeled as "happy pills" at a free event to promote her curriculum, but that's how local parents took it:

Karen Goad Williams

• Towson High

· 14 February at 11:55 · Myrtle Beach, SC ·

Just wondering.... To my Facebook friends since I have such a diverse audience! Let me first say I was NOT at this event, but a friend was... During a family race last night during myrtle beach marathon weekend these were passed out to children full of candy!!!

I know for a fact if I was at that event I would have made my opinion very clear to anyone within earshot!!

So please discuss...

And who could blame moms and dads for freaking out?! As any parent knows, one of the trickiest things to teach little kids is the difference between what CAN go in their mouths and what CAN'T. This is tricky mostly because children are apparently born believing that EVERYTHING they get their grubby little paws on is deserving of a taste test, and also because so many, many non-edible and/or dangerous things look so very, very tempting. Prescription medication is one of the worst offenders; in fact, the number of kids being poisoned by adult medications is on the rise. 

Scary stuff! So even though this was a mistake and hopefully didn't inspire any tots to go home and raid their parents' medicine cabinet in the hopes of finding chocolate (AND the college has since issued an apology), it's a mistake worth talking about -- because maybe if we talk about it, nobody will ever, EVER do something like this again. Can we make that happen, please??

 

Has your kid ever thought medicine was candy? 

 

Image © iStock.com/TRITOOTH   

 

[mom2jessnky]

I don't see the big deal... Was it smart? Not really, but I mean crying to the news and flipping out seems a bit much. If you don't want your kid to have it, take it away problem solved. 

[cocoroo]

It was a poor judgement call on her part, but it can be used a teaching experience for the parents. My son, who is now 14, figured out how to open my prenatal vitamins when he was 16 months old. My dd who was four started yelling for me, I came out and he was sucking on 3 of them. I was able to fish them out of his mouth. They were in my purse.

[darbyakeep45]

Definitely a poor judgment call but would I have contacted the news?  Nope.  That's a bit much.

[Elle.tea.22]

I don't see the big deal. How old were they?

[chrlstoncharmed]

Teaching children what can and can't go in their mouths is a much earlier age. The kids in this article are school aged. 

[mom2jessnky]

Word.

Also keep your meds out of reach maybe? I could see this being a huge issue with 3yr olds if the parents leave their meds on the floor. But keep them in a high cabinet and TA-DA! Crisis averted. I keep most household meds in those cabinets over the stove, they aren't good for anything else.

Quoting chrlstoncharmed:

Teaching children what can and can't go in their mouths is a much earlier age. The kids in this article are school aged. 

[sbranom]

People are way too uptight.  Not the best decision, but it doesn't need to be national news either.