Can A 3 Year Old Take Tums? What You Should Know

Having a 3-year kid at home and worrying about what to do when they feel uncomfortable around the stomach area? You might wonder if it is appropriate for you to give tums to your kids that help you ease and relieve their stomach discomfort. Notably, tums are recommended for adults and children above 12 years old. Tums is an antacid that relieves stomach ache, heartburns, indigestion, or any other stomach discomfort associated with these symptoms. Always know that the body structure of a toddler is quite different and very delicate than yours which is developed over time and before giving any type of medication, first take advice from a pediatrician who knows what is good or bad for a kid’s health.

Understanding the behavior of kids 

Sometimes it is hard to tell if your kid has a serious pain or discomfort around their stomach as it can be due to many reasons like 

• They are hungry or they ate too much 
• They are just sad and do not feel good
• They might just be seeking your attention 
• They just do not want to get out of their bed 
• They are sick or having some constipation problems

There can be plenty of other reasons for them to tell you that they are suffering from stomach aches but being a parent directly jumping to conclusions is not a good idea and may result in some serious health issues for your child in the long run. Moreover, the dose of antacid an adult takes can turn out to be dangerous or even fatal for the kids. Therefore, you should consult a pediatrician to know the actual cause of the pain and then give any kind of medication that is prescribed by the doctor. 

Stomach aches come with other slight symptoms like loss of appetite, fluctuating moods, vomiting, or even headache. Just acting upon your kid’s word is no good. In most cases, the body of your child will show some other signs which will confirm that your child is suffering from a stomach ache and needs proper medication.

Side effects of tums and what will happen if a kid intakes tums

All drugs cause some side effects. The important thing to keep in mind is the degree of it. Tums have very minor side effects them and occur rarely but while giving tums to the kids we never know what adverse effect it would have on a particular kid and as we all know about the famous quote “Precaution is better than cure”, we should follow the same.

Before aiding your 3 year old kid. you should know about the below listed side effects that can arise 

• Gastric problems 
• Constipation 
• Indigestion and burping 

In the worst-case scenario, some underlying allergies can also occur like rashes, itchiness, blisters, or swelling of the mouth. However, for a kid under the age of 5 years, it is recommended to cure any such uneasiness of the stomach with remedies for vitamin tablets rather than giving a drug.

Things to keep in mind while you give tums to your 3 year old kid 

Doctors know most about the human body and can consider and treat the possibilities which an individual can’t even think of. A kid’s body is not even grown completely so it’s a mandatory thing to consult the doctor before taking any step for them. We agree that everyone has pure attention towards their kids but sometimes they can even hurt them. So always keep consulting a doctor at your first priority if it comes to your kids and their health

The next thing to consider is whether your kids are unable to speak and even if they do, maybe they don’t know how to explain and in most cases, it is observed that they even don’t have the perfect words to express what they are feeling. There comes the role of being a parent, you have to play as an extra attentive player and always have to keep an eye on your kid and their signs of illness. You have to learn the difference between their behavior when they are sick or when they want something. What are the indications and signals they show when they are ill? Just like extra research on every activity of your kid. You will be shocked to know kids even fake the illness for many reasons. Sometimes they just need some more attention. Sometimes they just imitate you or someone around having stomach problems. At other times, the reason can be that they just don’t want to study. Just another clever move and sometimes they are innocent. They are just sad but unable to express it. And the solution to all this can be a magic pill. Just give them some vitamin tablets and pretend that it’s magical and they will believe it. Another thing that you can do to cure your kid’s illness is by giving them some extra attention. If both ideas fail, then they may be facing some real problems and it’s better to consult the pediatrician in that case.

In consultations, the thing that came forward is the signs of illness that can be seen and recognized are constipation, different appetite, the difference in urination periods (can be different from the regular ), or diarrhea. If you can see some in your kid, go and book an appointment with your pediatrician for consultation and prescription.  There are a variety of tums that are available for kids in the market. Don’t give it to them if they are under the age of 6 years. Tums are very useful and these ones can be used if your kid is having issues like diarrhea or vomiting.

The available option of tums for kids is Kids’ Pepto Bismol, Hyland’s 4 Kids Tummy Ache Tablets, and Imodium for Kids. You may find other options too in the market.

The first thing to keep in mind is that not to get overwhelmed by your kid’s crying or screams and end up taking a wrong step that would only deteriorate your kid’s condition later. Analyze the condition and then figure out how severe the pain is. Ask yourself if it can be cured in any other ways or you have to resort to the solution of giving tums.

The second thing is to try with other methods to relieve the discomfort like try to distract your kid’s attention by playing with them or engaging them in an interesting activity or take them out in fresh air or try to give them a multivitamin tablet or calcium candy and tell them that it is a magical pill and it will take away their pain.

But if the condition worsens and your child’s stomach is churning in pain then either go to a doctor or if you plan on giving tums then know that it is advised to not give more than 1 tablet per day to a 3-year-old. For the chewable form of the antacid, make sure your kid chews it well before swallowing, and for the liquid form shake the bottle well.  

Third is to contact a doctor so that he or she can examine the symptoms and give a prescription for the right medication.

Final thoughts 

In the end, the most important thing for a parent is their kid. They can’t just be careless to them and proper knowledge is very important. Before taking any step, everyone should think, search, consult, and then take the action. The most considerable options will be to first give some extra attention to them, talk to them if they are able to speak, distract them by doing something else, or try our magic pill for all other tantrums they perform with their extra smartness. If nothing works, go and consult your doctor. If you are going to use tums, pay extra attention to it, be confident, and then do it.