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M's friend in 3rd grade missed a few days of school and when she came back she had a bunch of TUMS to eat with her snack and lunch. She offers it to her friends around her. My daughter hasn't taken it cause she knows it is medicine and not to take somebodys medicine but some of the other kids have.
My understanding is that school policy means all meds must be kept with school nurse andnot with the kids, so just this sort of thing won't happen.
I don't know what if anything I should do. I"m afraid TUMS might not be the best snack food for a 2nd or 3rd grader, I don't know the Mom well enough to talk to her about it and don't know if I should tell the teacher or just let it be. I feel my kids know better but I worry about other kids taken this daily and not knowing what it is for.
While I strongly believe that any medications or nutritional supplements should be kept with the nurse and never shared with friends, especially not in primary/elementary school.
Luckily, TUMS are relatively benevolent. They're just 500mg of Calcium Carbonate and some flavorings & colors, no pharmaceuticals. It works as an antacid because the calcium neutralizes stomach acid, but it's not a "medicine" so much as a "supplement". Still shouldn't be sharing though.
A little extra calcium sure isn't going to hurt most kids these days, but sharing meds/supps is a bad practice to get into and your daughter's friend is probably suffering from a calcium deficiency and was told to take those TUMS so giving them away means she's not getting her recommended dose. You should probably discuss this with her mother, from a point of concern for her daughter possibly not getting the right dosages... see how it goes from there.
I have to agree with MA4S. Not sure that you can "OD" on calcium carbonate so don't see how it would have any detrimental effects. The friend may have been told to take them with food for better absorption or she is having an issue with certain foods. I would just talk to the mom and voice your concerns that sharing meds regardless of what they are is not good practice.
I never thought of TUMS as a supplement as much as medication for upset stomach. That's when I take them. Still not sure what to do if anything. They are neighbors and I don't want to alarm anybody or start anything. You never know how folks will react when you talk about their kids. But thanks for the replies.
Tums isn't medicine. It's chalk (calcium carbonate = common classroom chalk), with artificial color and flavor. In small amounts it provides calcium to the body that the body can make use of. A side effect of this provision is neutralizing acids in the stomach, which is why it's sold as a digestive aid.
In high doses it can contribute to kidney stones, fatigue, weakness, and a variety of other problems.
Also, calcium bonds with vitamin D; so if they're eating tums and not taking vitamin D (or getting sufficient amounts of D through sun exposure) then they're just eating fruit-flavored chalk with no benefit at all.
My suggestion to get them off the stuff is to buy a box of chalk and some kool-aid, dip the chalk in the kool-aid and hand it to them and ask them if they think this idea is really really stupid. To me, it's one of the dorkiest things I've ever heard kids do. The snorting smarties is up there on the list too.
Anon chick. I think you misunderstood. These are 8 year olds. Her friend is offering them to her friends including my daughter I guess just because she has them and sometimes they share at lunch. I don't think anybody is "on" them. They usually turn her down when she tries to pass them on. My concern is the little girl taking TUMS every day and her Mom packing them in her lunch. But who knows, maybe the doctor told her to. I know the Mom took her to the doctor so it may be possible. I just think the Mom should know the kid is either eating too many, not enough and/or sharing them with her friends.
I never thought of TUMS as a supplement as much as medication for upset stomach. That's when I take them. Still not sure what to do if anything. They are neighbors and I don't want to alarm anybody or start anything. You never know how folks will react when you talk about their kids. But thanks for the replies.
If they are neighbors I would try to talk to them face to face and not involve the school. The school may make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. In fact, you can use this when you talk to the parents and tell them that you wanted to be the one to tell them before someone made a big deal out of it.
It's something that needs to be addressed now while it's still TUMS and not something more harmful to kids. Plus-as kids get older schools start to take any drug use seriously even if its only Advil.
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