How big is your child?

If you are a parent in North America, then Tylenol is probably a mainstay in your medicine cabinet. And if you are dispensing Tylenol to your child you need to pay attention to the dosage chart.

No longer can you just calculate the dosage based on your child's age. The "Single Oral Dose" chart lists the child's weight first, rather than their age. But the interesting thing for me is that according to the chart children are getting fatter. My daughter is four, but according to the chart she weighs less than the top limit for a 2-3 year old. While she is not the tallest child in her pre-school class, she is far from the shortest.

But some of the children in her class weigh as much as the 6-8 year olds on the chart. Are children getting fatter, or taller? From my totally unscientific survey, I think it is a bit of both. But the diabetes statistics, and McDonald's share price, tell me that kids are eating more junk and putting on more weight.

Will Tylenol have to adjust this chart again some time soon? Probably. But it makes me wonder what the chart looks like in markets outside North America.