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Parents could be putting their children at risk of a medicine overdose by using a teaspoon to give it to them.

Children could be receiving an inaccurate dose of medicine as a study found that teaspoons range from 2.5ml to 7.3ml in capacity. Experts have recommended that parents use a syringe or spoon with measurements on it, or the spoon that comes with the medicine, to ensure an accurate dosage.

They should also consult the medicine's packaging to make sure their child is given the right dose for their age.

Experts from Greece and the US looked at 71 teaspoons and 49 tablespoons collected from 25 households. They said a parent using one of the biggest teaspoons would be giving their child 192% more medicine than a parent using the smallest teaspoon. Some of the tablespoons were also twice the size of others.

The experts, writing in the International Journal of Clinical Practice, said that not only is there a risk of overdose, but some youngsters could be given too little medicine. They said: "Teaspoons and tablespoons are unreliable dosing devices, and thus their use should no longer be recommended."

Professor Matthew Falagas, director of the Alfa Institute of Biomedical Sciences in Athens, was one of the authors on the study. He said: "Paediatric dosages need to be adjusted to age and body weight and, as a result, children are considered to be more vulnerable to dosage errors than adults."

Copyright Press Association 2010