Hi Bellachell,
Firstly I'd like to ask what happens when your brother and sister goes to school? Doe's the school continue to give them the panadol and neurofen or do they not know about this?
I think that you need to talk to your mum again, show her a bottle and point out that it actually states something like: This prepearation is for the relief of minor and TEMPORARY ailments and should be used strictly as directed. PROLONGED USE WITHOUT MEDICAL SUPERVISION COULD BE HARMFUL.
It will also state somewhere near where the dosage chart is the length of time that is safe to use it. eg. Do not use for more than 48hours without medical advice.
Antibiotics are also only for the person they are prescribed to.
Give her the bottles to read and point out where is is written. I think you need to show your mum the cold hard evidence that it is not good for these children. She is harming your brother and sister and this actually classed as child abuse. I think that in order to get her to listen you will need to threaten her with Department of Child Safety and make sure you tell her all your concerns for you brother and sister and that you are not saying this because you think she is a bad mother, but because you are generally concerned for the wellbeing of these children. This way you have warned her that you are serious about the safety of your brother and sister. If she doesn't stop then I think that you do need to call Department of Child Safety and report her. They don't actually take the children straight away, they do investigate, and they will work with your mother to become a better parent. If the children do get taken from your mother, they will ALWAYS place the children with a family member before a stranger. This way the children are still somewhere that they feel safe and comfortable. I know this sounds harsh, but you need to do what you think is best for these children or your mother is sure to ruin their lives or even worse kill them.
Don't stress about having a falling out with your mum over this if you do bring child safety into this, as they will work with both you and your mum to rebuild that trust, they will show her that what she has been doing is wrong and that you were only doing the best for the children. They aren't there to break families apart, they are there for exactly what their name suggests, CHILD SAFETY. They will always work hard to bring families back together as they do believe that families belong together, they just have to be in the right environment.
I hope this helps and that your mum realises that this is not good sooner rather than later.
Punky

I don't know the full situation but did all this start after your little brother was sick for the two months. Maybe your mother is worried that she may have to take that much time (or any time) off work again and get behind in work or cop some comments from boss or colleges

I agree with the other sugestions to get help from your GP. Even if this really upsets your mother you need to think of the children first. Have you tried getting close friends or family to help talk to your mother? Mine STILL won't listen to medical advice from me even though I have been a paramedic for 8 years! Stay strong,

Hi, unfortuantely your Mum is going to kill her kids with kindness if she's not careful, if a child is constantly given pain killers, cough medicines etc when they aren't ill, then when they do become ill a normal dose won't be any use, I've heard that a few parents do this with their children, and no it isn't normal at all and yes you really should either talk calmly to her about, if you can, or seek medical help, preferably from a counsellor or a doctor, even maybe a friend could point out the problems there. The problem I see too, is that she's YOUR Mum too and as the old saying goes: 'Mum knows best', unfortunatley, in this case, she doesn't.

i know it sound odd but tell the doctor about your concerns next time you see him cause he will be able to point you in the right direction....

thats what i did about one of my family members... and got them the help they needed...