Although parents turn to their pediatrician for expert advice and accurate information about their child’s health and development, findings from a new study suggest that thousands of pediatricians erroneously subscribe to various popular parenting myths.

Dr. Andrew Adesman mailed a Pediatric Health Beliefs Questionnaire to 5,000 general pediatricians in the United States, and presented their findings.

The majority of pediatricians (76 percent) mistakenly endorsed one or more of the folloawing parenting myths, and 13 percent got three or more wrong:

• A burn can be treated with application of ice. Risk: ice can also cause injury to the skin.

• It is safe to put a baby down to sleep on his side. Risk: crib death.

• Children can be given an ice bath to treat a fever. Risk: hypothermia.

• Children over age 6 can be given aspirin for a fever. Risk: Reye’s syndrome.

• Place a soft object in a child’s mouth child during a seizure. Risk: dental injury to the child; hand injury to the adult.

• Babies younger than 6 months can be given honey. Risk: botulism poisoning.