Help Getting 2 Year Old to Take Meds

Try ice cream. My daughter is 12 years old and STILL can't swallow pills. I crush them up and put them in a spoonful of ice cream. Somehow this doesn't seem to get old, even several times a day, if need be.

Ask you doctor to prescribe a different antibiotic or ask the pharmacist to make it in a different flavor.

Wow! I actually get to give the advice I was looking for desperately. My daughter was prescribed an antibiotic that tasted and smelled far worse than amox. Not only that, but when my daughter saw the syringe and pink stuff she was horrified at this unknown monster. Not to mention, we don't even do conventional med's. Anyway, after talking to several pharmacists and doctors at my daughter's pediatrician's office, I begged the receptionist to put me on the phone with the doctor who owns the practice. He had me come in with her to show me how to administer the med. I will try to explain this as clearly as I can, but I must say that it's easier shown than described. If after you try this and it still doesn't work, or you are confused about something, talk to your pediatrician and see if they know how to do this.
Here it goes: Use a dropper and get the med ready. Then, the only thing you say to her at the very beginning is that it's time to take the medicine to make the pains go away. No more talking and certainly no emotion! Very important. Lay her on her back, arms all the way out to the sides. Sit behind her head, so her head is between your thighs, and her arms are under your thighs. Now she is physically restrained, but not violently or painfully. Trust me, she will not hate you. Now, when she has her mouth open, which she probably will from talking or crying, hold the dropper horizontally across her tongue, resting on it and the corner of her mouth. This will keep her mouth open. Gently squeeze one drop at a time on her tongue and watch it slide down to her throat. She may try to gurgle it up but it won't work if you keep it one drop at a time. Wait until she swallows to give another drop. The first few times it takes longer, but it will speed up and be done in less than 5 minutes before you know it. After, I gave my daughter a small scoop of ice cream as a reward. I never told her about the reward, nor did I remind her that she will get it if she took her med's. I just did it. If you have any problems, send in another request. -T.

Applesauce or apple juice always worked for us, but we'd only mix it into a couple of tablespoons full. That way you know your child is getting all of the medicine, and it doesn't 'get old' having to eat all of that pudding/applesauce/etc.

I agree alot with the response to follow with honey or sugar. Another thing you could do is grind up the medicine and add it to juice and let her drink it out of a spoon. Let me know if you tried it and how it worked. a menlo park mom.
E.

L.,
I know what your dealing with My son is the same way, I have to find ways to hide his medicine and I usually put it in any food I am giving him. Yogurt, juice, Milk. I know it's hard because you want to make sure they are getting the medicine, I know the best way to give it to them is straight in the mouth without hiding it in food or drink, but I forced him to take it once and he vomited right after. So I can't keep doing that because then he won't get the medicine. I asked the pharmacist about putting it in juice and she said no because then they don't get the right dose, but it's better than no dose at all after vomitting.

So good luck, I know I wasn't much help but I wanted to tell you I have the same problems.

I had the same problem with my 18 month old over the holidays. She would spit out the meds every time I gave them to her. I started mixing it in yogurt (go gurt by yoplait) and she gobbled it up...until she saw me putting it in there one day. Fortunately, that was the last day she had to take the meds. Good luck!

I have 3 kids. My daughter always took her meds. With my 2 boys it was always a fight. I finally got tired of it with the 3rd one, I feel really bad sitting on a toddler, pinning arms and legs and pinching his face to force something down his throat. Bribes, disguising, nothing worked. i got so fed up i told the doctor (took 3 times to convince him) give him a shot of antibiotics, one shot, it was over, I didn't have to worry about medicine 2 or 3 times a day for 10 days. Insist on a shot of antibiotics instead, they do not have to be taken orally.

I saw that Walgreens can add fflavorings to childrens meds. Chiropractic helps children with recurrent ear infections. There are many family practitioners, ask your friends who knows one and you won'i regret it.

It was the consistency part that was hard for my kids and not necessarily the flavor. It worked really well when I would give amoxicillin to them using one of the plunger type dispenser like you get with the infant tylenol.

As we have to give medication every day (son has autism), we've been through a lot of options. Here's what we've used:

*Honey
*Jam
*Canned frosting
*Pudding: butterscotch, chocolate, vanilla and so on (we like the already prepared cups)
*Yogurt
*Ice cream (many flavors!)
*Smoothies or keifer
*Oatmeal
*Neutella
*Peanut butter
*Soda

Also remember that your daughter might not get tired of the chocolate pudding as fast as you do!

Hi L.,

Have you tried asking your pharmacist to flavor the medication? Our pharmacist gives us bubblegum flavored amoxicillin and our 2 year old daughter LOVES it. She will beg us for it throughout the day and is excited when it is time for medicine!

I am not certain, but I think they can give it other flavors, too. It might be worth looking into!

This might sound a little crazy, but have you tried holding her slightly upside down? A friend told me to try it and believe me, it works. It might sound mean, but it is for their own good. After all, they need the medicine.

The only thing that worked for us was (a recommendation by our doc) to mix the med in a little chocolate syrup. It worked every time.
L.

My daughter had the same issue. When we tried to force her to take it she spit it out.

Talk to your ped. Ours prescribed a different type of antibiotic that didn't taste as bad. And I think there are chewable options. (But it was six or more years ago, so I might not be remembering right.)

I have the same problem. My son has had to take medication since he was born and I use to give it to him with the spoon and for a while he was spoon traumatized. So the next best is is to put it in her favorite juice not too much (maybe 1/2 to 1 oz). When you see her thirsty that will be the best time because she will just down it. If she is still on the bottle do the same thing. Also be careful, I thought my son had the common cold and he ended up in the hospital with the anomonia.

As bad as it sounds, I would offer a teaspoon of chocolate syrup, honey or icecream right after, medicine in one hand the bribery in the other. Afterall wasn't it Mary Poppins who said, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down!". It seemed to help, at least I wasn't getting medicine spit back in my face anymore! Good luck! Hopefully oneday they will get smart enough to make the stuff taste better or put it in a shewable formula llike the Tylenol...