How to Swallow a Pill?

I taught my son to swallow pills by starting first with the mini m &m's. i told him if he (ate it without biting) swallowed it I would give him a dollar and then he would no longer have to taste yucky medicine anymore. It's the 1st lessons that are hard. GOOD LUCK!

My 10 yr old D has the same problem. No matter what we have done, she just cannot get it down. It doesn't matter how small the pill is. At this point we are using the Tylenol Meltaways. The generic ones work just as well but they are harder to take out of the package and sometimes crumble. I also give her liquid children's Motrin-if that is an option for you. My son used to have a problem but for him taking a drink first then putting the pill all the way back in his mouth and taking another deep drink helps.

My son had so much trouble swallowing pills. Putting it in a piece of banana seemed to work the best.

Have him/her drink out of glass with a straw after taking it.

PLEASE check with your doctor. ANY advice I've seen in recent years and months says that aspirin shout NEVER be given to anyone under age 18. If in fact you were talking about aspirin and not Tylenol. It can cause Reyes disease.

I have seen several others comment on use of Aspirin and I also have to stress how important it is not to give children Aspirin. Although Reye Syndrome is rare a girl in my school had and it happened from taking Aspirin when she had the Flu. It caused numersous health problems including stunting her growth. Even with growth hormones she didn't grow taller then 4 ft 9in.

As a nurse I realize alot of people call Tylenol, Aspirin (when they mean tylenol) as a generic term. When needed I give my son Tylenol Redi-tabs. They are adult strength but have a candy coating.

Dear M.,

I saw your request, and although I don't really have any suggestions for how to teach a child to swallow a pill, I wanted to make sure that you knew that aspirin really isn't appropriate for a child. Tylenol and/or motrin (ibuprophen) are better and safer. Taking aspirin while having certain viral infections such as the virus which causes chicken pox can result in a condition called Reyes syndrome which can be fatal. Please check with your pediatrician. Good luck!

When we were teaching my daughter to swallow supplements, the dr. suggested having her drink with a straw and tilting her chin toward her chest; people have a tendency to *throw their head back* when swallowing pills, but this actually makes the pill float upwards away from the throat. By tilting the head down, the liquid will carry the pill back towards the throat for easier swallowing.

I think its hard to have a pill on your tongue and then try to drink. So, have her put a little water in her mouth first and then put the pill in. Have her then take another sip of water and swallow it all together. Hope this helps!

My daughter's biggest hang-up was the bitterness/dryness of the pill, so we wrap some "fruit roll-up" around the pill & she swallows it with some juice; That way, if it doesn't go down immediately, she doesn't end up gagging & spewing, and more traumatized for the next time! We also used tic tacs to "practice" with, when she was younger.

It may help to put the aspirin in a tablespoon of something smooth like pudding, applesauce, icecream, or yogurt. We would do this in a hospital setting with kids and the elderly. Seems to slide right down!!

Good luck....

Crush and put into his lunchmeat or whatever food he's eating or drinking.

we went round and round with our son on this! to begin with, he would put the pill with some toast or other food. then, we looked at "how to swallow pills" on the internet. there is a technique of swishing the pill around in their mouth, then letting go down. this seemed to work for him.

I think all the advice below is good and it will be different with each child. What finally worked for us was using applesauce and as she got comfortable with that she moved to liquid. Setting it on the back of the tongue is helpful too. We have had a lot of laughs during this process!!

I will also tag on that ibuprofin is the best of the 3 choices and even that should be limited in its use. If it is for a fever our MD has always recommended letting the fever do its job and to only use the medicine if the child is so uncomfortable she/he can't sleep.
Good luck!

Hi M. Take the aspirin and crush it in a teaspoon with a little water. Had him swallow it and chase it down with water. Or have him put the aspirin on his tongue and quickly drink water.

I have the same problem at my house. I remember when my kids were younger my sister-in-law taught her kids to swallow a pill by having them practice with rolled up bread. They would roll the bread to the size of a pill and try to swallow that. No harm to them. We need to practice !!!

I just taught my 3 year old how to take a pill. What we do is put it in the mouth under the tip of the tongue and then take a large sip of chocolate milk (anything thicker than water or soda etc) Put your head back and push the pill out when you feel like it is in the back of your mouth swallow. Took a few times but she finally got it down! Thankfully we have not had to do it often though :)

I never had problems until I had my tongue pierced and when I could not get down my daily must have meds I was frantic and found this was the only way to get them down! In the beginning I had to use drinks like Ensure- those healthy shakes- for the thickness so I did not feel it... now I can do it with water after a year :)

Good luck and blessings to you and yours!

we just did this with my 8 year old. First I ground up the pill she needed to take on a spoon. so she had to taste it as it went down. She HATED it. Told her that the other option was to swallow it hole. Next dose, she took a drink held it in her mouth, I tipped her head back and dropped the pill to the back of her mouth. Closed her mouth and pinched her nose closed keeping her head tipped back. Gravity did the rest when she swallowed.
now she does it on her own.

I was also going to suggest what Lisa H suggested - have her bring her chin to her chest instead of opening her throat. It will slide right down. I just learned this recently and it really works.

Hi M., My 14 year old could not swallow either here is what was suggested to us and it worked very well. Put the pill in her mouth, she takes a drink of preferably water but whatever she is using & tip your head forward..the pill will float to the top of her mouth/throat & comfortably pick up your head & swallow gently. All nice easy motion no "head throwing". Trying to explain in words & demonstrating are challenging.. And one more note I hope you are using the word aspirin as a generic term & really mean tylenol or motrin for an 11 yr old The Mom's are correct no asprin for little people.

As a nurse I know. A pill always goes in the back of the tongue, fill mouth with water and tilt head back and swallow. The pill, being heavier than water will stay at the back and will go down with the swallow. BTW, when swallowing a capsule, put in the mouth, fill with water and tilt head forward. The capsule is lighter than water and will rise to the top of the throat and again can get it down with the swallow. Hope it helps. Also, as a "young-at-heart" person, I still like jelly with my pills:-)

Sadly, I had this probelm until I was in my early twenties! I learned that it was easiest for me to begin to chew something (a favorite treat like a gummy bear) and then pop the pill in my mouth just before I was going to swallow. Hope this helps! Good luck!

My parents taught me to swallow pills with pretzels. I would chew up one or two so my mouth was full of pretzel mush and than put half a pill in the mush, swallow and repeat. Eventually moving to a whole pill and then less and less pretzel.

I did this with my kids. l Make a big deal once it happens

have him drink something. Then have him open his mouth as big as possible. YOU put the pill in the very back of the tongue where we know there are no taste buds. Tell him to pretend there is nothing in his mouth and drink.

( milk, OJ, even water) I have 2 kids and it worked for both of them

Have him practice with Red Hots. They are small and won't instantly melt in his mouth.

I see you've gotten lots of responses but what worked for me was to take a bite of a banana, chew it up and then put the pill in the mushed up banana in my mouth and swallow the banana and the pill. Now I can swallow a pill but I have to put water in my mouth but don't swallow it, put the pill in the water in my mouth and then drink more water. Good luck!

Hi, have you tried the pill takers cups? We ordered 2 different styles when we were teaching my son to swallow his allergy meds. Both cups worked in helping him swallow, now he doesn't need to use the cups at all. You can check the cups out at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Daps&...
Good Luck!

I haven't had to do this yet but I know other parents who have had their children practice with rice and also with M&Ms - start out with the mini M&Ms and work up to regular size. If they have trouble swallowing, it will melt. Good Luck!