Swallowing Pills - Pleasant Hill,CA

Havent tried with my son (he's 8 and I was *just* thinking the other day that it was time to teach him to swallow pills, so thank you for asking this question!)

I personally had a VERY hard time learning how to swallow pills and only because I absolutely had to when I had an infection around 11-13 years old. It was only the very last pill of the prescription that I finally could do it! :-(

To this day, I still have to tuck my tongue under the cup and then drink fast before my tongue "traps" it and keeps it from going down. (dunno if that makes any sense... but it's what I have to do...) I can and do (with a little effort) swallow pills like aspirin or small allergy pills without water now though. Only been what, 30 years for me to learn how, LOL.

Practice with mini M&M's - good idea.

Just tried this the other day with my 7 year old and failed miserably, she has a very strong gag reflex. We bought a cup from the pharmacy, you put the pill on a little lip inside the cup then just drink normally and the pill goes down but she just couldn't do it, the thought of the pill was too much for her. We're going to practice with tic tacs, it's nice to hear others with kiddos the same age have been successful and I like the idea of pointing out that she swallows bigger bites of food.

My Daughter is 8 years old.... since about 2 weeks ago... she can now swallow her vitamin pills.
These are small pills... about 1/4" in size. Calcium pills. She does not drink milk or much dairy. So she needs this.

She puts the pill in her mouth... then puts a bunch of water in her mouth... then, looking like a goldfish, swallows.

Prior to this, she could not swallow... due to her gag reflex... coupled with the "idea" of something being swallowed. We told her, the amount of food she eats is way bigger than her vitamin going down her throat.
But ultimately, it is something a child will 'get'.... when they are just able to do it.

I know some adults even, that cannot or have a hard time, swallowing pills.

all the best,
Susan

I remember when we were little, my parents had to crush pills and mix it in a spoonful of water (or juice) and my siblings would take them that way... It was always handy to have a 'chaser' of something really good to help out. lol. They were 3-4 at that time... I can't remember when they were able to swallow the pill whole though... And I know that some pills shouldn't be crushed, so this would only work for certain things.

My kids are too small (2 and 4 years old), but they make chewable Tylenol, which we allowed around/after 2 years or so. I could not swallow pills until I was in my mid-teens, no matter how hard I tried. Even as an adult I struggle and gag them down, even birth control pills which are quite small. We tried everything with crushing, practising, coating pills in butter, tipping the head forward, etc. Some people's gag reflex really won't let them swallow, so don't worry if your child does not and just request liquid versions of any medications.

Try practicing with mini M&Ms. When they get stuck there's no nasty taste. Also TicTacs work well for practice. Trying different strategies with varying timing and quantities of liquid will be helpful as well. Practice Practice Practice.
I needed to teach my son with autism to swallow pills and it took quite awhile but now he can get his regular daily vitamins and any meds down without even any liquid.

My youngest at 3 1/2 was swallowing pills and my middle at 6 started swallowing pills. They have no problem but to this day it still bothers me to swallow pills. I have to have water in my mouth and then drop the pill in the back of my mouth and swallow for it to go down.

My daughter finally started taking pills at 15 yrs. old (she has a strong gagging reflex). Before that, we used either liquid or capsule opened and mixed into cashew nut butter! We asked her to put the pills as far back towards the throat as possible and keep drinking warm water as if nothing is in between; she swallowed the pill finally... and life is simpler!

My granddaughter preferred pills to liquid around the age of 4. We were told that was unusual. My grandson was able to swallow pills when he was nearly 7. That seems to be a more usual age.

The pharmacist said to crush pills that could be crushed and stir them in a small amount of applesauce when a liquid version wasn't available. My granddaughter did not like the taste of liquid and so her mother tried out pills and found they worked much better in getting medicine down.

My granddaughter swallowed them whole from the beginning somewhere between ages 3 and 4. She fills her mouth up with water first and then pops the pill in and swallows. That way it doesn't get stuck to her tongue.

My daughter had to take a pill everyday when she was around 7 or 8 and we tried everything. But what worked for her was putting the whole pill in Jelly and that worked great because it just slid right down her throat.

My son had to learn to take pills at 8 for a medical reason and his nurse suggested starting with Tic-Tacs. They are small and coated and if they don't go down they have a good taste. It took some practice but he got it. Now at 12 he takes some pretty huge pills that even I would have a hard time getting down.