Tips and Tricks: How Do You Get Your Child to Take Medication?

Taking medication wasn't negotiable. I had no qualms about forcing it down her by any means necessary.

Medicine isn't negotiable at all. It's not something they have an option to take. We explained to them what it was, why they had to take it, and had a drink of choice standing by for right after.

Pinning them down is sometimes necessary. We had to do that most often with eye drops :(.

i'm not sure what i'd do if i had a real fighter. looking mine in the eye and saying firmly 'this is medicine. you need to take it right now. it will help you feel better' worked for mine. there were times at this age (and probably younger) when they squealed and kicked and protested, and i'd just wait patiently (and silently) and then repeat. they always ended up cooperating.
obviously one can't wait it out forever, but i've found it much more helpful to let them wear themselves down than to use force.
khairete
S.

Medication is not negotiable.
If he won't take it voluntarily, you pin him down and squirt it down his throat.
Our son had pneumonia at 14 months old.
I developed a hold to pin him down and get it done.
Our pediatrician said my devotion to sticking with the medication schedule was directly responsible for keeping him from landing in the hospital in an oxygen tent.

Could you not put the liquid in juice? I'm not a big juice pusher (my child didn't have it at all really) but in this case I think I'd try it. Or mix it up in a smoothie or something. For medicine I would do whatever it took. I'd think liquid would be easier than a pill form.

Wait till you have a 5 year old that HAS to take a pill....lol.

We feel your pain. Good luck!

I tell her upfront that he needs to take this medicine. When she was younger, it was the squirt/syringe delivery. Older was handing her the cup and encouraging her to drink fast. Then she could chase it with candy or juice or water. I reminded her what it was FOR and if she fought me on something she didn't absolutely need, then she dealt with the irritation or sniffles or whatever I was trying to help her with. I'm thankful that overall she's understood this and taken her meds even if she doesn't like them. Some chewables are not recommended for kids that young, so you should ask his doctor first.

Of course he signed done and doesn't want it. But that doesn't mean it's the end of the discussion.

What we did was made it matter of fact. "You need to take this medicine so you'll feel better. What do you want to drink after it? Ok, here, you hold this and I have the ___ (juice, soda, whatever it takes) right here. Would you like me to hold it and hand it to you after, or do you want me to just set it on the counter right here so you can get it?"

Have the chaser at the ready, however he wants that. Then wait. Let him get up his courage, and he will drink it. He'll make a face and complain and everything else. Be patient. Be ready with the chaser. Then tell him what a good job he did taking it afterwards.

That's what we did with both our kids. Never had any problems.

Why is he signing "done." Is he still preverbal at nearly 3? I think that may have something to do with his inability to swallow medicine. By this age, he should be verbal and easily taking medicine - I never had to hide pills or pin my kids down, and they hated medicine. And why are you calling it a "water" syringe? Did you call it water so he'd take it? Or was it something other than a pharmacy issued syringe for medication? You should only be using proper measuring devices.

If your child still isn't talking or swallowing medications easily, I'd ask your doctor for advice. This sounds like a bigger issue than just how to take meds.

For what it's worth: Taking the medication was never negotiable - they knew that from the start. For liquids, I used a syringe from the pharmacy or even a cup that came with the medication. And if it wasn't a medication that came flavored, I only went to pharmacies that offered the flavoring and paid the $2.99 to get the medicine flavored.

I don't play games when it comes to health and safety. I explain what it is, why they need it, they take it. Period. I've never had to, but next step would be to pin down and force it in. Next dose we would do the same thing.

Can you try a different flavor of medicine? My sons like the grape but hate anything berry. I will also let our sons squirt the syringe themselves. If it's really bad tasting, we promise a treat after.

Medicine has never been a problem other than my daughter whens he was a couple weeks old. As far as my son goes it is not something that he can choose to do or not do. If it tastes bad I always give him some sort of drink, candy, etc to get the taste out of his mouth afterwards. At almost 3 it is time ot learn to take it. I personally would tell him he has to take it, upon taking it he can resume his favorite activities but he is not done until he takes it.

At 2 and 4, my kids prefer to push the syringe on their own. So, I let them. No screaming or crying anymore and they think they're "big". With prescription meds, we have a local pharmacy that will flavor it for free and the have chocolate flavoring. That helps a lot. You could also offer a Hershey kiss of something small for finishing all the meds without crying.

When they were real little I just pinned them down and forced them to swallow. Sometimes they had candy waiting and that would work. I never liked to hide medicine in juice etc(tried it once) but i had the issue of not finishing it all or spit some out. They are 4, 5, and 8 now and we are pass this issue.

I take time to clear off a dresser or counter waist high to me. Then I get a blanket and wrap the kiddo up like a burrito. I put them down on the counter top and using small amounts put the med in their mouth. I talk calmly and quietly and they learn quickly that I am the boss and that meds will be taken.

If a child knows you aren't the person to make them take it regardless they know they don't have to take it or mind or anything you say.

Sometimes you have to be the boss regardless of what you are normally like. So that your kids learn where the line is and they aren't allowed to cross it.

I have never had to do this method of meds more than a couple of times to any child. After that they are more than willing to sit up and take it in tiny sips or all at once. No rewards for taking it either. Medication is a med and not a choice.

You can always put a liquid med in applesauce. Get applesauce that's already colored sometimes then if it tastes or looks different it's all good.

Mine took it fine as long as there was a treat waiting after it was over. The syringe is good but right after that a piece of something to change the taste a.s.a.p.

When you have fighter you can look them in the eye all you want and it will do no good. With my daughter I would offer a piece of candy or a couple of m & m's if she took the medicine. Yes I had to resort to bribery. Sometimes I would have a glass of juice handy and make a game of it by saying lets see how fast you can swallow the medicine so that you can have juice to that the nasty taste away.

You can hide a chewable in apple sauce or you can tell him the pills are candy. That sometime worked for my daughter. Good luck!!! I know what it's like to have a medicine fighter. Thankfully she's older now so we don't have that issue any longer. This too, like other events, will pass....

It's funny, but I never had this issue with my kids - any of them, and some are horribly picky eaters so you would think I would have.

Ear drops - another story. But their ears were usually pretty sore at that point and I think it was more the concept of something dripping in that freaked them out.

I know for antibiotics, etc. we got the tastier kinds especially for kids. As for over the counter meds, we just asked the pharmacists for the ones kids preferred.

And like others have said, I never gave them any kind of wiggle room. I would shoot it in their mouths and that was that.

My kids were in daycare when they were young, so got a lot of illnesses, so maybe they just were used to being squirted with meds by the time they were 3.

Good luck :)

We do liquid. When they were that age we used the syringe. With my daughter it sometimes meant hubby sitting on her feet, me pinning down her arms and pinching her nose while hubby shot the meds in. It was not pretty. I just watched a video of a zoo vet trying to give an oral med to baby pandas. That's what it looked like with my daughter. But, it had to be done.

Let him take a drink of juice or eat a gummy fruit or even suck on a Popsicle first. That will help to mask the flavor. You can try squirting a little bit of the med into his cheek and letting him take a drink of juice. Then finish with the rest of the med and a juice tracer. If you squirt it into the side of his cheek there should be less gagging.

My husband is a pharmacist and he really frowns on mixing kids' meds into juice or applesauce. If they don't drink all the juice or eat all the applesauce they don't get all of the med and it isn't effective.

I always give my daughter a treat like M&Ms afterward. She turned 3 last month.

This is a big struggle with my 3 year old son. People aren't going to agree with me but I have tried everything with him. I put soda in a cup with the medicine. He doesn't drink soda often so its a treat to him. Its only a sip or 2 worth, just enough to mask the medicine.

My 2 year old will only take medicine when it's in his drink (and he doesn't know about it). I put it in juice or chocolate or strawberry milk to dilute it.