Getting kids to do what you want is hard on a good day, so you can forget about it when they’re sick. No parent wants to see their child suffer, and often times medicine is the quickest way to get them back to feeling good. However, kids don’t exactly love taking medicine and it can be a battle to get them to take the dose they need to get rest and recover. If your kids give you a hard time when it comes to taking medicine, check out some of these tricks of the trade!
1. Flavor Medicine
Once a child has an experience with a poor tasting medicine, it literally leaves a bad taste in their mouth and they have no intention of letting you give them more. Even months and years later, kids remember and can give you a hard time. Do yourself a favor and check with your pharmacist about flavoring your child’s prescription. For a small fee of about $3, most pharmacies can add flavoring that is dye, sugar and gluten free. That’s $3 well-spent!
2. Applesauce
Some kids see a medicine cup a mile away and start running. A sneaky way to get them their medicine is to hide in a food they like and one that has a lot of flavor to camouflage the medicine. Applesauce works great because it will hide liquid or crushed pills and the comfortable taste of apple will be a welcome distraction. Disclaimer: my parents tried this on me once and I caught on to it. To this day, I STILL won’t eat applesauce, so use at your own risk!
3. Talk To Your Pediatrician
If you have a kid that hates taking medicine, the thought of giving it to them four times a day probably gives both of you nightmares. But did you know you can have an active discussion with your pediatrician about different medicines that may taste better or require less dosages? It may not work with all illnesses and prescriptions, but it’s definitely worth asking about!
4. Give Them “Control”
If you have a child that’s a toddler or older, then you probably hear “I do it mySELF” a lot. Sometimes all it takes is to give your child a little bit of control for them to willingly do something. Allow your child to hold the medicine cup themselves and you’d be surprised how much smoother the whole process can go. Of course, be sure you’re still the one who’s pouring the proper measurement into the cup first!
Source: PopSugar.com
5. Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolli Lollipop
A great mom hack if you’re still having trouble is to pour the medication in the cup provided and then let your kids dunk a lollipop in the cup, coating it with medication. Once they suck all the medication off, they can dip again, until it’s all gone. Be sure they get the whole amount so make sure they are getting the proper dosage!
Head over to PopSugar.com for 9 other great ideas for getting the kiddos to down their medicine!
6. Avoid All Tastebuds
All baby and infant medication comes with a plastic syringe for proper dosage, and you can ask for free syringes at the pharmacy counter. Instead of forcing your child to drink from a cup, use the syringe to shoot the medication at the cheek or back of the throat to bypass all the tastebuds, and hopefully their gag reflex if they don’t like the taste. Fast and easy!
7. Distract Them
Catch your kids at a time they are already distracted, like playing a game or watching the TV to administer their medication. It may not work with every child, depending on their attention span but it’s worth a shot. It will also help making the medicine not so stressful if you tell them, “see, all done!” and they never even noticed.
8. Don’t Stress
Your child is very aware of stressful situations and can often mimic them involuntarily. They know when you are frustrated, and that can mean they will be all the more resistant when it comes to taking medicine if you are. Do your best to remain calm and be encouraging so that your kids don’t feel the added pressure on top of being sick.
Karly Wood
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Karly Wood
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