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It’s no surprise that children generally dislike medication, so what do you do when your child is sick? Try these 7 tricks to get kids to take medicine.
The struggle is real for many parents. Your child gets sick. After a visit to the pediatrician, you leave with a prescription for medicine that you know will make them feel better. You pick up the prescription and head home. Your anxiety sets in because you foresee the difficulty in getting your child to take medicine.
You try begging, pleading, and even bribery to get them to take it. After an hour of trying everything you know to do, you feel like giving up.
It does not have to be this way. There are numerous tricks to get kids to take medicine. Below are nine that have helped many parents with the same problem.
1. Get Help From Your Pharmacist
Pharmacists and doctors have been answering questions for years from parents just like you. They have even come up with ways to help. Pharmacists can compound children’s medications to meet your child’s specific needs.
Pharmacists can create medicines in liquid, pill, gummies, or powder forms. They can even add your child’s favorite flavorings to take away the bad taste of some medications. Finding the right children’s medication for your child is essential, and that’s where we come in! Pediatric compounding is the best way to get kids to take medicine as it caters to their individualized needs.
2. Add Medicine to Food
Ask your pharmacist to compound your child’s medication in a way that you can easily blend it with their favorite foods. Applesauce, soups, juices, and chocolate milk are easy foods and drinks for blending. If you get creative, other favorites like pizza and hotdogs can work too.
The key to mixing medicine with foods is to work with your pharmacist to make sure you are not altering the medication’s effects, like if they are supposed to be time-released. Also, put the medicine in smaller portions to ensure the full dose gets eaten.
One cool hack is to mix the medicine in a dollop of cool whip with sprinkles on top. Another hack is to combine the medicine with chocolate syrup to get kids to take medicine.
3. Let Your Kids Make Decisions
Depending on your child’s age, it’s essential to let them have some control over what goes into their bodies. They also need to understand why they need medicine, and it is vital to explain the reason for them in a way that matches their learning level.
Let your child ask questions and answer them honestly. Let your child pick the flavor they want and how they want to take it. You can also let them select a small reward after they complete taking medicine.
4. Give a Small Reward
To help to get kids to take medicine, each time your child takes their medication, praise them verbally. You may also want to let them pick a small reward like a sticker, lollipop, popsicle, or something else they enjoy to entice them to take their medicine.
Your child does not deserve a new bike, money, or other large rewards for merely taking their medicine. Make sure the prize fits the action.
5. Use Clever Tools
If your child uses a pacifier, invest in a medicine pacifier. Ask your pharmacist to show you how they work. You can also choose medicine droppers and medicine spoons rather than trying to force them to drink from a small cup.
Likely there are other tools like this to make it easier for you and your child.
6. Model the Behavior You Want to See
Your child is watching to see how you react. If you are stressed, they will feel stress and may resist the medication. If you are angry, they may act mad in response and reject your attempts. Choose behaviors that will encourage your child to take their medicine.
If you want it to be a fun experience, do fun things while giving them medicine. Play a game, sing a song, or create some new dance moves. Think outside the box and get creative. Let your child create the game or song and decide at which point during each they take medicine. Continue to have fun after the dose is ingested.
If you take medication, let your children see you taking it. Have a positive attitude about it.
7. Make It Cold
Medicines taste better when they are cold. Refrigerate the medicine or put it on ice, so it is more flavorful. Or, have a cold, great-tasting drink ready at medicine time. Before and after your child takes their dose, have them take a drink.
This also helps to numb the taste buds at the front of the tongue. Some parents find having their child suck on a popsicle before they take medicine is the best way to numb taste buds, so your child doesn’t want to spit the medicine out when they consume it.
8. Let Your Doctor Give the First Dose
Children find it easier to manipulate parents, even though they don’t even know what it means to manipulate. They know how to get what they want, like getting out of taking their medicine.
When children are being instructed by non-parents, like police officers, firefighters, and yes, doctors, they tend to respond better.
To get kids to take medicine better, ask your doctor to provide a mini-teaching session for your child. Have them explain why they need the medicine, how it will help, and how to take it. Your doctor can even give your child the first dose, helping both of you understand administration.
If your doctor cannot give the first dose, ask your pharmacist to provide the child’s mini-teaching session. Working with a professional in a white lab coat may convince your child to take their medicine.
9. Tag Team
Work with your spouse or another family member to help get kids to take medicine. Choose a team member that doesn’t give in to your child’s demands or tantrums if they should occur. Your child may feel outnumbered and follow orders.
If not, there may be a time where you and your partner need to administer the medicine together. In such cases, you must first ask your pharmacist to teach you how to do this so you avoid accidentally causing your child to choke.
With these suggestions, you can feel more confident in getting your child to take their medication.
