How to give Your Child Medicine

Are you one of those stressed-out parents who want to learn the tips and tricks on how to give their child a medicine? 

I know that you have to chase them around the house and pull the house apart to find them. 

However, they still need to take their medicine but you are exhausted and now your back aches so you just give up. 

You have to give your child the medicine for a speedy recovery but if they are unwilling to have it fret not because we have the solutions to this problem.

We all have experienced this too when I was five or nine, I would close myself in my bathroom when my dad would be standing you with the bitter, yellow syrup in his hand. 

He would wait for me to come out but even if he did give me the medicine, I would spit it out. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who gave her parents a hard time.

It’s alright! They are just kids and they are supposed to act that way. What’s important is to understand that you are a parent and you have to help your child spend those sick days. You need to handle things more tactfully and don’t worry you have our and your doctor’s support.

We have written this blog post especially for all those frustrated parents who are worried sick about their child’s behaviour while taking medicine. You just need to sit down and rest that back, keep reading this till you reach the end because that is what smart parents do.

1.    Talk to them

I know that you are a bit exhausted but what is more important than your child’s health? You need to get him or her recovered as soon as possible so that you can watch them playing and screaming again.

What I need you to do is to develop some patience and sit down with them. Take their favourite stuffed toy, or wear a funny puppet in your hand, or hold a tea party with all the dolls and toys. 

If your child fidgets or is the type that doesn’t like to sit, make a play with them and act it out. Gather some toys to make a germ army and place them on the window sill or a table. Choose whichever way or method that will help your child understand. 

Make this more of a joyful conversation because that’s when you will make things fun for them, they will give you all their attention and would want to hear from you.

While you are having the tea party or talk with Mr. Puppet tell them why they are sick. Leak the need for taking the medicine into your conversation and joke around so that they understand why they need it. 

You also need to tell them what will happen if they take the medicine. Will they gain all those superpowers to defeat Victor Man’s germ army inside their body? Or will they able to go and enjoy their friend’s birthday party?

That is one of the ways how you can give your child medicine. This way they would understand the need to take the medicine, also it’s a simple way of motivating them and making them want to take the medicine.

2.    Make things taste yum!

If you can then add some flavour to your medicine to make your child like the taste of it. This is also one of the most effective ways of giving your child medicine an easy job for you.

How do I add flavouring to the medicine? When you to the pharmacy to buy the medicines written on the prescription ask your pharmacist to add a good flavour to the medicine. 

However, please make sure that it is not your favourite flavour but it should taste like your child’s favourite one. What you can do is that you can take him or her to the pharmacy with you. 

Make them choose the flavour they want. That way you will also be slipping things under their control and they might like that extra treatment. Thus, it will make them feel that buying this medicine is some kind of special event and that might urge them to take the medicine out of excitement or curiosity.

Let's suppose you cannot take your child to the pharmacy and you are quite unsure about which flavour to choose. 

It’s the 21st century! Get your phone out of your pocket and facetime them asking what flavour would they like to have. Make them choose, eliminate the ones that they are not going to like.

Yes, it happened. Your child didn’t like the flavour you bought for them and you are running back to the pharmacy again. 

That’s alright but you need to do this step beforehand. Sometimes they may find it hard to choose between two or three flavours if you can - buy them and bring them home. Put a small drop on their palm or finger and make them taste each of the medicine. 

That way you won’t have to keep rushing between your home and the pharmacy. Plus, you will give them the medicine at the right time without facing any mood swings or struggle.

3.    Stay calm and be positive

When children are sick, they want to get all the attention, love, and care. You might get a bit frustrated and would want to spend some time to rest. 

However, children get deeply affected by the way you talk or react to them. That’s why I suggest that you not to show them even the tiniest bit of irritation. If you do express your frustration, they would not want to take the medicine. 

That would just bring the flood of tears and shrieking screams would start ripping the air.

If you are a parent who knows that they can lose their temper or patience easily. Switch places and divide medicine time between each other. 

That way you can have some time to rest yourself as well. During such a time when your child is sick, both parents need to show some cooperation and get through this together. For single parents, you already might have loads of work to do. 

What you can do is that you can ask someone present at your home - someone, whom your child trusts - to give them the medicine.

By staying calm and keeping a positive attitude towards your child one can gain success in this matter. 

You need to raise their spirits instead of lowering them in times like these. You are a parent who wants their child to recover as soon as possible but don’t insult or beat them. 

It would only make your child feel anxious and they would start seeing medicine time as a big punishment. 

You need to learn how to stay patient and calm if you want to learn how to give your child medicine - without yelling till your throat becomes sore.

4.    Earn the big prize!

All kids love having a good treat! During normal days it’s the best way to get things done from them. 

My parents did this for me too and yes you can do this for your child as well. Parents say that this is one of the best ways how you can give medicine to your child! Tell them what’s in for them if they drink up that disgusting medicine. 

By telling them about the prize or reward, it would urge them to take the medicine.

I like to turn things into a game, it helps a lot and you can use these ways as well. What you can do is cover their eyes with a blindfold and make them open their mouths, to give the medicine. 

Hold a basket right in front of them and ask them to drop their hands in, to choose the toy or prize. That would invoke feelings of curiosity and make medicine time an exciting game time!

Either that or you can give them a sweet, toffee, or a delicious treat from a jar they always want their hands on. That would also help make them sense the bitterness of the medicine less and would leave back a sweet taste in their mouths. 

You can even bribe them by saying you will add five pence every time they take the medicine and so on, they will become like Richie Rich! These ways of bribing and rewarding will make your child take the medicine without disturbing you. 

If your child is the competitive type, set a challenge that they would like to take and then reward them only after they have had their medicine.

5.    Hide the medicine in food or drink

Suppose none of the above ways works. Don’t worry we will give you all the tricks that you need if you want to know how to give your child medicine. 

Our methods are the best and we assure you that they would work in every situation and for every type of child. Try hiding these medicines in their food or drink.

Is there a shake or a type of food that they love eating so much that they can’t stop? Well, that’s great! But first, you need to consult your doctor if you can carry out this method.

Crush the medicine and add the powdered form of the medicine into your milk and stir it. 

You may also add and mix them with the food in their plates – but they shouldn't see it. You can even coat the medicine with something like chocolate – if you have clean candy wrappers you can give it to them in that way too. 

If you are afraid that your child will swallow or ingest the wrapper, open it in front of them and give it to them. 

To make sure that they don’t find that it’s the medicine has the same candy (not containing the medicine) and eats it with and right in front of them.

This the way the bitter and horrible medicine taste won’t even reach their tongues. They will take the medicine without having any idea thus that won’t give them the chance to run all over the house. You can take a sigh of relief once that works out for you.

6.    Giving medicine indifferent and smaller forms

Do you have to give medicine to a toddler? Or does your kid start choking on the medicine and they vomit or squirt it out?  

If you are experiencing something like that and you don’t know how to give your child medicine, don’t panic but before I start telling you about this method. I recommend that you consult your doctor, maybe the medicine doesn’t suit them. 

Tell them all the details about what happens after you give them the medicine. Maybe they will prescribe a new one for your child to take.

After you call your doctor and they tell you that the medicine is not causing this then that’s okay. 

If you can ask your doctor or pharmacist if the medicine comes in a tablet or capsule form. That way you can make your child swallow them if they find it hard to swallow - stick with the liquid solution.

What you can do is divide the dose of the medicine into smaller amounts. For example, if you have to give them two tablespoons, give them the medicine in six teaspoons or fill half the tablespoon (give it four times). 

That way they wouldn’t choke and they would take the medicine easily.

You can even give the medicine in their favourite glass, spoon, or by their favourite toy if that makes things easy for you.

I told you that by the end of this blog you will learn all the tips and tricks of giving your child medicine! See, it wasn’t that hard to do this task, and congratulations on achieving the goal of the day that was on top of your agenda. 

Now you can act like the smart parent by applying all these methods for yourselves. The days would pass by quickly and your child will start pulling the house apart like he or she always does. Happy medicine time!

FAQ

Q. How can I give medicine to a special child?

Mix it in a milkshake or hide it in your food. If they move a lot, hold them by pretending to hug them while you give them the medicine.

Q. How can you make a child swallow?

They need to practice this. Make them swallow some small sweets and after that, you can give them medicine to swallow.

Q. What if my child doesn’t open his mouth?

Hold their nose and rub the lower part of their chin. They will open your mouths and you can give them the medicine.

Q. What if I can’t make them sit down?

Distract them so that they can sit down in one place. Open your TV or give them a book to read. Spread your arm across their shoulder, show them a toffee. Put the medicine in their mouths when they open it.