How to make your child take medicine
10 Ways to Get Kids to Take Medicine - Kids' Health Center
Do you struggle to get your kids to take needed medicine? These mom- and pediatrician-tested tips may help.
By Chris Iliades, MDMedically Reviewed by Beth W. Orenstein
Reviewed:
Medically Reviewed
Most parents can tell you that getting a young child to take medicine can be a tough sell.
Deb McMaster, of Mansfield, Massachusetts, remembers the struggles all too well. When her son, Connor, was a toddler, he had a series of ear infections, and, she says, he quickly decided that he really hated taking medicine. "When Connor decides he doesn't want to do something, he means it," says McMaster.
Doctors agree that getting kids to take medicine, especially if they have a chronic condition, can be a challenge for any parent. "If you start out with a bad experience, it can go downhill in a hurry and become a continual challenge," warns Kimberly Giuliano, MD, a pediatrician at Cleveland Clinic Children's in Ohio. Of course, when your children are sick, you do need to find a way to get them to take that medicine.
Here are some ways around the medicine issue:
1. Have the right attitude.
"Parents need to have a positive attitude," Dr. Giuliano says. Older kids will often respond to reason and encouragement, she explains, and younger kids will take their cue from a parent's emotions. "The more frustrated we got around medication time, the more Connor resisted us," McMaster recalls.
2. Give kids some control.
For kids old enough to understand, explain why they need to take medicine. Explain how it will help them. Prepare them in advance. If there is a choice of flavors, let the child choose. Kids sometimes benefit from "medical play." Let the child practice giving medicine to a doll or stuffed animal.
3. Get help from your doctor.
"Some medications taste better than others, and some can be given twice a day instead of four times a day,” Giuliano says.
Your doctor may be able to choose medicines that taste better or are more concentrated and need to be taken less often. If you are having trouble, ask for help, Giuliano advises.
4. Improve the flavor.
There may be flavor options for some types of medicines. Pharmacists can use a product called FLAVORx to make medicines taste better. If your children are having trouble taking their medicine, ask your doctor about this option.
5. Add medicine to food.
In most cases, it is safe to crush a pill or open a capsule and disguise the medicine in a favorite food, Giuliano says. But, she warns, always ask your doctor first: Some pills, such as a time-release medicine, may be altered if you open or crush them. You also need to make sure your children eat all the food so they get the full dose of medicine.
6. Fool the tongue.
Some taste-deflection tips include coating the tongue with syrup or giving the child something cold, like a Popsicle, before they take medicine, or washing away the taste quickly with something sweet after they take medicine.
"I often suggest dipping a spoon in chocolate syrup before filling it with medicine," Giuliano says. "The chocolate coats the tongue before the medicine goes down."
7. Bypass the tongue.
"That's the tip that worked best for us," McMaster says. “We put Connor in his high chair, pinched his cheeks, used a medicine dispenser to get the medicine into Connor's mouth, and then stroked under his chin to get him to swallow before he could spit it back out at us."
Giuliano agrees that that’s a tried-and-true method. Parents can use a dropper or a syringe to get the medicines to the back or side of the tongue. But with this method you need to make sure the child is firmly supported and upright to prevent choking, Giuliano warns. “Another way to get kids to swallow is to blow gently in their face."
8. Give a visual reward.
Older kids will often respond to a reward system. “In addition to verbal praise, give kids a sticker and put it on a calendar after they take the medicine," Giuliano suggests.
"They will feel rewarded, and they will also be able to follow their progress visually on the calendar."
9. Teach kids to swallow pills.
"Kids as young as 4 can be taught to swallow pills," Giuliano says. She suggests starting by teaching them to swallow tiny pieces of candy. Some tips for swallowing include dipping capsules in cold water to make them slippery, breaking pills up into smaller pieces, and putting a pill in a lump of Jell-O.
10. When all else fails.
"Sometimes, especially with kids who need to take medicine for a long time, parents just run out of options,” Giuliano says. In these cases, kids can be restrained with the help of an extra caregiver, she suggests. One gentle way to do this is a hugging restraint with the child wrapped in a blanket. Another option is getting someone other than a parent involved. "Kids may be more willing to take medicine from someone other than a parent," Giuliano says.
All told, getting kids to take medicine can be a frustrating experience for parents.
But as kids get a little older, they start to understand the importance of taking medicine and may learn to swallow pills. Until then, parents will have to find the option that works best for their child.
Connor is now 6 and thankfully has no issues taking his meds. "He is over his ear infections now, and he is back to tearing around the house," McMaster says.
Keep a positive attitude and talk to your pediatrician if you need help.
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6 Tips That Will Take the Strain Out of Giving Your Child Medication
Categories:
Health and Safety Tips
Child Life Specialist Emily Glarum explains how to overcome your kid’s aversion to taking medicine.
By Jeff Weinstock
You’re a parent and you’ve hit on an idea. Your child is, to say it gently, opposed to taking medication. You can’t blame the kid. That cherry-flavored prescription syrup tastes like cherries no more than a soy patty tastes like hamburger.
But you have figured out, finally, how to get your child—your twisting, wriggling, protesting, bawling, adamantly uncooperative child—to take medicine: Hide it! In a tablespoon of apple sauce, a scoop of pudding, a smoothie—whichever the child will least suspect to be transporting medication.
It’s a win all around: Your kid doesn’t know, the medication gets down the gullet and into the bloodstream, and your child’s ailment gets the treatment it needs. What could possibly go wrong?
Plenty, Emily Glarum will explain to you, as well as offer pointers on delivering medication to a reluctant child the right way. A Child Life specialist who works in the Heart Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Glarum spends a portion of her time tutoring parents on administering medication to their children.
“I get consulted on that a lot,” Glarum says, “especially when kids are inpatient, just to make sure they can take those medications before going home.” In her work with the families, she leans on these go-to recommendations.
1) Give it to them straight. Getting back to our would-be solution at the top, Glarum says that concealing medication in tasty food items without the child’s knowledge can backfire on the parent.
Child Life Specialist Emily Glarum
“We like to promote honesty,” she says. “Hiding medicine in food can make kids feel tricked and add some mistrust or even some aversions around different foods. What I've run into in the past is, the child may start to detect that their medicine has been mixed in with foods, and then they might stop eating that food altogether, or be more mindful of the food they're eating and think, ‘Oh, are they mixing medicine in with it?’”
If parents find that burying the medication in food is their only hope, then Glarum says it’s OK as long as they practice full disclosure. “Make sure children are aware of it, and be honest about why they need the medicine in a way they can understand. For example, something like, ‘We're trying to help your knees feel better with this,' or 'We're trying to help your stomach feel better.
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“Especially if it's a medicine they have to take long term, that can help them establish some understanding and control over it.”
2) Little by little. Another way of minimizing your child’s aversion to the taste of medicine is to dose it out in small portions, Glarum says, rather than have your child swig it down all at once. Chase down each mini-dose with a bit of water or a drink your kid likes.
“If it's a dose of 20 milliliters, take 5 or 10 at a time so they have a little break to have a little sip of liquid, as long as they're getting all of the medicine,” Glarum says.
During the pause before the next small dose, you can provide some simple, entertaining diversion as a reward for getting that first dose down—coloring, for example, or putting a Lego block onto a structure.
If your child is an infant, Glarum says a common approach is to use a syringe and deposit drops of the medicine between the baby’s cheek and tongue, allowing each droplet to be swallowed until the full dose gets down.
3) Establish a schedule. Glarum says it’s important to create and stick to a consistent “medicine time” that fits within the various set times you have established for other daily routines.
“So they might have dinner, and then have reading time, then take a bath, then take their medicine, then brush their teeth, and then bedtime. It's something that's worked into their schedule, and they know when to expect it and it won't be so much of a surprise.”
4) Provide choices. Although children aren’t free to decide whether or not to take their medicine, Glarum says parents can present them with choices that will help them feel more in control of what otherwise is being forced upon them. For example, if they have a liquid medication, do they want to receive it through a small medicine cup or a syringe? If it’s a pill or capsule they’re taking, do they want to wash it down with water or juice?
Glarum says you can also allow your kid to have input on the scheduling of the medication: Before or after bath time? Do you want to play a game before or after?
Have your child practice swallowing small candies about the size of a tablet before moving on to the real thing.
5) Set aside practice time. The transition from liquid medication to pills can raise another set of obstacles for kids, primarily their reluctance to attempt an effective swallow to get the tablet to go down. A fear of choking can be one hurdle, along with the strange new sensation of the tablet on the tongue. Glarum will have the child practice with smaller-sized candy, and then build up to something that approximates the size of the pill.
“For example, if we have a pill that's the size of a Skittle, then you would start with something smaller, like little dot-sized sprinkles or Nerds,” she says. “From there we can move up to mini M&Ms, regular-sized M&Ms, and Skittles, all the way to Mike and Ikes, which are about the size of a standard tablet.”
This, of course, will make pill-swallowing practice a popular segment of your kid’s day, in addition to making your child more at ease about advancing on to swallowing medication. “It gives them practice on something that is safe to still swallow,” Glarum says, “and then builds their comfort level.
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6) Use a straw. Another useful accessory that can help with swallowing is a straw. Glarum tells parents that rather than instructing their kids to take a swig of water from a cup to wash a pill down, have them take the water through a straw, which can be effective in two ways. One, the action of sucking on the straw can create a distraction for the child, taking the focus off the task of swallowing the medication, and secondly, the use of the straw can create a force strong enough to flush the pill down the child’s throat.
“It helps give them a little more confidence,” Glarum says, “because it's going down easier.”
For more help, visit our Health and Safety Tips blog.
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The art of giving medicine to a child | Ministry of Health of the Trans-Baikal Territory
How difficult it is to give a baby medicine! What tricks just do not have to resort to, if only the child drinks a pill or a spoonful of bitter mixture! So that the usual medical procedure does not turn into a real battle, use our tips.
So, the doctor prescribed medicine for the child. It is in your first aid kit or you just bought it - in any case, carefully read the annotation to it. Have questions and doubts? Be sure to consult a pediatrician, but not in the presence of the baby. You must be sure of the need for the prescribed treatment, otherwise the child will immediately feel your hesitation and flatly refuse the medicine. nine0003
With the exception of well-known, previously used drugs, no other medicines should be given to a child without the doctor's permission, because they may be either useless or harmful in this disease, and also because "similar diseases" are often treated differently.
Give your child crushed and diluted all medicines, and almost all medicines at a certain time: before, during or after meals. Follow these rules!
The pharmaceutical industry produces drugs in liquid form or in granular form in bottles with a mark indicating the level to which it is necessary to infuse and make a liquid dosage form for a child.
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A number of medicines for children are produced in the form of suspensions and syrups that have a pleasant taste and smell, which also facilitates their administration by mouth to patients of infancy, early childhood and preschool age.
Toddlers under 3
Strict rule - all pills you give him must be crushed into powder. A porcelain mortar is fine for this, but ordinary teaspoons will do as well. A slight pressure on one another - and the powder is ready. Dissolve it in sweetened water, syrup, compote. It is better not to use juice and mineral water for these purposes - they often enter into chemical interaction with drugs, which can lead to undesirable consequences. nine0003
Be careful not to leave any powder on the bottom of the cup. If the baby spit out part of the water with the dissolved medicine, in no case add it again "by eye" - there is a danger of an overdose. Wait until next appointment.
Before giving a potion or tablet, be sure to try the medicine yourself and never deceive a child.
If you just painted its wonderful taste, which turned out to be worse than bitter radish, you risk losing your baby's trust for a long time.
Is the tablet very bitter?
Immediately before use, mix the resulting powder with something sweet and thick, such as marmalade, jam or honey. Do not divide one dose into 2-3 scoops. Give everything at once, otherwise the child after the first spoon may refuse the next. Having prepared the "sweet pill", once again try it yourself. If you fail to disguise the taste of the medicine, there is a danger that the child will once and for all acquire a persistent aversion not only to pills, but also to jam. Never mix the medicine with foods that the baby should eat all the time. nine0003
An infant should not be given medicines through a nipple, because it is possible for him to develop a sharply negative conditioned reflex reaction to this object and in the future it will not be possible to use it for mixed or artificial feeding of him.
For children over 3 years old
Psychologists advise: while taking medicine, place a doll or your favorite soft toy next to him and give them pills along with the crumbs. For the company, any business is argued.
If your baby does not suffer from allergies, use this old proven method. Hide the cure in a marmalade-filled chocolate candy. Carefully cut off the top of the candy with a knife, pour the powdered tablet into it and mix with the filling. nine0003
The effectiveness of the therapeutic effect of many medicines administered by mouth depends on how correctly the time of taking the drug is chosen depending on the meal: before, during or after a meal. Strictly follow the pediatrician's recommendations for taking the medicine!
It is important to develop positive psycho-emotional reactions of a sick child to the process of drug administration. Never anticipate taking the medicine with long conversations and persuasion - children are very sensitive and, realizing that you sympathize with them, will turn a simple procedure into an execution for themselves and for you too.
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Never force medicine, especially if the baby is crying. He can choke, choke.
Better prepare in detail, but in an accessible way, answer the questions of your son or daughter, why you need to take pills and medicines, why do the procedures prescribed by the doctor. Children love it when everything is explained to them in detail. The explanation can be turned into a fairy tale, where the main character Pill heroically fights against the hordes of harmful microbes that attacked the baby's body. nine0003
The administration of drugs through the rectum is a fairly common method of therapy in a situation where the use of pharmacological drugs through the mouth is impossible or very difficult. The purpose of this method is either a general (resorptive) or local effect on the painfully altered rectal mucosa. Drugs are administered in liquid form or in the form of suppositories.
The introduction of drugs through the rectum has the following advantages:
- they can be administered in any mental state of the patient, the child does not show negative stress reactions when administered drugs that have an unpleasant smell or taste, irritate the mucous membrane of the mouth and esophagus, pharmacological substances are not exposed to the destructive action of the digestive juices of the stomach and small intestine; nine0003
- the use of drugs does not depend on the time of eating and its nature;
- there are no such adverse drug reactions as nausea, vomiting, anorexia and other symptoms of dyspepsia;
- drugs are rapidly absorbed through the mucous membrane of the rectum due to its pronounced folding and abundant blood supply and penetrate into the blood in a significant amount, bypassing the portal vein system.
The disadvantages of this method of administration include the impossibility of its use for diarrhea in children, the need for preparatory measures (setting a cleansing enema, heating, etc.), a negative psycho-emotional reaction to this method. nine0003
For the administration of drugs through the rectum, rubber balloons with a soft tip are used.
Intrarectally in the form of suppositories (suppositories), solid forms of preparations are administered, which, under the influence of body temperature in the rectum, melt or dissolve.
Before administering the drug inside, the mother should be extremely attentive, carefully control her actions. It is unacceptable to use drugs that have expired. And also those that were not stored correctly, have signs of damage, are in packaging with an erased inscription. If the administered medicine caused any adverse reactions in the sick baby, you must immediately inform the doctor and decide on the possibility of its further use.
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Never let children play with medicines, even vitamins - it is dangerous. All pills and medicines - only from the hands of adults.
How to make it easier for your child to take medication | Bibikol
Any illness is always unpleasant, and when a child is sick, you perceive it much more sharply. Most adults understand that taking medication during an illness is a necessity, but persuading a baby to take this or that drug or undergo some kind of procedure is not an easy task. nine0003
To begin with, it is worth noting the moment that the little man is scared and incomprehensible what is happening to him - why he feels bad, why he used to breathe through his nose, but now he can’t, and so on, and then the parents are trying to drip something into the nose , then “puff” into the throat or, even worse, smear it. Your actions are incomprehensible to the baby, and he is afraid of them, so you need to simply and clearly try to explain to the baby that if you drip a nose, it will become easier to breathe, if you drink a potion, you will cough and the like.
It is necessary to make it clear to your child that you know and understand how unpleasant and disgusting it is for him to drink medicine, but this is necessary. Say that you love him very much and do not want him to get sick - the main thing is for you to convey this to the child, but you should not wait for his full consent, so as not to aggravate the course of the disease. nine0003
Sometimes the baby does not hear you at all and no matter what you say, it will not be of any use, but will only aggravate the situation, the baby will be more and more naughty, not allowed to be treated, and at the same time his health may worsen. So, if you can’t cope with a word, then you need to act differently.
Ways to help parents get their child to take medicine
Show a trick, for example, first treat the baby's favorite toy, and then offer him to do the same procedure himself. Sometimes you can just try to distract the baby with some exciting game or cartoons, during which it will be easier for you to give him medicine, and both of you will get less unpleasant emotions.
Offer to take the drug from some very beautiful spoon or mug, come up with a story that one of the characters in your favorite cartoon or fairy tale specially presented this item for the quickest recovery of the baby. Play the situation, come up with a fairy tale. Pretend yourself that you are drinking the same remedy, and you really don’t like it, but there is a word “must”! nine0003
In any case, you will have to insist on your own, and if persuasion and tricks do not help, then try to slightly press down on your chin so that the baby reflexively opens his mouth, lowering his lower jaw, and at this moment pour in the pre-prepared medicine, just be especially careful, so that your child does not choke. Remember that a child is not easily afraid or does not want to, but he is also looking for a weak spot in you, trying to manipulate you, and older children can start and blackmail, demand their own, and only if you promise him or he receives it, he will agree to be treated. nine0003
All drugs are prescribed in a certain dosage, therefore, if you give a liquid form of the drug, it is very important that it enters the body in the amount prescribed by the doctor, so always dilute the rest with water and let the baby drink it.
If the tablet or mixture is very bitter or tasteless, which is becoming less and less common now, then you can rub your baby's tongue with a piece of ice to reduce the sensitivity of the receptors.
Depending on the age of your child, it is worth learning how to give liquid preparations using a teaspoon or dessert spoon, or a measuring cup, which, as a rule, come in the package with the product. After you have chosen what you will use to drink the child, draw up the mixture, make the baby open his mouth and carefully pour the medicine into it. In no case do not put the whole spoon into your mouth, so as not to scare the baby and not harm the delicate oral mucosa. nine0003
If it is not possible to give the drug in such a simple way, then you can use an ordinary sterile syringe (without a needle) - draw the right amount of the drug into it and inject it into your mouth, inserting the tip of the syringe near the corners of your mouth. You can also purchase a special dispenser with which you can easily inject the right amount of medicine into your child's mouth.
All this is relevant if you have a syrup, suspension, solution or any other liquid form of the drug, but in the case of tablets, it is best to grind them and only in the form of a powder diluted with water (so that when inhaled, fine particles of the drug do not get into respiratory tract) to give to the little man. If necessary, we divide the tablet into parts and grind the amount that needs to be given to the crumbs at the moment with the help of two spoons - put in one part of the tablet intended for one dose, and press the other on top and rub it, ready. nine0003
Faced with the drug in the form of capsules, just open the capsule and pour its contents into a spoon, with which you can give the medicine to the baby. Almost all medicines should be taken exclusively with water at room temperature, with the exception of those in the instructions for which other liquids are noted. For example, some drinks containing calcium can make the drug ineffective, and tea contributes to the formation of sediment from the active ingredients of many drugs, mineral water blocks the absorption of most drugs, and juices and sugary carbonated drinks in combination with drugs can cause anaphylactic shock, edema and lead to to lethal outcome.
