Five Easy Steps to Get your Child to Drink his Medicine

I have to admit that I didn’t have a good experience with medicines when I was young. Antibiotics and anti-pyretics didn’t use to taste or smell as wonderfully as they do now. I remember medicine time as a time of endless struggle and bargaining, which usually ends with me losing the battle. How I hated the smell of medicines, especially those bitter, clear cough syrups. I thanked the heavens for pills and tablets which made life easier for me, and my parents, when I came of age.

Recently, we made another trip to the hospital. My four-year old was confined , luckily, only for a day. But of course she had to take some medicines at home to ensure her full recovery. I made sure she won’t hate taking madicines like I did when I was her age. I have to say that there was practically no problem with her drinking her meds. We must have done something right in her training. So, I would like to share with fellow parents the tricks of the trade that we have learned.

1. Pick a fruit. Any Fruit.

Let them pick which flavor they would like to drink. This makes them feel empowered. They don’t feel pushed into drinking something that they don’t like at all. Also it ensures to some extent that your child will offer the least resistance because they actually like the flavor. Nowadays, companies are offering paracetamol and antibiotics for kids that are in very fruity flavors like strawberry, orange, banana, tutti-frutti and others.

2. Juicy Meds

When my daughter was younger, we used to mix her meds with juice of similar taste.

At the tender age of 1 ½, when she contracted pneumonia and almost always ran a fever because of tonsillitis (she drinks very little water ), we used this approach. We let her pick which juice she would like to drink, offering her a choice of either orange or strawberry. Note that these are the most common flavors used in kid’s medicines. We mix her meds with a half a cup of juice. Remember, the aim is to make her think she’s merely drinking juice. Half a cup of juice ensures that the meds don’t taste as strongly AND that the child can drink all of it so she still gets the right dosage.

3. FUN Inc.

My husband and I work as a team, especially when our daughter is sick. We make it a point to lessen her stress over drinking her medicine. To do this, we incorporate various things. Before, when our daughter was still at the Juicy Meds stage, we let her use a drinking straw when she is taking her medicine. We refrain from telling her that she is actually drinking her meds as she obviously would like to pretend that she is only sipping her favorite juice from her favorite character cup. Today that she’s bigger, this has changed of course. She now takes her medicine straight up.

4. Drinking Readiness

We never force our daughter to drink her medicine. We take time to explain to her why she must drink it. When she is still not ready to drink her meds, we tell her it’s okey but that she has to take it after 5 minutes (sometimes, she bargains for 10 minutes). Another way to prepare her, is we tell her what time she is supposed to drink her meds, like before or after breakfast or lunch. This way, we allow her time to come to terms with drinking it at her own pace. When the 5 minutes is up, we encounter no more problems. She drinks her meds peaceably.

5. A star, a hug and a lollipop

There are times when the above barely works, especially when you bought a medicine in a flavor that she hates. This happens rarely to us but when it does, it makes you want to run back to the pharmacy and have the product exchanged for one she would certainly, surely, 100 percent drink. However, we manage to get around this problem using the reward system. To get her to drink her meds, believe it or not, we bargain. She usually wants a lollipop or bubblegum. And we relent to this, only if we secure a promise that she would eat it AFTER drinking her meds. We do this so she won’t throw up after, therefore wasting the medicine and putting her through another grueling episode fo drinking it. You can also give other rewards to your child, like a high-five, a kiss, a hug, a star and many others.

Now, medicine time is a breeze, which leaves her more time to play and explore.