Any Moms Out There Have Any Advice on How to Give 2 Year Old Eye Drops?

Hi L.!

Been there, done that . . . and found a way to cope. I always have my girls lay their heads back and close their eyes. Then I put one drop in the inner corner (one eye at a time) and then have them blink their eyes. I make sure that they have a tissue in their hand for when we're done, and also tell them they can close their eyes as tight as they want while I'm putting the drops in. I feel like they trust me more because I'm setting up all the comforts I can for them -- and really, as long as they open their eyes and blink, the job gets done! Of course, they are usually timid about opening their eyes, but they can't keep them closed forever -- and a pediatrician told us that if you blow on their faces, they can't help but blink. I've never had it fail yet. Good luck to you!

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Hi L..
Sounds like you are having quite the time with this one! Here is something slightly different that you can try. Hold your little one in your arms as if you are going to rock her to sleep and have her close her eyes like she is pretending to be asleep. (You know how you close your eyes but then kind of peek through your eyelashes?) Gently squeeze the drops onto the base of her top eyelashes and then let her blink as much as she wants. This will let the drops seep into her eyes and lets them spread out so there isn't that sensation of one big drop hitting in a single place on the eye. It also allows the medicine to cover more of the eye surface.
Good luck!
C. :)

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You can have her close her eyes and put the drops in the inside corner of her eye, then have her open her eye and it will run into her eye. It is helpful to have her tilt her head a little to the side opposite of where you want it to go...for instance, if you are putting the drops in her right eye, have her lay on her back, close her eyes and turn her head a little to the left.

This works for us when we use allergy drops...hope it helps you!

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istead of pulling the upper lid up, try pulling the lower lid down. Also, talk to your doctor about an oral medication for pink eye. When my youngest was under a year and had pink eye our doctor gave us an oral medication. It didn't work as fast but it was so much easier.

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My son has had surgery on his right eye several times for something else but we have a lot of experience with eye drops. All the advice here is pretty much everything we have done. When you have to put drops in every hour on the hour it becomes a battle very quickly but children get over it quickly too. It is usually harder on mom and dad than the child. Just remember it is for her own good and stay calm. The nurses at the Dr's office will just place the drop in the corner of the eye closest to the nose while the child is lying down and when they blink it runs into the eye. This does not always get as much of the drop in the eye but if the child is fighting and crying then they will flush some of the drops out anyway. Good luck.

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yes if their eyes are closed put it in the corner (part closest to the nose) and when they open their eyes it goes right in!

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Head back or lying down, eyes closed, drops in the corner of the eye, then blink.

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We had to give our daughter drops (and btw, they burn sometimes) and she fought us. We finally quit trying to drop them into her eyes and we dropped them in the inside corner and held her still until she opened her eyes. When she opened them, the drops went into her eyes.

Good luck! (We also bribbed her)

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Good Morning L., Sounds like my hubby....lol First time I tried putting drops in for him i needed a Crowbar..
Then I showed him Years later how to place the container on the side of his nose and put them in his self.

I can't think of an easy way to do it for a child that age though. I would imagine she is old enough to understand her eye hurts, or is irritated. Did you tell her the drops were medicine to help her eye get better? If you have some gen teal drops or other eye drops for yourself, maybe show her how they go in your eyes to make them feel better.
Bribery might work...lol I don't like restraining a child, if ya have to ya have too. My girlfriend always had to hold her kids down to give them even Tylenol. Was a battle royal. I've never had to do anything like that with our son's or grand kids.

Wish I could help L.
Hope you figure it out soon and she gets better quickly
God Bless You
K. Nana of 5

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You might try warming them in a glass of water (or hold the bottle in your hand tightly for 5 or so minutes) first. She won't be able to feel it so much that way if it's closer to body temp. The cold bothered me more than the drops when I was little. You might also make sure that you are very calm and try talking to her about what it is and why she needs it. It kind of depends on how your child is, but when mine were little I could say that they had an icky sick bug and the medicine helped wash it away. But if bugs freak her out that might make it worse. Maybe a different angle...use your imagination and play a game with her with it and tell her what a big girl she is and praise her..?? All kids are different, what works for one might not work for another. Good luck.

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Don't drop it in - squeeze it in the inside corner of her eye. Have her tilt her head so it spreads over the whole eye. Maybe she could even do it herself.

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Looks like you've gotten a lot of advice here, but I'm going to pitch in anyway.

Warm the bottle of drops to body temp. by holding them or putting them in your pants pocket 5-10 minutes before you need to administer them.

Make sure the room is darkened so there aren't bright lights shining in their eyes.

Have your child lay down with their eyes closed and put a drop in the inside corner of their eye, then have them blink to get the drops in. (Maybe they can help you by holding a tissue as a distraction for their little hands.)

Tell them what a great job they did! And how much the medicine is going to help them feel better! Give them big hugs, and maybe even a chocolate chip or 2 as a reward! :) We would put the reward somewhere they could see it (make it tangible) before doing the drops so they knew what the good was coming after. It seemed to help.

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I too had trouble until someone told me to have my child lay down on their back and close their eyes. Place the drop(s) in the inside corner of the eye. Then while they are still lying down, have the child open her eyes...drops are now where they're suppose to be. Good luck.

My son has actually had pink eye several times, so we are becoming pros at the drops! It takes both my husband and I to get it done. He usually holds his head while I open his eye with one hand and apply drops with the other.(Sometimes if he is really upset, I will have to stradle him to keep him from kicking and turning over.) He will try to squint so that we can't do it, but if you can get the eye open even a little, they will go in. I know when we first started, we tried dropping it into the corner of the eye. That worked ok. I hate it because I know it burns, but he gets over it pretty quick once we let him go! Good luck! A.

As terrible as it may seem, you are just going to have to hold her down each time. It seems cruel, but it really isn't. You are doing this for her own good, so she will get better. She won't remember this later on in life =)

Do Not force her, makes it worse for them actually, I would wait until she is asleep and gently pull up the eyelid and instill them that way .even if you can get them in the corner of her eye that will help some.Best of luck to ya.

My friend's daughter was this way. For some reason I could get her to take the eye drops if her mom was out of the house. You could try to get a close friend or maybe even grandma/grandpa to try it.
If that's not an option, you may just have to pin her with your legs and get the drops in.

I see a lot of ideas and here is another one to try...I realize she is 2 years old but look at it this way-she is old enough to say no and put up a fight so now you get some eye drops of your own-she won't understand the difference and you don't need the pink eye stuff (yet) so any drop is good-but make it a real one from the drug counter. Now you show her what to do and then you stay with her and have her do it for herself! I know this sounds far fetched but I have seen little ones do more than we ever expect them to do so what have you got to lose? some eye drops for you? Well if it works qand you both can go to the mirror at the same time and do the drops together well you have bonded in another space in our time! Good luck Mom.

Lay her on the floor, straddle her holding her pinning her arms down to her sides (without putting pressure on her torso of course) and drop them in the inside corners of her eyes with her eyes closed. When she opens her eyes they should run in.

We went through that with our son when he was about 18 months and it was so hard, basically we had to hold him down and try and open his eye just a little and get the drops in the eye. My husband did the hard part so that I was the one that could comfort him when it was over. Good luck to you and hope that you get it cleared up quickly!

My sitter had to show me how to do it when my son had pink eye last year. He as just over a yeAr at the time so I'm not sure if it would still work (he's two now). Sit on a chair or couch, sit your daughter on your lap facing you, lay her back and put her head between your knees so she is looking the same direction you are (not up). I know it sounds awful, but it worked really well. Her legs will be behind you off to one side, so she can't kick your arm and risk you poking her eye and yo can hold her arms down with one hand while administering the drops with the other. Good luck!

Ask if you can get the salve instead. It is the consistency of neosporin and you can wipe it across the lash line. Good luck. If you have to stick with the drops I can recommend the egg shaped eye droppers. You place it on the bridge of the nose and roll it toward the eye. Other than that, maybe she could practice with some saline. That might entice her since they want to try/do everything.