Getting 3 Yr Old to Take Her Medicine

1- try flavoring it like the other mom's suggested. This does not work with my kids ;)

2- Use a syringe instead of a spoon or the cup, and shoot it towards the back of the inside of her cheek. You have salivary glands back there and your natural reflex is to swallow. THIS works like a charm... the trick is getting their mouth open to shove the syringe in there... usually requires sitting on my child, LOL

3- Blow in her face, HARD, the second the meds are in there. This stops working at about 4, so do it while you can! It makes the child swallow then take a breath. My kids have NEVER choked on meds doing this (I know it sounds funny)... this is how they teach babies/toddlers to swim.

Good luck... my 2nd daughter was a super crummy medicine taker, and I did 2 and 3 when she needed to start taking nasty allergy meds daily. She finally got over it and now I can use a spoon, but the stuff's still gross!

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We were given an antibiotic for my dd about 2 yrs ago. She screamed and cried so I finally tasted it. It was awful even with flavoring. I could not believe they prescribed it for a child. I asked the Dr. for a different prescription and she did fine.

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Did you try mixing it with yogurt? My son had a problem with the Cefdinir, but when he found out that medicine gets more yucky as you get older he was more willing to take it. Plus he struck a deal..."If I drink it fast, can I have a yogurt?"
Best of luck to you!

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A shot?

My son WILL NOT take meds. If I get it in him somehow, he makes himself throw up. On me.

I have to take my son tomorrow for a probably EI and I plan to just ask for an injection if he needs it. Hopefully it'll only take one and he'll get better at taking meds.

Also, you could ask your pedi for chewable. My son will do chewable, but apparently not many pharmacies carry it (or they can get it but it has to be ordered).

Call your pharmacist and see if they can flavor it differently.

If not, you might have to go with a technique of holding her still & squirting it (sort of forcibly) in her mouth w/a syringe or offering a *bribe* for right after she DOES take it (m&m, jello, whatever she really likes).

3 is a tough medicine giving age, but it will get better. She HAS to take all of it--one way or another or she'll have to do it all over.....

Really? I thought it tasted fruity. My daughter refused to take it too, but it's the only thing she's prescribed since she's allergic to Amox.

What we do is...I have her take a drink of juice first, give her half the dose, take another drink of juice to wash it down, give her the rest, and another drink of juice. I smile and tell her "good girl". She ends up concentrating on my praises instead of the actual act.

drug store has flavors you can add

Maybe she can hold her nose, take 2 slow breaths through her mouth, swallow the medicine, then just breathe through her nose for 2 more breaths after she takes it. I find that if you cannot smell, your taste is a lot less too. Then maybe give a Hershey's kiss every time she takes it, or an M&M or my kids LOVE Nutella so they get a spoonful of Nutella.

My son is the same way... flavoring did not work neither did the million other things we tried. We finally found one thing that did... the motts no sugar added blueberry applesauce. It masks the taste just enough so they dont realize they're taking it. I have also used bribery at times which as worked: take this and you get a sticker or they have the superhero and princess cards (they're like baseball cards) we would give him one after each dose.

most meds even antibiotics you can talk to the pharmacy n see if they can make it bubble gum flavor or cherry or whatever flavor you may need a new perscripion from the doctor but its worth a try

See if you can get your pharmacy to either re-flavor what you have, or replace it. See if they have that happy bubble gum flavor that most kids like, & actually ask to take.
As a last resort, get a new prescription from your dr.
Good luck.

Talk to your pharmacist and see if he can add a different flavor. I went to college with one of the pharmacists I go to and he is wonderful with info and advising me about different medications. I also learned that most of the liquid medications for kids are flavored by the pharmacist.