I Need Help Getting My 4 Year Old to Take Medicine

Two things worked for me.. bribery and "magic"

first.. have the medicine in one spoon, and ice cream ( or M&M or whatever is a forbidden treat) in another spoon. Tell her you need her help to be the doctor, and that she'll be rewarded for taking the medicine. That worked with one daughter.

With our younger daughter, I'd fill up the medicine spoon, hand it to her and looking at the ceiling chant "Elves, elves, wherever you are, come from near and come from far.. please come over, sneak right in- and help Julia take her medicine!" When she'd taken it I'd pretend to be "shocked" and ask her if she'd seen the elves.. I'd search under the table, under her bed.. And say " do you think we'll see them tomorrow?" etc...

Just try to be creative... I wish I had more general advice.. but that's what worked for me..

As a retired paramedic, I do want to caution you about calling any medicine "candy". If you do resort to that, make sure you keep all medicine under lock and key. ( that's not a bad idea anyway.. but imperative if you have made it seem like a sweet.

Will she drink some cranberry juice? That is good for a UTI.

Did they also tell you to be careful if you use bubble bath - they can be irritating and lead to a UTI. That's how my daughter always developed them.

Deb

Maybe you should ask the doctor i fyou can mix it with something. I did that the last time my daughter was on an antibiotic.

Good Luck!

Jenn Smith
www.stayinhomeandlovinit.com/jennsmith34

Have her help you make a shake and put some in a glass. LEt her try it and then give her more with the meds. Works for us!

She's 4....that's reason enough to not do something Mommy wants her to do...I remember when my first daughter (now a wonderful 35 yr. old) was little..I was prepared for the terrible twos, but not the frustrating fours! Anyway, sometimes you can let her win the power struggles, but not when it comes to her health...that's when YOU must be the grownup and put down your foot. If you don't want to use force, you must make not taking the stuff less desirable than taking it. Deny her anything until she does it...no TV, games, fun, etc. Believe me, she will see the error of her ways! Good luck..five is just around the corner, and that is a glorious age!

I am a 61 yr old mother of two daughters (35 & 30) and one son (26) and Nana to two grandsons and soon-to-be-born twins. I am extremely proud of all of them!

I just found out that Target has 21 flavors for childrens medicine. Call your doctor or the pharmacy tell them your child refuses to take the medicine and ask them for a new prescription and go to Target. Walgreens does it too.

Good Luck! S. C

There is a flavoring that is sold in the drug store that makes medicine taste good. I do not know the name of it but maybe you can ask your pharmacist.

Catnip Tea (i know it sounds weird, but it's not THAT catnip)brings down fevers instantly. You can get it a health food store and add some honey as well to sweeten it a bit. Use a dropper from the pharmacy too and make it fun. She can dip the dropper and drink it on her own. I swear by those droppers! I hope it works.

J., I have 2 dughters, 11 and 9. When my oldest was small, she was terrible about taking meds too. She was a little better with chewables than liquids but some meds are not available in chewables. When it comes to prescription meds, I would have to be a little tough. I would give her the option of the "easy" way ... her drinking it down ... or the "hard" way. The so called hard way was my using a medicine syringe ... you find them in the baby section of most grocery store, drug stores, etc. I would place it in her cheek and gently inject the medicine into her cheek pocket ... be careful not to send it straight down her throat or she can choke on it. Sometimes I would have to gently blow in her face to get her to swallow it. The other thing I learned was to ask the doctor if it could be mixed with juice. If it could, I'm mix it with a small amount of juice without her seeing what I was doing. It's not easy and, in my opinion, one of the hardest things you have to do as a mom. But you are the mom and when it comes to your child's health, you just have to be tough. Good luck to you.