My 3 1/2 year old is usually pretty good about taking any medicine I give him but lately it's turned into a power struggle. Any suggestions.? I've tried bribing, begging, trying to make him take it & it doesn't work. Thanks!
I should've explained a little better. We usually use the little cups that come with the OTC medicines. Usually I just measure out the dose, hand him the cup and he takes it by himself. Then I will give him something to drink to wash it down. We have had a really rough couple of weeks where it seems like he is catching everything so maybe he's tired of taking meds? It is usually Tylenol, Motrin, or cold medicine. Now he either tells me no & refuses or pitches a fit. Hope this explains it a little better.
Most meds, my kids took with no problem. The white chalky liquid stuff- can't think of the name of it....tastes awful. We gave in a cup and then did a root beer chaser using the same cup. Sometimes they got 2 cups of rootbeer. buy the bottle with the screw cap so that you don't have flat footbeer. The Rootbeer takes away the flavor of hte medicine and the kids were willing to sacrifice yucky to get good stuff!
my daugher usually loves taking medicine, but sometimes she just doesn't want to. i don't bribe her with food for taking it. but i always let her have her cuppy afterwards. if she really refuses we'll call grandma and papa and they'll talk to her about how she needs to take it to get better. she has a pretty good concept of that now. so she rarely fights medicine. the problem i have with her is to get her to lay still long enough when she has ear drops. we are struggling with that this week. good luck!
see if he will give to himself (in a little measuring cup) i have had to start doing it with my daughter
If they say the medicine tastes yucky I offer them "a chaser". What I do is I have them drink the medicine and then chase it with a Hershey Kiss. You could do it with an M&M too. It really worked for my girls!
Good luck!
Well, my trick is bribing - something fun like chocolate milk. It's something he gets on rare occasion... And I have it ready to go along with meds...
What medication and what method? I have a measuring spoon, but it really still works better with my daughter to keep using the syringe (you can buy an appropriate size at the pharmacy). Sometimes I give her 1/2 and then take a short break and give her the other 1/2. Or give it to her when she's distracted, like watching TV.
My DD is only 14 months but I know for her, especially when she is fussy and in need of the medicine that she just loves when we use the dropper (or whatever you use to give the liquid medicine) that she loves it when we squirt cold water in her mouth. We always do this with water a few times with the dropper before we attempt to give her the medicine and we havent had a problem yet. Also I found that this is a great way to get liquids into them at a time that they are perticularily fussy and not wanting to or willing to drink.
Good Luck
Hi L.-
I vote for the 'medicine cup' method...in my experience it gives the kiddo a sense of control (big thing for a 3 yo in my opinion)...and then I always have a 'cup o water' chaser...
Best luck!
Michele/cat
My kids don't fall for bribes & you can't hide any medicine in their foods & their only 1 & 2. They're too smart for that, so I sit in a kitchen chair or a sofa, lay them over my lap on their backs, lay my left arm over their chest with my hand holding down their left arm & their right arm is pended down by my stomach & my elbow pressed kind of against the right side of their neck & cheek so they can't move their head much during & stick the syringe far back in their mouth pointed toward the jaw so they can't spit it out. If they still won't swallow, pinch their nose & hold their mouth shut, but you usually won't need to go this far. After a few times of this, you'll become a pro & then you can give them an option... "We can do this the easy way or the hard way".
