Almost all parents go through the struggle of getting their kids to take medicines. With kids, when they don’t want something, it is often hard to change their mind about it and thus it becomes an ultimate challenge to give them their prescribed medication in order for them to get well soon.
Even if they are willing to take their tablets, it is often hard for them to swallow and the bitter taste of it sets in making them reluctant to take it any further. Although at many points you would feel like just giving up, it’s not the way to go! There are a number of alternate ways and form that you can make use of in order to trick your kid into having their medicine. We have listed a few of them below for you to try.
Can’t Turn Down Candy
Kids can never turn down candy. Most often when the tablets are either hard to swallow as mentioned above or have a bitter and funny taste, you can solve the problem having them formed into candy-like lollipops, toffees or even make use of something sweet at home to cover up the taste of their medicine like chocolate, maples syrup or honey. Due to the presence of candy-like taste, your kids won’t have a reason to turn it down.
Seek for Professional Help
Seeking professional help from either the doctors or pharmacists can be a helpful approach to take. Due to experience and expertise, they often know the safest ways to mix and match the medicines in a way that your child would take them without a fuss. You can even get help from a compounding pharmacy for pediatric compounding, where they will have several different approaches in compounding your child’s medicines.
Hidden in the Food
One of the most common ways medicines are given to children are by hiding it in their food. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. This approach is taken by crushing their pills and adding them into one of their favorite dishes. In cases of liquid medications that have been prescribed to your kid, you can mix it up in their favorite juice or even plain water as some syrups are sweet and can come off as a flavor instead.
Rewarding Them for It
Toddles and slightly older kids often respond to rewards. This doesn’t mean you have to buy them something big after every dose, it just means you need to keep little treats ready for them to look forward to after every dose or even maybe a favorite gift after the entire prescribed medication is over. They are known to follow on something progressively when they know they’re going to get something they like out of it.
Apart from the above-mentioned options, you also need to have the right attitude in order to have your child take their medication. Turning to a stronger family who doesn’t respond to the kid’s tantrums can help too.