5 different ways to help your toddler take medication

Everyone knows how difficult it is to convince a child to take his or her medication. Very often, it leads to a frustrated mum who has lost all her patience because nothing seems to work.

However, it doesn’t always have to be so complicated. There are other tactics you can use to help the medicine go down.

Make it a fun experience

Since children as young as one can pick up on negative tone and body language, try your best to stay positive. If you want, you can turn it into ‘happy hour’ and say ‘medicine time!’ like it’s an enjoyable thing.

Play doctor

Perhaps you can take five minutes out of your time to play doctor with your little one. Pretend to give the medicine to your child’s favorite stuffed animal before you give it to them. This will help your little one get comfortable with the idea of taking medication.

Don’t let your child taste it

Very often, children don’t like to take medication because they think it tastes awful. Even if your child is old enough to drink from a cup, you can use a syringe instead of a spoon for give them liquids. Squirt the medicine along the inside of your little one’s cheek so that it stays off the tongue.

Let your child choose

If you let your child choose whether he or she wants to use a syringe or a spoon, they will feel like they are in control and that it’s their decision to take the medicine.

Don’t lie

Try not to tell your child that the medicine will taste nicer than it does. Instead, be honest and tell them that it will make them feel better. Once your child is old enough to reason, you can tell them that medication will make the pain go away.