Getting a toddler to take medicine is often very difficult! Many times they fear medications or just don’t want to take it. In typical toddler fashion, if it is something that you want them to do, they won’t do it. Every parent who has tried to get a toddler to take medicine has had it spit all over them or had a child just refuse to swallow. Instead of fighting with your toddler to take his or her medicine, develop a new method of getting the medicine in them! You may find that you’ve been picking the wrong battles all along!

Getting Medicine in Your Toddler

If your toddler does not like the way medicine tastes or has had a bad experience with awful tasting medicine it can be difficult to get their medicine in them. It is frustrating as a parent because you know that it will make them feel better, but your child doesn’t appreciate this type of reasoning. All your toddler knows is that you want them to swallow something that they don’t like!

Instead of fighting with a spoon, try a dropper. Placing a dropper toward the back of the cheek is often a great way to get the medicine into your child. While they may protest, when the back of the cheek and throat is filled with liquid it is instinct to swallow and before they can spit it out, it will go down. Of course, you will want to make sure that the toddler is sitting up so that they don’t choke. When you do this you run the risk of your toddler becoming angry with you, but remember that you are administering medication for their own good and that it is your job to make sure that they get it into their system.

Another great way to get your toddler to take medicine is by putting their medicine in their juice. Juices such as grape juice or cranberry juice are often sweet enough and flavorful enough that they will mask the taste of the medication so that you can get it into them! Make sure that you use as little juice as possible so that your child doesn’t simply leave the juice sitting out without getting the medicine.

Yet another option with toddlers is getting them chewable medications instead of liquids. It is often the consistency and not the flavor of the medications that children don’t like. When you offer the chewable varieties the child may be much more open to the idea of taking medication and may even look forward to it, because this is how big kids take their medications. It’s worth a try and in many cases it will work!

Posted in Toddler Time

Related Articles: