Parents remember the struggles too well. Letting your kids take their medicines without the added fuss is a daydream. Kids hate taking their medicines and getting the task done can be a tough sell.
Making airplane stunts, coaxing medicines with chocolates, or mixing them with their food – There seems to be no easy way to achieve wellness. Even so, it’s important to make their first experiences a pleasant one for an easy sailing medicating process.
But of course, you can’t let their tantrums get in the way of helping them recover from an illness. You need to find a way to get them to take their medicine. Health Delivery Pharmacy has rounded up some of the best tips that actually work for most parents. Try these at home and tell us how they go:
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Be positive. The more irritated you become during medication time, the more your kids resist. Try to have a positive attitude. Instead of threatening or bribing your child to swallow their medicine, encourage them using the right words and kind approach.
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Help your child understand. Older tots respond to reasons and encouragement. If your kid is old enough to understand, explain the reason why they need to take their medicine.
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Give them some control. Maybe their medicines come in flavors. Let your child pick their preferred medicine. Giving them control motivates them to take their medications. If their medicines don’t have flavor options available on the counter, this leads us to the next tip.
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Enhance the taste. We understand that not everyone can survive the bitter taste of medicines, especially the younger patients. Lucky for you, we provide FREE Medication Flavoring services! You and your child can choose your preferred flavor and we’ll work the rest of the process. Should you be interested in this service, kindly contact us at 912-200-9250.
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Ask your physician. Doctors may give you tips to handle your medication challenges or offer tastier and better alternatives that are more kid-friendly. You can also consult with the pharmacists at Health Delivery Pharmacy.
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Bypass the taste buds. Taste-deflection tricks include coating the pill with a chocolate, making kids eat Popsicle before giving the medicine, or letting them eat something sweet after intake to remove the bitter taste.
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Dodge the tongue. Use medicine droppers or syringe and dispense the medicine directly to the back or the sides of the tongue. Gentle blowing on your child’s face can make them swallow the medicine before they can spit it out.
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Add medicine to food. You can actually open a capsule or crush a pill and mix it with your tot’s food, but seek your doctor’s approval first. Just remember to make sure your child finishes his/her food so you’ll know they get all the medicine you put in it.
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Set-up a reward system. Many kids respond to rewards. Give them something to look forward to whenever they’re doing well with their medication process.
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Let a caregiver do it. Children seem to be more responsive in following orders from a stranger than their immediate family. When all else fails, allow a caregiver to handle the medication process.
What’s your favorite tip on the list? Let us know in the comments.