Getting 3 Yo to Take Medicine

My 2 year old daughter used to hate taking her medicine too. She has to take her allergy medicine everyday at first I would have to hold her down & squirt it down her throat & now she will normally drink it without any problems but some mornings she does not want to take it so I tell her she has 2 options she can either take it like a big girl or I can squirt it down her throat like a baby & she always takes it like a big girl. I think it is a control thing for her. Good luck!!

Hi!
I'm a mom of 2, Raven 4.5 and Josephine 6 months.
When Raven was little did she also get ear infections. After 2 rounds of antib. did I stop completely, because it didn't make any sense to me why I should give her something that just didn't work, so, I bought Hylands Ear tablets and they disolve as soon as they get into the mouth. They homeopathic and my Dr. supports this to 100%. Even she says that antibiotic doesn't really work since it comes back with a 65% chance anyway. You can find Hylands at Whole Foods as well as other health food stores. Even Giant has it sometimes as well.
Good luck,
L.
____@____.com

Have you tried the Relidose? It's basically a syringe-in-a-bottle device that is supposed to help the "medicine go down!" Here's the website. Good luck!

http://www.reliadose.com/professionals.cfm

This might sound a little harsh but here's what I did. I had a three-year old who routine refused medicine until I told her she would get a shot at the doctors instead if she didn't take it. That worked like charm! She's five almost six now and it still works. Good luck!

Jello Water!! This worked wonders for my son. Just mix up a package of jello and add a little more water so it doesn't harden. Mix the medicine in to about a teaspoon of the jello water and they can't taste the medicine at all. This was the only way I could get my son to take the medicine he really needed!
Hope that helps!
Amy

I found that holding my son's nose while he took it helped him. I also told him that I know it didn't taste good but he had to take it. I also let him have something he liked (within reason) when he took his medicine to wash it down. Surprisingly, Sprite or Seven-Up worked well for him to wash it down. Good luck.

T.,
I have a daughter like yours -- "keeps me on my toes," "headstrong and stubborn," and "wonderful".
She is now eight, and over the course of her life has had many rounds of antibiotics for sinus infections. She has become permeable to logic by now, but when she was your daughter's age the best method was, regrettably, holding her down to give her the meds. Try using a medicine syringe and shoot it into the back corner of her mouth where it is difficult for her to do anything with the medicine but swallow. As she got older, I had some luck mixing the medicine with about a tablespoon of straight Hershey's chocolate syrup (!) -- crude but effective. You might keep trying to find a "mixer" that she likes.
Good luck with your spirited daughter. Props to you!

Same fight! Until, like you I realized it was all about the controll. Now I let her give the medicine to herself in a little medicine cup or syringe. Plus before taking the medicine everyone within earshot cheers her on saying "Be Brave, Name" and of course we clap and congratulate her on her bravery when done ....... (my older daughter gets a jelly bean or candy after too ...but only if she takes it within a set time period like 2 minutes - otherwise she'll nurse it for hours).

Hi T.,
I have a three year old as well and my little man has been on different types of medicine since he was very small so he freaks out when he see's medicine. There are a few things I try that have worked, but most of the time it depends on the medicine you are giving.
Augmentin works is disguised well in yogurt drinks try the ones with Dora on them in strawberry.
Clear medicines like Zyrtec or Singulair work well in flavored water (the ones with the individual power tubes, you can just add to a bottle. my son likes the ones that have Micky and Minnie or the Incredibles on it. They are sugar free.)
For a medicine that has a little stronger taste in it. DR. Pepper hides almost anything with the exception of Augmentin.
Here is the one I don't like to use, but sometimes he really fights with the augmenting. My husband bless his soul will hold my son when he starts fighting and will tell him he has to take it one way or the other. He can either take it sitting in mommy's lap like a big boy, or Daddy will have to hold him and make him take it. My son will still fight for a minute, but when he realizes he can't win he or we act like we are going to force it, he will come to Mommy and then he gets whatever he wants afterwards to drink. Sometimes followed by a sucker or piece of chocolate for being a big boy. Good luck!

I have had a similar problem with my 2 1/2 year old boy. Finally, I just had to hold him down, which I didn't like either. (Be sure to have one hand by her mouth so you can close her mouth so she can't spit it out. It often took 2 adults to get the medicine in my son. My son hated it when I held him down so eventually he took it himself. The next time he needed medicine, he took it the first few times. When he started to resist, I offered him a quarter (he loves putting money in his piggy bank) and it worked. I also made a huge deal when he took it by himself by chering him and then calling his grandma so he could tell her what a big boy he was to take his medicine.

I am definitely simpathetic. I called all the mothers I know to get ideas and none worked except to hold him down -- until I tried the quarter. I was to the point of tears. Hang in there.

If you take a vitamin, you might try letting him hold your vitamin while he takes his medicine and then he gives you your vitamin to take. My son likes to put it right in my mouth and watch me swallow it down. Good luck!

Hold her nose closed when you put it in her mouth. Some kids you have to force them. Its not good, but better than the ear infection turning into something worse...

T.-

I just went through the same thing with my two year-old who has eaten everything I've offered him his whole life. I bet your daughter is on augmentin, which has a reputation for being hard to take. I tried all of the things that you tried - even holding him down, which made me feel like a child abuser. Finally, I tried bribing him with marshmallows. I never thought I'd sink so low as bribing him, but it feels a lot better than sitting on him and prying his mouth open! AND, he takes the medicine now. HOWEVER, I had to do an extra round of the medicine after he missed so much of the first time. (Spit it in his milk while pretending to wash it down, knocked the bottle across the floor, spit it in my face.)

Good luck. You are not alone! Do what you have to to get the meds in.

That is funny! If you use a spoon to give her the medicine, put a gummybear in the center of the spoon and see if she will take it!

What has worked for me is holding them down and when they cry explain to them that if they take the medicine then you wouldn't hold them. Another thing is have her hold some juice in her hand and tell her to take the medicine and then drink the juice really fast so the medicine won't taste yucky. Make sure you say it with excitement so that she'll get excited too.

Have you tried bribing her. We had the same problem with our 3yr. She likes chocolate chips so I told her she could have some if she took her medicine. It was worth the extra sugar to get her to take the meds happily. I only gave 3 chips per dose.

My 3 yr old son is the same way.
He recently had to take medicine for a sinus infection and the only way I could get it in to him was hidden in chocolate pudding. Even holding him down (I don't like it either) didn't work- he would struggle loose enough that he would spit it back out (often directly into my face) or it would upset him so much that he would throw it up.

I also discussed my sons dislike of medicine with the doctor before she prescribed anything and she was able to prescribe an antibiotic that is only once a day and tasted better than usual. The fact that it only had to be taken once a day was incredibly helpful.

Good Luck!

I put my daughter's medicine in Jello. I would make a batch and put one dose of medicine in a bathroom sized cup and fill the rest with Jello and let it harden in the fridge. My daughter was thrilled because she got Jello 3 times a day. I also made some with no medicine and marked the cups, so that we could have Jello together. good luck

T., I have 2 young boys and have tried EVERYTHING to get them to take meds and the only thing that worked consistently was holding them down. It sounds awful, but they need to take the meds or we would not resort to such tactics. Good luck, my older son had antibiotics for a year with ear infections!

Hi T.,
We just had this problem with our 3 year old too! My mom (Grammy as we call her) showed us a method that actually worked for us! First we established that one way or another she WILL be taking this medicine. "You HAVE to take it babe!" (that was grouchy sleep-deprived mommy's part) Then Grammy squeezed a little bit of her medicine on her tongue and then handed her a sippy cup and told her she could take a sip (of juice - or whatever they like best). I was amazed watching this after we'd struggled for so long!! She'd take the medicine and then guzzle her juice. A little more medicine and then a little more juice. It seemed to give her just enough control to go with it, and the taste wasn't so bad (it was flavored to start with - but you know how they get! STUBBORN!) Anyway I am happy to report that the technique worked like a charm. (Thank God for Grammy!!!!) I hope it works for you too!!
Take care,
A.

I have one pediatrician tell me to hold their head directly back that way they have no choice but to swallow & can't spit it out. It worked, but is not fun. My pediatrician now says to put it in a medicine cup & add a shot of chocolate syrup or something else like a teaspoon of ice cream. If it still doesn't work find out if they have chewables & ask your pediatrician to put in an order for that. They usually taste better & my boys prefer them.