Any ideas on how to get your toddler to take medicine

Posted by peep (793 days ago)

Hi Ive tried all sorts to get my 2 year old to take medicine but he refuses to open his mouth. Tried a syringe, disguising it underneath his cereal, in his water cup/bottle with a little water! any other ideas would be helpful as its a bit of a battle at the mo. tks

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Posted by happymum (792 days ago)

We use an encouraging method. Everytime when my daughter (about the same age) is sick, our whole family in the house at that moment (me, hubby, my mum, all dogs) will gather together & saying "whoa, baby, you are so brave!", "yeah, medi, medi, medicine!", clapping & cheering & dancing, in order to have a happy & encouraging enronment. She then follow us & even think it's quite yummie...we normally use a syringe.

I've been using this method since she's 1 yr old. Hope this help!

Posted by jacky (790 days ago)

another good idea is to give your child an ice lolly first - the cold numbs the taste buids and the sugger make it taste better too and it is fun. then give them the medicine!

Posted by cd (790 days ago)

We've always found the syringe works well. Or if its a pink medicine like calpol I used to mix it in strawberry milkshake. Now they're a bit older I just make sure they have a drink at the ready so they can wash the taste away straight away.

Posted by joshmomm (782 days ago)

We call it 'juice' (although he NEVER drinks juice). He calls his water 'juice,' so for medicine, we just tell him 'red juice' or 'pink juice' depending on the color. Sometimes he'd ask for 'More!" We use a syringe and we would coax him into trying 'a bit first' and then have 'some more,' 'okay, now just a little bit left --wow, good job!' We also explain that the 'juice' will help him feel better --I'm not really sure if he understands, but it seems to work. Good luck.