llness in a child is always unwelcome. Of course, no parent wants to see their little one suffer from a chesty cough or blocked nose. No parent wants to have a grumpy at home until the fever subsides or the cough is less phlegmy.
And NO PARENT wants to deal with a screaming, vomiting child who simply refuses to take his medicine!
Of course, when a child has the common cold or a mild cough, ideally, over-the-counter medicine should not be involved. We understand the absolute agony involved in giving medicine to a reluctant child, we gathered these tips and tricks from veteran mums, to help ease this particular nightmare:
How to give medicine to child who refuses?
1. Fish lips
Once asked paediatrician what to do. Here’s a trick : gently squeeze your child’s cheeks until his lips are pouty (fish lips!) and then dribble the medicine in using a syringe. He is compelled to swallow this way.
Also, if you aim for the side of the cheeks, then you bypass the taste buds, which literally makes the experience more palatable to your child.
2. Break it up
This tip comes from a mummy whose daughter (when she was a baby) would also throw up when medicine was administered.
What worked for her was to break up the dosage into tiny quantities. For example, 5ml would be given in 1ml doses. Laborious, but worth the effort!
3.Give them control
Children, toddlers and preschoolers especially, are bossy little things and like to think they are in control of situations. So use this trait to trick him into thinking you are relinquishing control over medication administration and handing it over to him.
It’s simple – just ask him to choose how he would like to take the medicine – e.g. dropper or cup, before bathtime or bedtime – and this gives him a sense of empowerment and control.
4. Hide it
Try disguising the taste of medicine by hiding it in juice, milk or even ice cream. This method is used by many long-suffering and experienced parents.
5.Turn it into a game
Have your child play doctor (or pretend to be Doc McStuffins) and ‘give’ medicine to his favourite toy. Next, you pretend to be the doctor and give the necessary medicine to your child.
