How to Give a Reluctant Child Medicine

(designedtonourish.com)

You can probably tell one of my children is sick right now, thus I'm remembering all of my tips about illness.  Some of my children are reluctant to take medicine.  I don't blame them.  The stuff is nasty!  But we've learned a couple of tips from our doctor and friends along the way that make this situation easier.

If your baby or child won't take the medicine, a technique that works is to have one person hold the child laying down or tipping the head back.  The other person uses the syringe to depress the tongue, and squirts the medicine into the back corner of the throat.  This will prevent gagging and force swallowing.  Do not squirt it into the back middle of the throat as this will induce gagging.

Another way to disguise medicine is with applesauce.  You can crush up pills and mix them with applesauce to make them easier to swallow.

Bribes also work well.  I'm not joking. You are not a bad mom if you promise your child a popsicle if they plug their nose and swallow quick.

Juice is another option.  You can sometimes disguise liquid medicine in juice, though you'll have to make sure the toddler drinks it all down.

Hope these tips help!