How do you give medicine to a 21 month old who refuses?

Lucille - posted on 01/06/2011

I used to put it in a tiny bit of their juice had to make sure he didn't see me do it

Julie - posted on 01/06/2011

Jane M - i just think kids were put on this earth to test every nerve and fibre of our body. they love making klife difficult for us nothing is ever easy but thats the joys of mother hood ha ha i love my 2 kids to bits but at times they could have even tested super nanny or mary poppins ha ha

Therese - posted on 01/06/2011

Try an eye dropper. It takes longer but since it's smaller they seem to like it. I also found putting it in the side of the mouth and squeezing slowly they didn't feel as if they were choking on it.
I hope this works for you. If you can I'd love to know how if it does

Good luck

Therese

Samantha - posted on 01/05/2011

i always say to my daughter i have a magic juice to take away the ow ow. still works to this day. she comes and asks for the ow ow (calpol) but antibiotics are also sweet flavoured so she doesnt mind. my son is now 15 months and on antibiotics and i say here comes the aeroplane with for the ow ow and he opens his mouth straight away. make it a game and it will work! even if you have to play chasies and then eventually they sit and you just fly it in! (mine dont like the syringe and will take it just from a normal teaspoon.

Marlene - posted on 01/05/2011

My little on use to do that. I asked the doctor to give me something that has candy flav... first time was not easy but once she tasted it, everything was fine after that

Cira - posted on 01/05/2011

Well they say u can mix it with sum juice or watever but u just gotta make sure they take the full doseage..my daughter wouldn't do that any more so honestly I would straddle her wit her arms stuck under between my legs so it would basically be just her head out lol id have my napkin and syringe ready to go....lil by lil she would have to end up swolling it yes she cried but once she was done we said good job and she was a big girl yay lol she totally don't mind takin it now ...calls it bubblegum medicine lol GOODLUCK

Joslin Irene - posted on 01/05/2011

Personally, my daughter has been on Zantic since she has been born and it is nasty i will admit. I try to get reallly sugary juice... fruit punch... she loves the difference in taste so much that she slams it, medication included, alas this measure is only used in medication assistance!

Anna - posted on 01/05/2011

We use ice-cream in our house! my 3 year old is autistic and it's the only thing that works!!!!!!!!! besides jelly...

Spring - posted on 01/05/2011

I see a lot of advice to mix it in something but you have to be careful with that as there are certain foods that you shouldn't eat with certain medications as the foods tend to interfere with the body absorbing the medication. If you can mix it, by all means do so as it does help to hide the flavor. And some kids are just stubborn. No matter what you do they aren't going to take their medication quickly or quietly. I'm sorry you are having this problem but at least, with the posts that I've read, you know you are not alone and that it can be dealt with.

Jane - posted on 01/05/2011

@Julie L - for my now 20 year old, they had flavor additives even back then and it didn't matter. It could have tasted like decadent chocolate and if it was medicine, she knew it and wouldn't take it. Some kids just do NOT like liquid meds.

Jane - posted on 01/05/2011

My daughter had chronic ear infections from about 6 months until 2. She lived on antibiotics. She is now 20 and still to this day will not take anything liquid (lol). What we did with her was two things. 1st was lay her down, dad would hold her head so she couldn't turn it and I'd aquirt it in her mouth and close her lips. She hated it but she had to have her meds. Other thing was med in a zippy cup with a small amount of her favorite juice but those had to be carefully planned when she was hungry or thirsty otherwise she wouldn't drink it. Unfortunately you have to do whatever it takes including prying the mouth opened because the medicine is necessary. I would bawl my eyes out when we had to hold her down and force it but it was better than the alternative....being sick! I feel for you.

Caria - posted on 01/05/2011

i have the same problem with my son see if the doctor will do injection instead of liquid med. there is alot of good a advice and remember it will get easier

Bridget - posted on 01/05/2011

Football hold method and a syringe, works everytime. Though, never place a back of throat, chance of choking and aspiration. Place in the cheek and wait until they swallow. They will. Need a strong arm and patience, may take several minutes.

Veronica - posted on 01/05/2011

when my daughter was at that age she was terrible with medicine and teh drs office knew it they would just give her an injection of antibiotics right in the office before we left it didnt take long and she learned to take the syringe

Julie - posted on 01/05/2011

i like it sue mine are now 22 and 20 and like everyone we all have our own tactics and it never killed them mine love to remind me now again about how cruel i was to them though ha ha i just tell them to remember thta when they're parents themselves.

Brandi - posted on 01/05/2011

My 26 month old son use to love to take medicine. Then when he was about your childs age he refused to take medicine. He loves drinking from a "Big Cup" So I would put the measured out medicine in a "Big Cup" and let him drink it. Ever since he hasn't refused to take his medicine as long as we put it in a "Big Cup". Good Luck I hope this helps.

SADIE - posted on 01/05/2011

serve it with honey or condensed milk

Julie - posted on 01/05/2011

theres a lot of drastic measures here about pinning them down which i agree with if all else fails but have you tried asking the doctor or pharmacy for a nice flavour. there are banana flavours and strawberry you dont have to have the nasty tasting one. the same with eye drops. ask for cream instead and you can just put it on the top lid and the body heat melts it and blinking gets it in the eye. we all learn eventualy what works but we also learn that there is sometimes a better way from the start.

Shannon - posted on 01/05/2011

When my kids don't want to take their medicine I put it in a medicine cup and put a straw in it for them. For some reason kids loves straws and they usually end up taking their medicine this way.

Melody - posted on 01/05/2011

I mix with a bit of Hershey's chocolate syrup- reward and medicine all in one!

Kim - posted on 01/05/2011

try putting it in his cup or bottle it always work for me

Mary Jane - posted on 01/05/2011

I know have differculttes getting my grandson to take medicine but show him a sweet thing to eat tell him he has to take medicine then give somthing sweat to take bitterness away if he can understand? iot is difficult but try not to fight with him that will make matters worse

Stacey - posted on 01/05/2011

Get your son adjusted by a chiropractor

Stacey - posted on 01/05/2011

It's important to do some research before giving your child drugs. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...

Mary Jane - posted on 01/05/2011

can you ask your doctor to give him medicine with a flavor he like as my tell him my child want take it , that userly works . from mother off three and six grand childrem from mary jane n cornwall

Joanna - posted on 01/05/2011

If he won't take it on his own, and you can't disguise it in 1 bite of food, then. I made a game with my boys and the first time they hated it, after that they asked for it. I lay them on the floor, put their head between my legs and pin their arms and feet with my legs. It holds their heads still and keeps my hands free. Then I can hold their mouths open and get it in. It works great for eye drops too! Like I said, the first time they were really mad, but after that, they actually asked to have their medicine given to them like that.

Joy - posted on 01/05/2011

I haven't read all of the replies so forgive me if my advice is redundant. At around that same age, I started using the little cup that came with the medicine, instead of using the syringe. He liked holding the cup by himself and drinking it like a big boy. Then, I'd let him fill it with a little water, swoosh it around and get all the medicine that was stuck to the sides lol Of course, it probably helped that he liked the taste of his antibiotics...bubble gum flavored, I think (ick).

Kathy - posted on 01/05/2011

put the meds in a syringe and give it a little at a time. If he doesnt swallow lightly blow in his face and he will swallow it. Be FIRM as you give it to him and keep in mind to REMEMBER it is for his own health to take this med.

Lisa - posted on 01/05/2011

Put it in his milk

EILEEN - posted on 01/05/2011

Try giving it by the Syringe again ,lay him on your knee ,talk to him while you are getting the Syringe filled with the Medice ,then say to him open wide or get some one to open his mouth then slowley release the contents into his mouth .Hold his nose untill it as gone down his throat .Its not a nice way to do it but it works . from Eileen in West Yorkshire .England Uk

Mona - posted on 01/05/2011

I would wrap my son firmly but securely in a towel so that I could have a hand free to hold his head and another to manage the spoon. Did he like it? No, not at first. Then it became a reassuring thing for him and he wanted it whenever he was getting medicine.

Athena - posted on 01/05/2011

Try telling the baby it's really good and make an umm sound, make it believable. Have a sippy cup of juice close by. Use the syringe and place it in the inside cheek a little towards the back but not too far. Squirt it in, it will be pretty tough to spit it out because of the location. Chase it down with some juice. It always worked for me.

Michelle - posted on 01/05/2011

Oh... I just went through that myself.. I hate to say this but I bribed him with a cookie after he took it. I have a 19 month old that just got his first one. I think they should really find a way to make the medicine taste better.

Sarah - posted on 01/05/2011

Hi, dont know if it will help, My son who recently had an ear infection was prescribed antibiotics and for some reason he kept spitting it out crying and he has always bee so good to take medicine i tried abit myself well it was vial, i ended up having to get a different one as none was going in him just all on the floor. just a suggestion. good luck and hope he feels better soon x

Marge - posted on 01/05/2011

I put my kid's medication into his drinkable yogurt :)

Jennifer - posted on 01/05/2011

My 4 year old has been getting ear infections since she has been tiny. I understand where your coming from the antibiotics taste yucky. I had to go back to the Doctor and ask for ear drops they gave me two kinds one was a antibiotic and the other one for numbing so it would not ache. This really helped my daughter sleep at night.
Good Luck.

Carolyn - posted on 01/05/2011

Can you maybe put the medicine in something like a pudding or yogurt?

Dottie - posted on 01/05/2011

i let her hold the little plastic container and she thinks she is a big girl then and will drink it all

Kena - posted on 01/05/2011

My daughter had several ear infections and she got to where she wouldn't take the spoon or the syringe. I started putting it in the yogurt drinks (we use Danimals). She drinks them anyway, and they are small enough that it's easy for her to drink the whole thing at one sitting so you don't have to coax them to get it all down. I poke a hole in the foil on top with an ice pick making it just big enough to get a straw into it and then she can hold it herself and tip it without dumping it all over her. She loves yogurt drinks and the taste is strong enough to mask the taste of most antibiotics--juice is not. I found this much less stressful on both of us than using force. Good luck!

Brandy - posted on 01/05/2011

My son had the same issue from 6 months to 6 years. We were in the ER every 2 months with another ear infection. We found that hiding the medicine in other foods was great. In a little chocolate milk or mix it into a spoonful of peanut butter.

Carol - posted on 01/05/2011

Excellent way to give med without the trauma and drama!

Katreena - posted on 01/05/2011

I suggest having him eat something salty first (salt blocks the "bitter" taste buds on the tongue so you can't taste the bitterness nearly as much). While I agree that pinning him down and getting the meds in will definitely have to happen now, I'd add in explaining that it's medicine, it's there to make him feel better, and that it's not an option - at every single dose. I've been doing that since my son was about 4 months old and I started giving him teething tablets, and now that he's 2 1/4 it's very rare to have him resist meds.

Siobhan - posted on 01/05/2011

my son recently had to have antibiotics and didnt like the taste. its horrible and not nice for you or the child but if all else fails hold him an when he opens his mouth put syringe/spoon in, they will swallow, once youve given it to the child give him a drink.

Gd Luck wiv this one

ALICIA - posted on 01/05/2011

I have the medicine syringe ready. I apply a little pressure to the cheek so the mouth will open wide enough for the syringe. I insert the syringe with the child leaning back on me. I release the medicine need their throat and blow a little air in their face so they have to swallow.

Lucy - posted on 01/05/2011

No syringe. A sippy cup. Thin it out if needed and ask the Doc if you can add a bit of apple juice or grape juice (or whatever you son's favorite juice is) to the mixture. It also helps if you taste the med if you're not allergic to it, just so you can have better empathy. Being an antibiotic, it should only be for about 10 days or so. Important: do not, do not get upset with the act of resistance. Keep your heart open and calm. Focus on relaxing the solar plexus and letting your calm attitude prevail. Give him that safe, confident Mommy-control. Its easier for a child to relax if Mommy is relaxed, even in the face of resistance.

Monica - posted on 01/05/2011

Is your son still drinking from a bottle? If so, you might try putting the medicine in the nipple (not attached to the bottle) and letting him suck. A syringe worked well for my son as long as I did it slowly and then he sucked on that too. Also, depending on what kind of medicine it is, your pharmacist can probably either flavor it or can tell you if you can add it to some other liquid that your son loves! Best of luck to you

Carolyn (Nana) - posted on 01/05/2011

Is there a chance that you can camouflage the medication in his food? That's about the only solution that I can come up with. Good luck to you, as it is important that he get this medication into his system.

Laurel - posted on 01/05/2011

I agree with Abbie. We fought tooth and nail. Then one day we handed him the medicine syringe and let him do it himself. He thought he was such a big boy and the syringe was so cool he just popped it in his mouth and pushed!! We've never had a problem after that.

Erin - posted on 01/05/2011

I've always mixed it with a small amount of orange juice in a bottle. My 2.5 year old calls it 'special juice' - it's interesting to her because it's in a bottle, which she doesn't typically use anymore, and it gets guzzled because it's in juice that isn't watered down, so it's sweeter than she's used to. Just make sure it can be mixed with juice, but most antibiotics can.

Christina - posted on 01/05/2011

wow i had the same problem with my son...ear infections 5mo-3yrs old....tubes the whole nine yards... i use to blow in his face 2 make him swallow it .......good luck...