Medicine Tricks: a Spoonful of ?? Makes the Medicine Go Down

It’s rare that my daughter has been ill enough that she needed to take prescription medicine. In fact, this past week was the first time she was prescribed antibiotics in her eight years. She needed to take a liquid form of that traditional pink thick syrup to get rid of an infection. The first few doses she was able to drink with only a wrinkled up nose. After two days, she had decided that the medicine wasn’t working and it made her gag, so she refused to drink it. I knew she was strong-willed (is that the nice way to say stubborn??).  I was at a loss, frustrated and mad at her defiance. After I calmed down, I did some reading and found the suggestion of diluting strong medicines in our favorite self-help book, “Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child”. I confirmed the findings with the pharmacist who filled our prescription who suggested using a juice as a dilution. That trick seemed to work for two more doses, then my daughter and I were battling again. My next avenue was to call the doctor’s office and a nurse there recommended a stronger flavor like chocolate syrup. The next dose we tried that and suddenly my daughter “loved” taking her medicine. She even offered to mix the dose herself so she could squeeze extra chocolate into it! I always supervised and set a limit to her chocolate intake! Luckily, the medicine bottle was finished within a few more days and her infection has cleared. I’m always amazed at the things you have to learn the hard way in this parenting adventure! What tricks have you tried with your kids who need to take medications?

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