Protesting infants can be swaddled and given their meds by syringe (see: “How to help baby’s medicine go down”), and older children can usually be reasoned with to take them in order to feel better.
But toddlers can march to their own beat, and if something tastes “yuck, Mom!” you can have a hard time convincing them to take it.
1. Adopt a positive attitude
Frustration, even desperation, can fail to move a determined tot, and anger tends only to steel their resolve, or produce tears as they clench their teeth tighter. Breathe deeply, stay calm and resolutely upbeat, says Sister Conny Fraser, a registered nurse and midwife who runs the Baby Grow Clinic in Cape Town.
2. Explain very simply why they must take it
It will kill the bad bugs that are making them feel sick or sore.
3. Offer them a sense of what toddlers most keenly seek at this life stage: control.
But on your terms. Give them a choice: would they like the medicine before or after their bath? In a spoon or a syringe? Whatever rings their bell – the trick is to leave no doubt that they take will it.
4. Make a game of it
Pretend to give some of their med to a favourite stuffed toy or doll, explaining how it will make them feel much better. Encourage them to take over your role of doctor/nurse, and administer it too.
5. Don’t fib
If a medicine does indeed taste yuck, telling them otherwise or pretending to try some and smacking your lips will soon be revealed for the sham it is, and they will be loath to take it (or to trust you) again.
6. Make it as palatable as possible.
In some countries pharmacists can be requested to mix a choice of flavourants with medication to help it go down, but this is not allowed in South Africa, says Clicks Pharmacist Waheed Abdurahman.
You can try a version of this yourself, however – crushing a tablet or opening a capsule and mixing the powder with something the toddler likes, such as a spoonful of peanut butter, applesauce, honey, jam or ice cream. But always check first with your doctor and pharmacist – some foods can interfere with the absorption or action of certain medications, says Fraser.
7. If you can’t adjust the medication, you can dull your child’s sense of taste to make it less offensive.
Get them to suck on an iced lolly or some crushed ice – the cold can help numb their taste buds. You can also administer the medication in a way that keeps it as far as possible from the many taste buds on the tongue (though there are others on the palate and elsewhere). Use a syringe, rather than a teaspoon, and gently slide it along the child’s cheek, depressing it slowly towards the back of the mouth.
8. Reward them
Follow up by giving a square of favourite chocolate or other sweet to help drown the taste, and plenty of verbal praise and hugs. For toddlers on chronic meds, a sticker or star chart can be an ongoing incentive, with an outing or activity offered when the chart is full.
9. Teach them
Start teaching them to swallow pills by putting them in a spoonful of jelly; some children can be ready for this from around age four, Fraser says. But supervise closely in case they gag or choke.
10. Ask someone to assist
If all else fails, get someone else to give toddlers their medicine – they are often more keen to appear brave and co-operative with someone they know less well than you. And if there’s no one else, telling them to show the family dog or other pet how well they take their medicine has been known to work a treat.
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