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A Spoonful of Sugar:Medicating the Reluctant Toddler
By Meredith Newton Whiles
An earache strikes. You and your toddler make an unscheduled appearance at the neighborhood clinic, where a pediatrician confirms your suspicions and scrawls out a suitable cure. Then, after a trip to the pharmacy, you rush home to administer the dose. That's when the real battle begins.
If your toddler would rather eat kitty litter than swallow medicine, you're not alone. Toddlers the world over greet medicine spoons with, at best, a shake of the head, and at worst, a shake of the fist. And it isn't hard to determine why they don't like it. Have you ever tasted your child's medicine before offering it? Kitty litter might sound more agreeable even to you.
That being said, the medicine still must be swallowed, and understanding your child's resistance doesn't make it any easier to administer the dose. Below, a group of seasoned moms share their input on making medicine time more tolerable for all involved.
By far the easiest route these moms recommend is to look for a medicine your child will want to take. Some medicines, like Tylenol, come in a variety of flavors, and if you're lucky your toddler may find one acceptable. Grape is a popular choice, as is bubble gum.
Unfortunately, sometimes the medicine your toddler needs comes in only one flavor: bad. When this occurs, Jessica, mom to 2-year-old Mia, suggests mixing it with a sweet treat, like applesauce or chocolate pudding. But be forewarned: This won't work if your toddler sees you do it, or if she doesn't finish the doctored dessert.
If you can't find a mixture your child will consume voluntarily, there are other ways to get the medicine down. However, they are, for the most part, more traumatic. Amy, mom to 7-year-old Hannah and 1-year-old Jack, involves a second person at medicine time. "When Jack is really fighting the medicine, I get help from someone else and have him lay in that person's lap while holding down his arms," she says. "Then while his mouth is open, which it is because he's screaming at this point, I squirt the medicine near the back of his mouth so that he'll automatically swallow." If you have to do this, you can take steps to make the experience go as smoothly as possible.
