5 Tips for Getting Kids to Take Yucky Tasting Medicine

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We’ve all had to face the tears and tantrums that seem to go hand-in-hand with forcing kids to take foul-tasting medicines. And while most of us would rather not subject our kids to this trauma, the truth is that they have to take their medicine, like it or not, if they want to overcome whatever illness all their classmates have contracted and passed around this week. So here are just a few ways that you can make the ordeal a little easier on everyone involved.

1. Change the flavor. If it turns out your child is averse to certain flavors of medicine, simply ask at your local pharmacy about changing the flavor. Many pharmacies offer a laundry list of kid-friendly flavors for liquid medicines, including favorites like grape, orange, strawberry, and bubble gum, just to name a few. And if your medication is prescribed in a pill form (something of a rarity for children’s medication) simply ask if it comes in a liquid or if there is a comparable alternative that comes in liquid form.
2. Try a new delivery system. When your kids see you coming with the bottle and spoon they might be aware of exactly what lies ahead. So try switching things up by putting medication in a cup, using a medicine dropper, or even asking your doctor or pharmacist for a plastic syringe. These methods could help to distract kids and even keep the yucky substance off their tongues.
3. Hide it. Hands down the easiest way to get kids to take their medicine is by hiding it. Solid pills can often be crushed and capsules opened as a way to add them to orange juice or another liquid that will mask the flavor, but you should talk to your doctor first to ensure that you don’t accidentally give kids a time-release medication all at once. Or you could add liquids or powders to a fruit smoothie. The trick is to find something that is both tasty and strong enough to hide the flavor of the medication.
4. Follow up with something yummy. If you need to get the job done quickly, simply have a treat standing by to wash away the yucky flavor. A glass of juice, a piece of fruit or candy, or even a snack bar could do the trick. Just pick something your child likes as motivation.
5. Don’t stress. Believe it or not, the way you act when you offer medicine could lead your kids to react in a certain way. If you are nervous and apologetic your kids will know that something bad is coming and that you are hesitant to offer it, giving them the cue to resist. But if you treat the situation like nothing out of the ordinary, or even make a game of it, you could find that it’s not as big of an ordeal as you’re making it out to be. While getting kids to take tasty multivitamin gummies is no hardship, medications that are yucky could cause you more trouble. But with a few tricks up your sleeve the situation should be no more difficult than spooning cereal into your child’s mouth.