taking medicine - Page 2

[emamum]

i mix antibiotics into natural yoghurt, i dont like giving them to begin with but natural yoghurt helps with the bacteria balance and helps them get better quicker

[ccohenou]

Originally Posted by Toolip

Please read this as an honest question...

Do you realize that the original question was posted in a forum for gentle discipline techniques? What you are suggesting is not within the realm of GD at all.

I don't know. I think that it is possible to discipline gently and still realize that sometimes as a parent you have to take care of business for your children's benefit, even though they at 3 years old are not able to understand this completely. IMO, getting it over with quickly when it is not negotiable is kinder than making a child suffer through hours of dread and stress. From observing my own children, it seems to me that what we see as trying to negotiate or get agreement, the child often experiences as a long period of having to think about and worry about and fight something that has to happen anyway. Simply administering the medication does not have to be done harshly or vindictively in any way - just efficiently and compassionately is perfectly possible.

[dharmama]

what ended up working for us this morning was pudding.

we tried mixing the medicine into the pudding but she got really upset by the smell and couldn't eat it. (she's super-super sensitive to tastes and smells.)

so she opted to "take it quick" with a plunger and then wash it down with pudding.

she was still very upset but at least this time she walked forward to me holding the plunger and took it at her pace instead of me forcing it into her mouth like we did last night (which i later apologized to her for and explained why i did it...that she is very sick and her body needs the medicine and that it is non-negotiable...but that i am committed to finding a way for her to take it that feels better for both of us etc.).

so anyway...lots of interesting discussions happening in our house between me and dh, me and my mom (who was here last night when we gave dd the first dose), and between me and dd. we're all defnitely learning and growing through this experience.

[my3peanuts]

Originally Posted by ccohenou

I don't know. I think that it is possible to discipline gently and still realize that sometimes as a parent you have to take care of business for your children's benefit, even though they at 3 years old are not able to understand this completely. IMO, getting it over with quickly when it is not negotiable is kinder than making a child suffer through hours of dread and stress. From observing my own children, it seems to me that what we see as trying to negotiate or get agreement, the child often experiences as a long period of having to think about and worry about and fight something that has to happen anyway. Simply administering the medication does not have to be done harshly or vindictively in any way - just efficiently and compassionately is perfectly possible.

I agree.

My son takes multiple medications 3x a day and thankfully only went through a short phase where he hated taking them. He is young and cognitively delayed and would not understand any kind of reasoning. I had to hold his head back and give him the medication while closing his mouth until he swallowed. I did it as gently as possible but he had to learn to take them, I wasn't going to give him chocolate pudding 3x a day for the rest of his life.

[MtBikeLover]

My DD refuses to take medicine. I've tried everything, including bribery. Absolutely nothing works - not even forcing it. One time, when she was 3, she was going to have to take medicine (I forgot why) and we told the doctor that she won't take it. They said she could have a shot. We asked her what her preference was and she chose the shot.

Is a shot an option? Oops - never mind - just realized this thread was a few months old.

[hibiscus mum]

A few things have worked for us in the past. DD was a bit younger, though. One thing my husband and I would do is put water in shot glasses, cheers each other, and make a big deal about taking the shot of water. We'd then put DD's antibiotic in a shot glass and she'd be really into it and take it that way.

Another thing that worked was we'd get 2 syringes, and fill one with water and the other with the antibiotic. We'd let her give daddy the syringe with water, then he'd say, "Your turn!" and give her the syringe of medicine, going back and forth. She thought that was fun too.

[S.Lee]

love the shot glass idea!! letting ds hold the syringe, cup whatever really helped. And if it tasted bad, sometimes I would pretend to taste it and throw a huge tantrum myself-complete with falling on the ground and writhing in agony over that awful medicine(he would laugh of course), sometimes I would ask him if he wanted to wait and take it later(and try again in 15-30 min.) then when he did take it, I would make a big deal of it by calling daddy at work to brag about ds taking that awful medicine to help him get well. Now he thinks its too fun to drink water out to the syringe after the medicine, so he doesn't even complain-go figure

[Amila]

My DD used to get TRAUMATIZED and freak out when she had to take meds. Then I offered straight not-diluted OJ in a shot glass afterwards (with some pro-biotic and SA mixed in) and now she asks for her meds and comes over with her mouth open! I never thought I would see the day.

[elizawill]

we have used chocolate pudding or ice cream in the past. just mix the medicine into a very small bowl of either... worked well for us.

[Surfacing]

For some reason in our house it makes a big difference if we measure it out in the dropper and then offer it on a spoon. Dd2 will take it from a spoon but not the dropper. :

[octobermom]

. Any kid would take them

not mine I haven't found any soluton to even reasonably getting any type of medication down her in any form.. Watching and hoping for something.

Deanna