Helping children swallow medicine

Techniques you can try

Most parents know the battle of getting a child to swallow medicine when necessary. It’s strange how children can savour the most disgusting sweets but refuse medicine that tastes far more pleasant. It's all part of the art of being two: recognising when your parents are really worried about something and then refusing to play the game.

But it's important for children to get the doses of medicine they've been prescribed and that they finish any course of antibiotics they're given, so you need to be patient and keep trying. Some of the following might help:

• Make sure younger children get liquid rather than tablet forms of medicine where possible.
• Ask your doctor or pharmacist if the medicine can be prescribed in a flavour your child likes. This isn't always possible, but there are lots of different makes of antibiotics, so it's worth a try.
• Try mixing the medicine with something very sweet, such as honey or fruit syrup. This is particularly useful if the medicine is in tablet form. These can often be crushed into the syrup (but check with your pharmacist first, as some come in a gel form that doesn't dissolve easily) or mixed with other more solid foods.
• Use a syringe (from the pharmacy) to give medicine, especially to younger children. This is much easier to hold than a spoon and far less likely to spill, especially when you're holding the child tight and they're trying to push you and the medicine away. When you put the syringe in your child's mouth, point it towards their cheek as you press the plunger to avoid squirting it straight down their throat and choking them.
• Toddlers may be more willing when they're given medicine in an animal-shaped medicine tube and allowed to sip it at their own pace.
• Try reverse psychology - tell your child it's special medicine and she's not allowed to have it. It's amazing how often this one works.
• Bribery and corruption involving large amounts of sweets is often a good bet, too (but don't tell your dentist).
• Stay calm and never force your child to take medicine. If they persistently refuse, try again after about half an hour.
• Say you'll take them back to the doctor to be given the medicine (this showdown is too much for most toddlers, who'll back down at this point).