Your tips and trick for giving little ones medicine

We are REALLY struggling with giving DD antibiotics (and any other med ever). I've tried different flavours/brands, bribery, putting it in drinks... running out of ideas.
What are your tips and tricks for giving little ones medicine.

When they're being extremely fussy and refusing it altogether, then you've just gotta do what you can to get it in them, unfortunately. What we do is semi recline them, using a syringe put some in their mouth and tickle their throat to make them swallow. Yes, it's not pleasant, but if they need it, well then they need it. Good luck.

Hide it in milk or juice, it's the only way dd2 will take anything, as soon as she spots a dispenser she clamps her mouth and crawls away. If we get something in she spits it out.

We had the same issue with a particular anitbiotic (roxy-something) and our DS when he was in hospital with pneumonia. In the emergency ward the doctor crushed it and tried to disolve it in water... big fail. My DS is not a fussy child... he eats anything including chili and wasabi but no way known would he drink this medicine... he was hysterical. So I had a taste (it was in about a cup of water) and it was VILE. Sooo bitter it was worse than drinking sea water!!! I told the doctor that there was no way known DS was going to drink it. The doctor (who i bet didn't have kids) just told me he had to. :rolleyes: Ok... but DS didn't. It was kinda forgotten until he was admitted into a ward and a nurse came with another dose, still in tablet form. I asked if DS could take it with food. The nurse said "yes" and went and got a thing of jam. I told her about the doctor in emergency and she rolled her eyes too and asked why he would have put it in water "No kid would have had it that way... UGH!" Anyhow we just folded it into about a teaspoon of strawberry jam for the week that he was in hospital. When we got home we changed it to honey: that thick white creamed honey so it was well and truly "lost" in it. You'd think the male doctor would have more of an idea wouldn't you??? You'd think that he would encounter the same issue every second day?

If I was you i'd maybe crush a small amount and pop it into something special like Nutella... give it in two lots. If it's a liquid then maybe stir it into some icecream... cold things mask flavour. Goodluck

Yep, my mum used to do tablets in jam. For my sister, right up til she was like 19!

Relaxing yourself also helps, which is hard if she hates it so much! The more you think of it as a big deal, the more she will, and the greater the struggle will become.

For next time, when she's well, have "practice" medicine doses where people/toys she loves get to have medicine. Use a specific cup, and get her to give it to her rabbit (for example) and then leave it at that - she doesn't have to have any. Because medicine is not a big deal - that's the message you're trying to get through. Occasionally, maybe she can give "medicine" to Daddy - Ribena in the special cup or something, and Daddy makes it into not a big deal. (note: don't use a syringe for this purpose, as it encourages children to potentially pick up stray syringes and put them in their mouths - eeek!)
Doesn't help much now, though, sorry. Best of luck to you! :hug:

I think it depends on the age of the child.
they go from infants haveing antibiotics that smell like skittles to haveing the yukiest tasting tablets that you have to learn to swallow.

My mum did Jam as well, I'm just glad that my kids are still in the yummy phase of medicine. Although I had a friend who said her 6 month old had started spitting the panadol out, I looked at the box and said ther's your problem it's cherry flavoured, you have to get the strawberry one.

We have the strawberry panadol but nope... no chance...
I'm giving it in drinks now

Dd2 doesn't care what flavour it is strawberry, raspberry or orange they all get spat out unless it's in milk or juice.

my little one loves medicine, troublesome I know, but there is one he doesn't like the flovour. He's old enough to understand what his favourite things are, so I give him a chocolate milk chaser with the yucky one

Milk shake. Works every time here. Strawberry usually, coz the flavour doesn't stand out as much. DD2 was in hospital last year with tonsillitis & glandular fever, & after the number of times they fought her down trying to get it in she was traumatised. So until recently, when she started being ok with meds again, I never spoke a word of it & hid them in milkshakes.

Throw what I said out the window, dd2 has worked it out right when she has a bad ear infection. Have followed Jodi's advice but using a dropper it took an hour the first time but she was refusing the milk. We we were all upset by the end of it. It's getting easier today.

MY eldest is fine with medicine! Never had a problem! My youngest... oh my goodness he's a shocker... it's not very pleasant, but the only way I can get it into him most times with my two arms - which makes it even harder lol - is to literally pin arms and legs down, slightly recline him, put in a little bit and then rub his throat downwards to help entice the swallowing action. I hate doing it, but unfortunately it's about the only way he'll swallow it :( You know he's really really sick when he takes it without a fight!

Oh I hate medicine time with Elijah! Oskar is great, just takes it no prob. He doesn't like the Dimetapp chesty cough stuff though lol, but still will have it. Elijah, well, I lay him flat on his back on the floor... hold his arms and as he cries I just pop like a ml or so in and he has to swallow, then he cries again and in goes a little more. It's not what I like to do but it's what I have to do and it works most of the time. I also have wet paper towel on hand in case there's a miss or a spit out ;)

DD will not have the cherry and vanilla panadol, the second it hits the back of her thought she gags and vomits! the orange one is fine though. In a syringe, and i give it to her to do, she holds it in her mouth and i quickly squeeze it out. If its just panadol etc try the different flavours till you find the right one, if its other medicine i love the jam idea!! good luck. its so hard when they are sick and you know they need the meds but wont take them!

Suppositories work wonders if it is a capsule or tablet - you can make your own at home quite easily.

I have no idea with the liquids, sorry.