Story Teller

"Open your mouth……here comes the aeroplane."

Kids love stories. Weave the medicine into the story, and you have a less fussy remedy to get her to gulp the icky thing.

Colour, Colour, Which Colour?

Give your child some control over taking her medicine. Allow her to select the colour or shape of the spoon to take it with. It might be the blue coloured Minnie mouse spoon or even your expensive cutlery.

Double Dose

Ask the paediatrician for higher concentration medicines so he won't have to have as much. For example, instead of giving him a teaspoon of cough syrup of 50mg concentration, you can give him half a teaspoon of the 100mg concentration.

Make It Routine

Maintain a routine of when and where your child takes the medicine. Especially if she suffers from any chronic condition. Over a period of time she will get accustomed to it.

Smiley Surprise

Create a reward chart. Give him a smiley for each time he takes the medicines without a fuss. If he does so the whole week, give him a gift.Remember; don't reward him daily or it will become a habit.

Last Resort

As a last resort ask your doctor if you could use a suppository.

A suppository is an alternative pill that is inserted into the child's rectum where it melts as soon as it comes in contact with the body temperature.

Offer a Chaser

If the medicine is distasteful, give her some candy, jaggery or sugar immediately after it. This reduces the bad aftertaste.

Things to Remember

• Help your child understand that he needs to take the medicine to feel better.
• Try to learn her likes and dislikes. Work around her likings initially to get her to take medicines. For example, if she likes to mother her doll, act like the doll is ill. Show her how the doll is taking the medicine without any fuss.
• Don't mix it with food. You don't know how much food your baby is going to eat. If the food gets wasted, so does the medicine. And if it is mixed in a small quantity of porridge or milk, she may taste the medicine and may even develop a dislike for that food.
• Don't bribe him. Over a period of time he will come to expect a reward each time he takes medication.

(With inputs from Dr. Priti Parikh, Paediatrician, Shruti Nursing Home/Centre for Human Reproduction, Mumbai)