How to get a kid to take a pill?

amother ↓

Sat, Dec 20 2008, 2:05 pm

I had a little bit of a hard time with my son but he mastered it and is fine now. I can't convince my DD, age 7, to take it at all. I've offered prizes, treats, we made a chart, what else can I do? She did it once with no problem but is refusing to take it. Should we force her? I'm not even sure if we could. I asked her teacher whom she looks up to to convince her to do it with no problem. We'll see what happens with that. Any suggestions?

yOungM0mmy

Sat, Dec 20 2008, 2:45 pm

Why does a 7 year old need to take pills? Can't you get whatever you need in liquid form?
When we were about 10 years old, my father forced the pills down - literally held our heads back, and put it right at the back of our throats. It sounds horrible, but now all of us can take pills with no problem - I still do it that way, with no drink - I find if I try with water, it swims to the front of my mouth and I can't swallow it. My great grandmother couldn't swallow, and at 80 years old was crushing all her pills, and my father said he will make sure we all know how.

drumjj

Sat, Dec 20 2008, 2:48 pm

I wish I could get my daughter who is five to take liquid never mind pills. why would a little kid need pills

↑ amother ↓

Sat, Dec 20 2008, 4:21 pm

OP here. Okay. Thanks for the replies but I really need suggestions for how to get her to do what she already did once fine, again. She needs these pills, they don't come in liquid form, and she will probably have to take them for years. If you've never heard of a 7 year old needing pills, consider yourself lucky but know that many do need it and there are no alternatives. I could ask a similar question about how to get a diabetic child to accept shots, it is the same kind of necessity. I tried crushing one and gave it to her in jello but she really didn't like it. She is the most stubborn person I know next to myself.

mummy-bh

Sat, Dec 20 2008, 4:29 pm

Re: crushing pills.
I once read that this is not a good idea as the crushing somehow changes the makeup of the tablet and it is absorbed differently into the bloodstream as to how it was intended, thus making the medication work differently as to how it should.
Please check with your doctor if this is the case for these particular pills.

↑ amother

Sat, Dec 20 2008, 4:37 pm

mummy-bh wrote:

He actually told me to break the pill in half as she only needs a small dose and he said it is fine in small pieces and even ok if one half is not exactly even. Since it broke anyway, I gave it to her like that. She said it tasted bitter and she won't take it like that again. Thanks for pointing that out though.

ShakleeMom

Sat, Dec 20 2008, 6:45 pm

at age 4 my father physically threatened me (I agree with what he did, I had to learn!). Ok, I was scared. so I swallowed it in terror. From my kids are learned that one will embrace the challenge, another will fight you tooth and nail. Good luck. Get a $5.00 pill crusher and spoon feed her the mixture with applesauce or grape juice, those are the two strongest things to mask the flavor.

Have her practice on small candy or croutons.

greenfire

Sat, Dec 20 2008, 7:41 pm

have something yummy in a little "shot glass" for her to swig after she takes it ... oh and curl up the tongue and put the pill in the curl part that is where it has the most effective swallow ability ... if you have to crush it put it in only a small spoon amount with the drink after

and shame on all of you questioning why amother's kid needs to take pills shock