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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be so frustrated with my 3 year old?

48 replies

BrieCamera · 17/02/2023 21:34

I know I probably am.

We’ve been ill near enough every week since October and I’m seriously at the end of my tether with it - it’s relentless.

As everyone knows caring for sick kids whilst your ill yourself is hardly fun, however my biggest frustration is that DD just won’t help herself at all. Is this common? She completely refuses calpol or any other medicine and she’s now screaming as her throat is killing her. I just can’t get through to her if she drinks something and has some painkiller she will feel better. Antibiotics are a total no-go, and I live in fear of her having some raging bacterial infection as she’ll have to be admitted into hospital and have them through IV because there’s no physical way to get her to have them, if you half-force her or hide it in a drink she will just vomit it back up.

She’s my second child and the most stubborn human I’ve ever met. Does anyone have any advice who have similarly stubborn kids who would sooner die of pain then do something reasonable like have the sodding calpol??

PS just want to reassure you that my frustration comes from a place of love as I hate seeing her poorly - not that I can’t be arsed looking after her or anything!

OP posts:

sheusesmagazines · 17/02/2023 23:04

Heavy duty bribery if needed. 10 days of antibiotics for us meant a new pack of 5 Hot Wheels every day.

FavouriteSlippers · 17/02/2023 23:10

Also try other brands. As may be other flavours Tesco is cherry flavour.

Coffeellama · 17/02/2023 23:15

No help for this age but the good news for the future is from age 6 they can have calpol fastmelts! It’s basically a strawberry sweet that dissolved in the mouth and mine love it.

TreadLightly3 · 17/02/2023 23:15

My son is the same and also hates chocolate. I second heavy duty bribery and paracetamol suppositories. They often have to be ordered though so try to get some in stock at your house with a long expiry date!

Notyetthere · 17/02/2023 23:18

My 5 year old was like this. The vomit! We couldn't force her to take calpol or antibiotics. Vomited it everytime. Even now, calpol is 50/50 as to whether it will stay down. Suppositories for pain and temperature. These saved us. They had cost us a small fortune by the time she could just about take medicine orally but they were very effective. They worked really quickly as well.

As for antibiotics, I'm afraid it was the drip at the hospital.

maybein2022 · 17/02/2023 23:21

My older two would never, ever take medicine and still won’t know- it was an absolute nightmare. On a couple of occasions my second one absolutely had to take oral antibiotics and I literally had to pin him down and squirt in with a syringe because any kind of bargaining with chocolate or anything just didn’t work.

Neither of them would take calpol for a temperature, I kept a close eye on it and thankfully they managed to get through a high temperatures themselves without needing calpol- even if I explained as they were older it would help they would rather just not take it and feel worse for longer. So stubborn.

Hope she’s better soon.

Rainallnight · 17/02/2023 23:22

Squamata · 17/02/2023 22:41

Pause TV midway through an episode. Only press play again when she's accepted the dose.

I have one of these kids and gave a hollow laugh at the idea that this would change anything.

DD is six now and we’ve switched to tablets which she’ll swallow with either water or yoghurt. Doesn’t mind them, after all that fuss with liquid, the total weirdo.

Could you discuss with GP/pharmacist when/if this might be an option for you? Half a tablet buried in a spoon of thick Greek yoghurt just isn’t noticeable. I wish we’d done it sooner. (Though obvs take professional advice because choking etc etc)

IfYoureGonnaBreakMyHeart · 17/02/2023 23:24

Ha number two. They are loopy! Dd2 would only take medicine if she could do it herself. I used bribery for a time. Medicine in equals a chocolate button!

NotaCoolMum · 17/02/2023 23:26

Oh my God do not do this! 🙄

NotaCoolMum · 17/02/2023 23:27

My comment is directed @jannier

KLM2023 · 18/02/2023 07:54

Paracetamol suppositories

Original poster

BrieCamera · 18/02/2023 20:30

Thank you so much everyone!!

I thought I had tried everything but obviously not as there’s some really good ideas on here - it’s also comforting to know that there’s other kids as stubborn as mine…

Laughing at the new pack of hot wheels for 10 days solid just to get the medicine down - it’s amazing how desperate you get.

I’m reassured that the drip option is actually given in worse cases as I was half thinking they’d refuse and tell me to stop being soft.

Suppositories are worth looking into I think, are they awful to administer?

Thanks again everyone I really appreciate all the ideas x

OP posts:

Swimswam · 18/02/2023 20:33

You can ask the doctor for suppositories

Swimswam · 18/02/2023 20:34

They are easy to administer- just pop them in. They are small and slim.

SummerBaby23 · 18/02/2023 20:38

I came to mention the suppositories too so they don’t have to taste or swallow it. You can buy them over the counter in some places but they are quite expensive, or get them prescribed. It’s often the norm in mainland Europe to use these, instead of fighting kids with oral calpol!

mrsdaresee · 18/02/2023 20:42

Bribe her with chocolate or get one of those syringe to administer medicine it goes directly into the throat. Or try adding it to juice?.

Lordofthebutterfloofs · 18/02/2023 20:46

Add the calpol like strawberry sauce to ice cream. Let her lick the bowl clean

Bringonsummer19 · 18/02/2023 20:47

We also used suppository paracetamol. You can give them an option of capol or suppository. It’s very common in Europe. I don’t know why not here, why try putting calpol it’s small babies/children who don’t want it and then you aren’t sure how much they did take

BertieBotts · 18/02/2023 20:48

Suppositories are totally normal where I live for children in the nappy age - less so for children who are potty trained, but they can be bought.

I won't lie, it feels totally wrong the first time you do it, but you get used to it. Use a finger without a sharp nail and keep pushing a little bit further than you'd think (push up until you feel it go "schup" and disappear) or it will just come straight out and that is very upsetting to a 3yo to have to give it twice! Lubricate the tip with a tiny bit of vaseline or bepanthen - that's what they taught me hospital.

DS3 was a bugger for holding onto a poo until you would give the suppository and then the suppository would come out followed by the poo

Bringonsummer19 · 18/02/2023 20:49

Ps, suppository paracetamol is easy. Put Vaseline onto it and easy.

EcoCustard · 18/02/2023 20:51

I have 4 Dc, 8,7, 5 & 3 and we have had illness since November barely a week without one ill or me or DH. It’s been crap. Dc4 is 3.5 and had an awful coughing bug with temperature last week, he’s not keen on paracetamol or ibuprofen so I resulted to ice cream with sprinkles last week with it as a strawberry syrup topping. Not my finest hour as a parent but the coughing was relentless, I have said cough now…

Mellymoon · 18/02/2023 21:05

Amazing! Mummy’s drink- genius!

MrsRL · 18/02/2023 22:56

I've also got a medicine refuser, if we manage to get it in them they will spit it out. Paracetamol suppositories or a drink they aren't usually allowed. We would put it in a juice carton (partly emptied so you know they will get a full dose quickly) so they can't see and colour change. Apple juice was good and orange juice for orange flavour nurofen

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