Tips for helping a fussy three-year-old take oral medicine

[WiseRubyRobin]

Hi all, looking for some magic tips or advice….as a bit of background my 3 year old is a pretty fussy eater - she’s improved a lot since she started solids but still is picky about textures and reluctant to try new foods.

This also means that since a very young age she has hated taking Calpol or any oral medications like antibiotics. When it’s been essential she take them (like when she had some infected eczema and antibiotics were prescribed) we just had to get them down her so had to force it really, but she was much younger then. Otherwise we have tried:

• hiding them in things like yoghurt (she won’t eat things like smoothies or many other foods we could easily hide it in)
• offering rewards/bribery
• treats like a bit of chocolate we tell her she can have immediately after
• explaining to her what medicine does and why she needs it

We were prescribed paracetamol suppositories which were a godsend when she was younger as she was less aware and less bothered but now she’s older she (and we) find that route pretty distressing and we would prefer she willingly took it orally. We’ve even explained that she has the choice of medicine in her mouth or the ‘bottom medicine’ and she basically refuses either and gets really upset.

So….does anyone have similar experience and have any other magic tips and tricks we haven’t tried?

Thanks for reading!!

Pharmacies can make flavoured medicine but if she’s a fussy eater this probably won’t work.
I’d be wary of hiding medicines if her diet is still limited as it could lead to refusal of favoured foods.

Our daughter was autistic and had ARFID. Luckily as a child she was hardly ever ill.
When she did need antibiotics ( which she described as eye of newt and toe of toad!) we had to use a plastic syringe to squirt the medicine to the back of her mouth.

Good luck.

Tried everything with ds. Wouldn't take even Calpol.

In the end it was force method as he often had antibiotics he needed to take.
So method was, wrap in blanket, hold tight put syringe in mouth quirt in then put a chocolate button in on top and hold his chin up until he'd swallowed it.

That way we got most doses in. I can still see the amoxycillin yellow splat on the wall under the window where we missed and he's off at uni. Although his dislike of taking medicine or having medical procedures (other than blood tests, which for some odd reason he loves) hasn't changed. Apparently he may well have broken his wrist at football (for the third time, hence knowing)... last weekend... and apparently going to A&E is a waste of time because he knows what's wrong and it feels fine (he has a high pain threshold) so why would he need to take ibroprofen or anything else.
The standoff currently is that if he doesn't go to A&E by tomorrow morning, I'm going down there to take him. I'm hoping that's enough of a threat, and I have said I need a selfie from inside the hospital AND one of the x-ray if he going to tell me it isn't broken.