Does anyone have any tips for administering eye drops to a 2 year old?

[sassy]

My dd has conjunctivitis at the mo and has been prescribed drops to be given 4 times a day. She hates it - and so do I! Also, cos she cries so much I'm sure she must be washing most of the stuff out before it has a chance to do any good.
Any tips please?

[BearintheBigBlueHouse]

Catch some conj yourself - not hard to do in the circumstances - and then do a quid pro quo with dd. She gets to help you administer your drops then you do hers, and she gets 3 smarties after each administration. DD (just 3) got viral then bacterial conj so needed antibiotic drops, whereas I managed to avoid rubbing my eyes and mine stayed bacterial and could be treated with over the counter antibacterial drops. I guess you could just use Optrex if you manage to avoid it altogether.

[wild]

Do it 'pretend' on dp or fav toy.

[prettycandles]

Bribery! Show her what she stands to earn if she co-operates.

Also warming the bottle makes a huge difference. You probably keep the drops in the fridge - no choice, obviously, but imagine how unpleasant the temperature shock must be. I found that if I popped the bottle into my trouser pocket for 10m or so it warmed up enough not to distress the child.

As for positioning, there are two positions I have found useful: for a smaller child I sit on a chair/the loo with my feet on a thick book so that my thighs are level, then lay the child on their back over my lap, so that the head dangles back over the side of my lap. For a bigger child I do the same but have them stand between my legs with their head draping back over my lap.

HTH