How to give medicine to a 3YO Help!

[Treacletoots]

DD has been diagnosed with Inpetigo, poor thing.

Doctor has prescribed the most vile tasting medicine and unfortunately DD has figured this out. We've tried sugar on a spoon, food colouring, spiking angel delight, but all failed.

How do we get this down her without her spitting it straight out. She can spit like a llama!?

Could you mix it in with yogurt? That's the only way DS (2) will take his vile fishy tasting vitamins.

Have you tried giving her something afterwards to take the taste away and saying that is what will happen, instead of making Angel Delight taste vile?

I mix ds's in a small bowl with either nutella or jam, mix it enough that you can't smell it and then spread it on toast.

Unfortunately the only sure fire way is to sit child on your lap, one arm wrapping them
To your body and arms pinned to sides. Wait for a wail, syringe into cheek and squirt the medicine in.

It’s hard on you, it upsets them, but it’s for the best and is over with in seconds.

3 or 4 rounds of that routine and they just get used to it.

I know it sounds brutal, but as someone who has had a very sick child in the past, being unable to get medicine into them and their temp rocketing past 40 was far more worrying than the relatively minor upset of a forcible administration.

If you squirt it into the cheek towards the back, it trickles straight down and cant be spat back, by the way.

She gets 3 chocolate buttons after each dose to "take the taste away"? I know handing out sweets isn't ideal but if it gets the medicine down...

Syringe to the back of the cheek whilst pinning down arms. Brutal but gets it done.

Syringe to the back of throat/cheek. Like PP have said, it's brutal but gets the job done.

@spacepoppers

I wouldn’t recommend back of throat directly. There is risk of aspiration and resultant pneumonia. A child died as a result of that after a multivit was squirted in and they aspirated it a couple of years ago.

I used to mix with undiluted Ribena as it's strong taste helped disguise the taste

@TheSheepofWallSt yes you're absolutely right, I actually meant side of cheek towards the throat, but worded it poorly

Squeezy fruit pouches in a bowl and chocolate buttons after. My 2yo sort of understands medicine helps you feel better and feeling better means we can play more, talking them through why they have to have it can help the slightest bit.

I realise the issue is about the taste but I found it useful to get ds to draw up his own medicine through the syringe and take it himself under supervision. He used the string with juice/water first, gave 'medicine' to us and it became kind of normal. Control was definitely a thing for him and he was 2/3 years old, I adopted an indifferent attitude to it to neutralise the power dynamic (externally at least). Eventually he would choose a bowl and one of a selection of treats, get this ready, draw and take his medicine and then have his treat. He's always been massively motivated by doing things independently though. May not be for everyone. Good luck

Should say 'syringe' not 'string'!

Syringe followed by a chocolate button for being brave. If you have a partner available so much the better, allows one to pin and the other to squirt.

It's no help OP but you made me remember that my daughter actively enjoys nasty medicine.

The last lot of antibiotics we gave her were awful - I tried it and it turned my face inside out but she loved it.

Ha, yes @VeeBe - my daughter loves her wellchild multivitamin liquid which tastes vile in my opinion. She asks for more

My almost 3 year old DD will usually respond to bribes - she wasn’t a fan of the banana medicine she had last infection but the promise of some chocolate afterwards did the job! We also did the above, basically held her arms back, squirted it very quickly into the side of her cheek and gently hold her chin to try keep her mouth closed!

Unfortunately the only sure fire way is to sit child on your lap, one arm wrapping them
To your body and arms pinned to sides. Wait for a wail, syringe into cheek and squirt the medicine in

Yep, this

Thanks all for the suggestions. I think we'll try a combination of pinning down, syringe to back of cheek and a Nutella bribe!!