How to trick your child into taking medicine?

Raising a child is tough. Before we have that first child most of us are idealistic enough to think that the entire parenting process will be different because we will always be kind, patient, and understanding with our little child. At some point, though they will break you. At some point, we all break. When this happens you will resort to any means necessary (within reason) to get that child to do what you want. Whether it is trying to trick your child into having a shower, eating their greens, or simply taking some medicine when they are sick, it can be infuriating. As an adult, you rely on logic yet when you try and convince a child using logic they remain unconvinced. One woman recently shared how she gets her child to take medicine and we thought it was amazing. Read on to find out her secret to success.

When your child doesn’t want to take medicine it can be pretty annoying. They are crying from the pain or sickness that they are feeling and you are offering them the perfect solution – something that will solve that pain. Yet they have no interest. At that moment they are so irritated that they can’t comprehend how the very solution they need is right in front of them, they just want you to know they are upset and to share the problem with you. For years mums and dads have been trying to trick kids into taking medicine and have used a variety of ways. Some have dipped a lollipop into the medicine to use candy as a disguised form of transport for the liquid. Others have simply told their kids that medicine is superhero juice and that is how superheroes get big and strong. This one will work but they will soon figure out that it has its limits.

If you have reached the end of your patience and are about to simply wear some earplugs so that you no longer hear your child’s complaints then we beg you to give this solution a try. If this doesn’t work then we fully support you. The solution is oh-so-clever yet oh-so-simple. Take a juice box and cut out the back portion so that you can slip in a small-cap of medicine. Now insert the straw into the cup of medicine and ask your child if they want a juice box. No child ever turns down a juice box. Ensure you hold the juice box the entire time while they drink (this should be normal as otherwise, they may spill) and that you conceal the operation that has taken place at the back of the box. Watch as your child takes a big sip of the juice and the medicine disappears. Have a second juice box lined up when they realize this one is now empty. Simply apologize and say you were thirsty and give them this other full one instead. Everybody wins.

This trick works the only way tricks tend to work on kids. Lying to them. You may think that you can be honest and explain to your child how in order to feel better they simply need to take medicine but that won’t work. You are not dealing with an agent of logic, especially when they are sick. Instead, give them their favorite treat and hide some medicine, some vegetables, or whatever else you need in that package. This is the only way to get a child to do what you want. Will it result in some form of resentment when they are teenagers? Probably but that is highly likely no matter what you do.