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Any ideas on how to get a 2 year old to swallow her medicine?

My daughter is going to be 2 in 2 weeks, and has an ear infection. The pediatrician gave me amoxicillin for her to take, but she throws a fit every 12 hours. He suggested I hold her nose, since she has to swallow it to breathe, but she just spits it all out first. I've never had a problem with my other 3 children...they all loved the taste. But this child is so stubborn...more ends up in her hair, the couch and her shirt, than down her throat. Any suggestions?

12 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    At that age I always used to put the medicine in their sippy cups and mix is with some juice for them to drink. They could rarely tell the difference and if they did, I added a little sugar to it to cover the taste. Always worked for me and I have one who is the fussiest kid on the planet!

    PS that doctor sounds like a jack***, sorry!

  • 1 decade ago

    I have the same problem with my daughter. She will take some medications with ease and others she puts up a fight. What I have done to get her to take her medicine, is give her a glass of water or juice or sometimes even soda and let her take a sip of the drink and then a sip of the medicine, and just have her repeat that until all of the medicine is gone. It gets her to take her medicine and there is no fuss. Not sure if that will help you but I works for me.

    Source(s): Just being a mom.
  • 1 decade ago

    I have toddler twins, and one of them takes a literall pharmacy everyday. Before she got her G tube place, this is what we had to do(bearing in mind this is going to sound harsh, but she HAD to take the medicine.) wrap the shild up in a large towel or blanket so all her extremities are enclsoed. NOT TOO TIGHT but tight enough so that she can't flail away. *Sit*(more like kneel over) her, tip her head back, pinch her nose closed and inject the medicine on the side of the cheek as far back as you can. Close her mouth. Trust me she will swallow it. This is hard to do hard to watch and makes you feel bad, but its worse for a child to get sicker becuase you felt guilty lol. Hope she gets better!

    Source(s): We learned this in the NICU, and from her pediatrician
  • 1 decade ago

    Good question! My husband and I have to wrestle our 32 month girl. (She had a cold a few weeks back) Literally, we pin her down to get the medicine in her. There is no talking to her. She ought to know better that she feels better after a dose but she never gives in and just takes it.

    Sometimes I mix Advil in a small amount of soda or juice. But with antibiotics you have to get the dose in her consistently so I don't know how this trick would work for you.

    Good luck!

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  • 1 decade ago

    Use a medicine syringe. You can usually get these from your pharmacy. Put the syringe in the side of her mouth, in the jaw. Squirt a little at a time. She'll swallow it without realizing it. Usually you can just blow a little air in their face and they'll swallow. It's not harmful at all.

  • 1 decade ago

    Use a syringe

    Let one of your older ones do it first with the syringe

    Let her hold the syringe (she’ll feel more in control)

    Get someone else to do it. Children will often behave better for someone who is not their mom.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    Mix it in with her applesauce or something. Or you tell her that if she drinks it without spitting it out she can have a cookie or something she really likes that she doesn't get often.

  • 1 decade ago

    mix it with a favorite drink and put it in a cup with a "special" straw or tie a ribbon around the cup and say this is a drink only princess's can have.

  • 1 decade ago

    my 2 yr old hates liquid medicine, but anything is a chewable she'll take! ask your doctor if this medicene comes in chewables!

  • 1 decade ago

    this is what i do. i lay my son down and put my body over his with his arms pinned at his sides or in my free hand he screams i aim for the back of his throat and shot it in. or i put him on my lap and do pretty much the same thing

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