How to hide the taste of medicine for kids

Getting kids to take their medicine can seem like a Herculean struggle if they don’t like the taste. The fact of the matter is, everyone gets sick from time to time, and even the healthiest kids will need to take medicine sooner or later. However, if they won’t even eat their vegetables willingly, how you can expect them to swallow nasty tasting medicine while they’re not feeling well? In order to get the kids to take their medicine, it may sometimes be necessary to mask its taste.

One thing that many parents don’t realize about medicine is that its temperature can have a great effect on its taste. Liquid medicines should be chilled before they’re administered in order to make the taste as inoffensive as possible. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to administering medicine to children, and it has stood up to the test of time. Chilling your child’s medicine helps to take off the bitter edge and make it easier to swallow.

In fact, cold temperatures have many applications in this field. Many parents find that their children have an easier time with medicine after eating a cold treat like a freeze pop or frozen yogurt. The intense cold of treats like these has a numbing effect on the tongue that can make the taste buds less receptive to the offensive flavors of medicine. Start your kids off with a cold treat to prepare them for the medicine, and chase it with a drink of cold water or juice to get the taste out of their mouths as soon as possible after swallowing. This will help make the whole process much easier and more agreeable.

Your children may have trouble ingesting medicine in pill form, both because of the harsh taste and the unnatural feeling of swallowing a whole pill. In these cases, one of your best options is turning the pill into a liquid. Crush your child’s medicinal pills and mix them into sweet drinks for an easy dose of medicine that they’ll actually enjoy. Also try mixing crushed pills into soft foods like apple sauce, pudding or ice cream. This is one of the best ways to mask the taste of offensive medicine, and it works like a charm as long as your child eats or drinks the whole portion. Check with your doctor first to see if your child’s pills are okay for crushing.

If all else fails, a little positive thinking might be just what your child needs to get over this fear of medicine. Remind the kids that the medicine is going to make them feel better, and they’ll be out having fun again in no time if they take their medicine. Try to opt for the most pleasant tasting medicines whenever possible. The best multivitamin or cold remedy for your child will be the one that he or she can take easily. Try these helpful tips at home to get your kids to take their medicine in spite of its yucky taste.

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