These genius tricks from parents like you will make the medicine go down (without a fight!).
“My child found it easier to take his medication if it was served in applesauce.” —Elaine20
“My parents crushed my pills, mixed them with jelly, and put the jelly mixture on a spoon and shoveled it in my mouth. Now that I think back, it would have probably worked to freeze this concoction in frozen form as popsicles.” —Amanda Nelson
“A ‘must-have’ to get my kids to take their meds is to serve the medicine in a spoonful of yogurt with nonpareils on top. You’ll find these sprinkles in the cake decorating or baking section of your local grocery store. The small, dot-sized ones are easiest to work with. I’ve used this for giving everything from chewable amoxicillin to Ritalin LA in a capsule.” —cotrav5
“A teaspoon of crunchy peanut butter can easily disguise pills if they’re small.” —Sherry
“I spray whipped cream (out of a can) into my son’s mouth after he puts the capsule on his tongue. The whipped cream creates a barrier so the capsule doesn’t roll out and it gives him something substantial to swallow.” —bristoladd
“My husband noticed that our daughter, who was struggling to take her meds, was able to swallow fruit-flavored Gushers whole. He had the brilliant idea of cutting open a Gusher and sticking the capsule inside.” —Becky
4 Alternative Methods of Swallowing Pills
“Don’t put the pill on your child’s tongue or toward the back of their mouth. Place the pill or capsule under their tongue, off to one side, and then have them drink water with a straw. The natural flow of swallowing is like a wave. It washes the pill right down.” —hoyarn91
“The ‘normal’ way is to put the pill in your mouth, add liquid, and swallow. My way is to put the liquid in my mouth, tilt my head back (so it doesn’t spill out), and drop the pill in. Then I close my mouth and swallow. It works like a charm.” —Greg Ream
“For bad-tasting meds, buy empty gel caps. Put the tablet in the empty capsule to mask the taste.” —hoyarn91
