How to get a child to swallow a pill?

My secretary's daughter just can't swallow pills. Unfortunately, she needs to take a fairly small pill daily, but just can't make herself do it. The pill is just a little larger than a tic-tac.

I have offered to do hypnosis for her, and probably will do this soon, but I thought I'd ask those of you with children what has worked for you, before we try anything else.

im 14 and take 2 small pills also.Did you try a reward after it?maybe a barbie or a book?

is it chewable or swallowable?

Yes, they have tried rewards, treats, coating the pill with butter, telling her that the pill is smaller than the other food she swallows, practicing with tiny pieces of candy and gradually moving to larger pieces of candy (acting like they are pills) and nothing works.

The problem is that she becomes so tense and nervous that she just can't make herself swallow.

Originally posted by pooky
is it chewable or swallowable?

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It is time-release, so it can't be chewed or broken into smaller pieces.

I wish I had a good answer, but I don't. My step-son hated pills (any medicine, actually) when he was younger; luckily, he rarely had to take them. The doctor had to give him a shot of penicillan when he had a bad ear infection once; that actually helped us in the long run. ('If you don't take your medicine, we'll have no choice but to...' - God, how awful to do that to your kid!!)

I did find a flyer on the internet with a bunch of tips to help - maybe something on this will help.

http://www.seattlechildrens.org/chil...yers/PE398.pdf

Thanks, I printed out the page on pills and will give it to her when she comes in tomorrow.

I did this with my son. I didn't even tell him I was going to give him a pill (and this was one that's slightly larger than an average aspirin). I came into the bathroom with a glass of water and told him I wanted to see how much water his mouth could hold so I had him hold his head back and open his mouth and as I poured in the water I casually dropped in the pill. When his mouth got full I told him to swallow and he did. Then I exclaimed over how much water he had in his mouth. To do this every day might be a little weird, but parents are weird already, aren't they?

You know, I was just reading through that flyer, and one of the tips for powdered medicine might work. If these pills are really small, maybe tucking it into a spoonful of yogurt, applesauce, or pudding (something easily swallowed without chewing) would do the trick. I would think a spoonful of chocolate pudding would mask the taste.


Boy, I wish I had this much info a few years ago! It would have made my life much easier!!!

Tell the child to put the pill under her tongue, and take a big gulp of water. It automatically goes down.

I'm 100% sure this will work.

I 2nd the applesauce or pudding or even icecream,That is how they do it in nursing homes.

LOL that brings me back - my mother had a hell of a time getting me to swallow pills - it would take me 30 mins to an hour to swallow. Even that pill under the tongue didnt work for me. I too, did tense up. I still have problems swallowing pills, I have no idea why.

Crush it up and put it in applesauce. We do this with my dd

Ugh. I am STILL not a good pill swallower. Neither is my son. I still ask the doctor for chewables for him. I never press the issue because my mother used to hound me over it, and I just have such a huge gag reflex that I can't do it well.

When I was small I could not swallow pills. I had to put the water (whatever liquid) in my mouth first then pop the pill in and as long as the pill floated on the water and did not stick to my tongue etc, it would go down. I STILL take pills this way at 41. (knowing this, I bet this:

). I came into the bathroom with a glass of water and told him I wanted to see how much water his mouth could hold so I had him hold his head back and open his mouth and as I poured in the water I casually dropped in the pill. When his mouth got full I told him to swallow and he did.

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would work.