What to Expect the Toddler Years (211 page)

Don’t continue giving a medication beyond the time specified in the prescription.

If your toddler seems to be having an adverse reaction to a medication, stop it temporarily and check with the doctor before resuming use.

If another caregiver, at home, in preschool, or at day care, is responsible for giving your child medication during the day, be sure that he or she is familiar with the above recommendations.

Be sure to record the name of any medication you give your toddler, as well as pertinent information (including why it was prescribed, the length of time it was given, and any side or adverse effects you observe), in your child’s permanent health history record, to create a ready reference now and in the future.

Never pretend medicine is candy or a special drink. Such subterfuge may work in getting a child to take the medicine, but could also lead to overdose if the child accidentally finds the bottle and decides to have a “snack.” Be clear—it’s medicine, not a treat.

Mary Poppins had the right idea. But for all those parents who can’t conjure up Mary’s magic, it takes something more than “a spoonful of sugar” to make the medicine go down.

If you’re lucky, your toddler is one of those who actually enjoys (or at least doesn’t strongly object to) the medicine-taking ritual; who savors the taste of the strange liquids (whether they are vitamins, antibiotics, or pain relievers); and who opens up wide enough to accommodate a double-dip ice-cream cone at the sight of a medicine spoon. If you’re not so lucky, you’re like most toddler parents; your child possesses a sixth sense that says “clamp your mouth shut” when medicine is anywhere in the vicinity. To outwit the tight-lipped:

Switch delivery systems. If your toddler doesn’t take kindly to medicine on a spoon, and a dropper isn’t large enough for the prescribed dose, ask the pharmacist for a medicine spoon or plastic syringe (which allows you to shoot the dose into the child’s mouth). If your toddler rejects medication from a dropper, spoon, or syringe and likes a nipple instead, try putting a dose in a hand-held bottle nipple and let your child suck it out. Follow this with water from the same nipple so your child will get any medication remaining in the nipple.

To reduce the assault on your toddler’s taste buds, which are concentrated front and center on the tongue, aim a spoon toward the back of the mouth and a dropper or syringe between the molars or rear gum and cheek. To avoid setting off a gagging reflex, try not to let the dropper or spoon touch the very back of the tongue. You can also dull the taste by having your toddler hold his or her nose (but don’t hold it yourself) while the medicine is being administered. Or by chilling the medication (if this won’t affect its potency; ask your pharmacist)—the taste may be less pronounced when it’s cold. Or numb the taste buds by having your toddler suck on an ice pop just before taking the medicine.

Unless you’re instructed to give the medication with or after meals, plan on serving it up just before feeding. First, because your child is more likely to accept it when hungry, and second,
because if he or she does vomit it right back up, less food will be lost.

Approach your toddler confidently with medicine—even if past experience has taught you to expect the worst. If your child knows you’re anticipating a struggle, you’re sure to get one. You may get one anyway, of course, but a confident approach could swing the odds in your favor.

For children who reject liquid and chewable forms of acetaminophen, you can try “sprinkle caps.” This granular form of the drug is relatively tasteless and can be sprinkled into a spoonful of juice, fruit purée, or applesauce.

As a next-to-the last resort, you can mix an unpalatable medication with a
small
amount (1 or 2 teaspoons) of cold or room-temperature strained fruit or fruit juice—but only if you check with the doctor or pharmacist first (sometimes the temperature or the composition of the food can alter the effectiveness of a medication). Don’t dilute a medication in a larger quantity of food or juice since your toddler may not finish it all, and mix only one dose at a time, just before administering. Unless your toddler generally resists new foods, use an unfamiliar fruit or juice for mixing since the medicine may impart an unpleasant taste to a familiar one, causing a future rejection of the once-favored food.