How I give medicines to my kids

Every time our kids are sick we feel anxious and stress. Always monitoring if they're getting worse or well. But for them to be well we need to give them some medicines. The best and foremost effective antidote to relieve our children from their sickness is our love and affection. Sometimes just by giving our child our undivided attention turns out to be a saving grace to our child illness. But not all the time... That's why we turn to give them another dose of antidote, which are medications. It's a bitter pill for most parents and it can become a nightmare to most parents and the kids...Initially.

The first thing I usually do is to taste the kids medicine... Yes dear I taste it. It sounds absurd but it will already give me a gage if my kids will like its taste. And most kid medicines comes in different fruity flavors (e.g. Orange, cherry, lemon, banana and grapes) . One common flavour my kids love is orange. Second, depending on the age I put the medicine in a syringe for 3 yrs old below (see Fig.1) 

                         Fig. 1   Sample Syringe

or in a medicine cup for 4 yrs. up (see Fig. 2). 

                     Fig. 2   Sample Medicine Cup

Of course its easier to give in a medicine cup but the good thing about using the syringe is I can control the amount of medicine I give to my kids. And usually my kids will taste the first drop of the medicine. I also make sure to prepare a glass of water and a tissue by my side before giving the medications. This in case my kids try to spit or dislike the taste of medicine. When giving medication through syringe I let the tip of the syringe place at the side of the mouth thus letting the medicine flow through the side cheeks. This will help to minimize the flow of medicine to the tongue. If eventually they like the taste then great. But if not, then I proceed to my third step which is being creative. One example was giving them sweets or water before or after they take the medicine to wash out the bitter after taste. Another way was I give the medicine gradually, which of course would take me about 5 to 10mins to finish a 6ml of medicine. I was able read through some articles recommending to mix the medicines to my child food or milk, which in some cases it worked, but not always. There were also times that I need to carefully force in giving the medicine to my kids most especially if it's antibiotics. Antibiotic is one of the most disliked oral medicine by my kids though they have fruity flavours but it had a bitter after taste. When it comes to medicines it's important to follow the doctors prescribe medications and timing most especially on antibiotics. Failure to do so is like prolonging the agony of your child.

As a parent we will do almost everything  to provide the best care to keep them strong and healthy. Like most doctors will say "Prevention is better than Cure". And the best medicine for our children is our tender loving care and prayers knowing we are always there when they need us the most.