Strong Arm Tactics

There are times when, as a parent, you find yourself doing things that you couldn’t imagine doing to your kid.

Take this, for example. You have your two year-olds head firmly gripped in one hand like Magic Johnson palming a basketball. With the other hand you are holding your kids arms to his chest, all the while gripping his body as close to you as possible.

He is screaming. While doing this, your spouse is gripping his mouth open with one hand.

Is this a reason to call the department of social services?
Is a Britney-like intervention needed?

No, you are trying to do a good thing for your kid — you are giving him antibiotics.

Depending on the age of your kid, giving medicine can either be a walk in the park or a lesson in advanced patient restraint. And don’t let your doctor or pharmacist fool you… Strawberry antibiotics won’t do the trick. And while there are some medicines available in suppository form (I hear Noodad likes these) there are some that aren’t. But there are a couple of things that can help out when you have to give your little one, medicine.

1. Hold their nose tightly. Ok, not that tightly, but if you hold their nose it will force the little critter to open their mouth. Then insert the medicine.

If you are lucky you are done with 1. If not, then you have a kid like mine, whom at two, will just spit out the medicine. If so, proceed to 2.

2. Place just a drop of the medicine in the inside of your kid cheek at a time. If they spit it up, use your finger to put the medicine back in their mouth. If they bite your finger, try not to scream.

And lastly, if all else fails you can relay on trick #3. This one almost always works.

3. Once you have the medicine in their mouth, blow in your kid face, which almost always makes them want to swallow.

Yes, this all sounds awfully cruel, but don’t forget, it is for their benefit! After all, it is medicine you are giving them. And for those of you who are out there who are horrified right now, or think you will never have to resort to these strong-arm tactics, I say, just wait. For those of you who have experienced this, what are your tricks for getting your little one to take their medicine?