Tuck her arms away
As a baby she never used to like it so I had to use the syringe to inject it into her mouth. I would hold her firmly and tell her no, you have to take it. I would sit on a chair and hold her in a cradling position with her arms tucked somewhere. Then she would kick her legs so I got the maid to hold down her legs. I would wait for her to open her mouth when she cried or screamed, the whole thing goes in. She's okay after that. When she got a little older I got the medication spoon – the type where you can measure the medication inside it. Because she could understand me, I would tell her, well you don't have a choice. You can do it the hard way or the easy way. The hard way is with me and the maid holding her. So, she'd take it. Now she takes her medication without problems. We tell her why we're giving her medicine. So she understands. She's okay with it now. She has a bluff cry or sometimes a scream and that's the best time to give her the medicine – when she opens her mouth to scream. And then she gives us a smile after that. At the beginning it's hard because you feel you're doing something terrible to the child by forcing her to take the medication. But after some time you get over it because you know it's necessary. Now she's at that phase where she's taking it willingly. I hope she remains this way. - Maureen Nagle, mother of a 21-month toddler
No shortcuts
There are no shortcuts for getting him to take his medicine. My husband will hold him and I will use the syringe to squirt the medicine into his mouth. He'll be screaming but it doesn't last long. We just have to be firm and anyway I only give him medicine if it's really necessary. - Chong See Ming, mother of a 20-month-old boy
Explain to them
Fortunately for me, all four of my children have had no problem in taking medication. I guess if you explain to them the importance of taking their medicine they understand that it is for their own good to recover and stay healthy. In fact, my youngest son insisted on taking pills instead of syrup since he was six years old. - Nurwina Mohd Som, mother of four aged eight to 20