Of Kids, Medicines and Doctors
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Posted by Wei Yin Wong May 21, 2009 |
I once had a colleague who suffers huge anxiety when it's time for her medication. She would put her glass of water, medicines and a big chunk of chocolate next to one another. After taking a deep breath, she would quickly pop the pills into her mouth, take a big gulp of water and then promptly bite into the waiting chocolate!
As a child, she must have had very traumatic experiences when she had to take her medicines. I remember my share of unhappy incidents with my prescriptions. But unlike some kids who spat out their bitter remedies or ran around the house trying to avoid the inevitable, I obediently swallowed everything down. I understood I needed to do something unpleasant to get better.
Thankfully, my kids are pretty much like me. They hate their medicines but they take them anyway. I never have to cajole, trick or threaten them. I also don't have much difficulty getting them to the doctor when the need arises. One of them needed to have four shots at one go a couple of years ago and he didn't even shed a tear, though he admitted the experience was something he would avoid at all costs in the future!
The thing is, kids and doctors and medicines just don't go very well together in general. Parents do need to help kids overcome their anxiety of seeing the doctor or taking medication. A good tip is to show kids that going to the doctor or eating medicines is something that people do when they are sick. Let kids know when you have your own doctor's appointment. Bring them along if possible to demonstrate that there is nothing to fear. Make your appointment early so that your child get to be seen on time, eliminating a longer wait.
As for taking medicines, teach them from young why they need their doses. You can also mask the unpleasant flavor by keeping liquid medication chilled and mixing it with cold foods like yoghurt, jam, honey or even icecream. To make things a little more exiciting, allow the child to give you your own medicine when you need to.
For more related tips, check out my following articles.
Getting Children to See the Doctor
When to Take a Child to the Doctor