Teaching Children How to Swallow Pills

I'm with Lee Lee, that's how my 6 and 8 year old daughters do it, and have been doing it.

I would NOT do the m&m thing unless you're using the minis... kids airways are roughly the size of their pinky, and chocolate takes forever to melt! Bad idea! As a former EMT, I think that's a terrible idea. Not knocking the mom's who have tried it and it worked, I'm saying to everyone else, going forward, don't do that ;)

I was 15 before I could swallow pills..... my mom ever learned well. She uses a pill crusher. Genetics? Idk....

We've told our daughter to fill her mouth with water, pop the pill in, and let the full mouth of water take the pill down the throat. When I do that, I can't even feel the pill going down.

Teach him using M&Ms. That often does the trick!

ooh this question was asked a while ago. Let me remember who asked it - it helped me!!

This doesn't have anything to do with you question, but is a suggestion for the multi-vitamin. There are a ton of other options for vitamins instead of making him eat bitter-tasting applesause there are powders u add to liquids that taste much better. Thats if your not a fan of chewables or gummy's. Just thought I would suggest that. It must be awful to have to eat bitter applesause everday.

I'm no help. To this day, I cringe whenever I have to attempt to swallow a pill. And I won't even attempt anything that isn't coated! I'm a real baby when it comes to swallowing pills!

When teaching my son I coated the pill with butter, had him put it in his mouth, take a big drink of water, and swallow. A couple of times of that and it worked. Even now with large pills, he still wants it coated. It seems to help.

Capsules are less dense that water, so when trying to swallow them whole, you don't want to lean your head back (it causes the capsule to rise to the top of your throat not go to the back). For capsules, try putting it in your mouth, put a swallow of water (or whatever drink) in your mouth and lean your head foward - chin to chest. The capsule will float on top of the water, but with your head in that position it will put the capsule at the back of your throat. If you can swallow with your held tilted down, viola, capsule swallowed. If you are using a tablet, then it's opposite. Throw your head back and it will sink in the water to the back of your throat. I've also found that it is easier to take pills/capsules with orange juice or some thicker liquid rather than water.

I had trouble till I was in high school! Try being a senior asking for chewables at the drs appt! What helped me was swallowing ice from Sonic. I knew it would melt (that was my problem-I thought it would get stuck) and I was able to get used to the feeling of it going down. Hope this helps!

I gave my 7 year old grandson red hots, which he loved and he learned to swallow them. Also, the first time the Dr. gave him a pill to swallow instead of a liquid, I told him he had gotten sooo big that the Dr. thought he was big enough to take medicine like a big person and not a liquid any more like a baby usually has to take. It seemed to work, if the red hots are too hot, use something small like tic tacs or m&m's or something like that. Also, any time a person has to take a CAPSULE, never tilt your head back always tilt it forward because the capsule floats, so if you tilt your head forward it floats to the back of your throat making it easier to swallow! Good luck! My daughter was 13 before she ever learned and she still has trouble to this day and she is 31! So you never know!

We used M&Ms with water in the mouth first. I've also been told that instead of throwing the head back, bending the chin slightly down toward the chest opens up the throat better to allow pills to go down easier. Worked for us.

The fact that he won't even TRY is a whole different beast. If you can't get him to try, none of the strategies will help anyway. If you can convince him to give it a shot, it won't be much of an issue.

I don't think it's worth "practicing" with other stuff. Just have him try each day and he'll get the hang of it. I had my son (4 when he needed to start swallowin ga pill) stick his tongue out as far as it would go then put the pill on the back of his tongue and immediately drink his juice or milk or whatever. The pill slid down easily.

Now (6) he takes his meds (actually a pretty big capsule) every morning with no issue.

HTH
T.

i learned by using tic-tacs.......they are smooth going down

I took mini marshmallows and smushed them up til they were goo and then gooed up the pill. Then I drank a large glass of milk to wash it down. Eventually I learned to go without the marshmallow, but it really did help the pill be flavored, slippery and go down easier. I personally could not effectively swallow pills til I was about 12. If he can't do it, then find an alternative (like opening the pill). The point is to be medicated. One of my roommates in college would not take pills but then wouldn't consider other alternatives like chewables or liquid. I would only fixate on the pill if there was no other way to take it.

I still have to stick pills clear at the back of my throat to swallow them. I agree w/the M&M trick. They melt, so there's no fear if it got stuck or something. Also, they have M&M mini's so you could start there and work up to a full sized one.

There are tons of links with ideas on how to help your child swallow a pill with water...just Google it and you'll be amazed on how many links there are on this topic. Many kids can not take pills until they're pretty old...like 10 or older, just because they developmentally and/or psychologically can't do it. And in that case, you may have to get creative if this vitamin is a must for his health.

If it's a gel tab, cut it or poke a hole in it and squeeze the contents into a drink or his food. Some kids do better just chewing the gel tabs up and/or spitting the outter layer out after getting the liquid out.

If it's a solid tab, try crushing them and mixing them with a strong flavored food, or try crushing and mixing them in a drink, or perhaps there is an alternative version of this product on the market you can use.

Many manufacturers of vitamins (especially Omegas/fish oil) that have strong or bitter flavors offer the same products in custard form (so it's like dessert or a pudding) or a liquid form that can be taken in a spoon or hidden in a favorite drink. Many vitamins come in gummy form, so it's more like getting a sour patch kid or chewy candy.

I started by using mini m&ms :)

Have him put water in his mouth first, then tip his head back and drop the pill in. Swallow. I hate the taste of pills so I still do this and I am old!! :)

I didn't read all of the responses yet, so I apologize if this is a repeat.

I taught my kids to take pills when they were about 4ish. Start by taking a drink of water and leave some water in your mouth, drop the pill in, take a BIG drink of the water and keep drinking for a minute, and viola! the pill is gone :)

Good luck!