Life Hack: Getting Kids to Take Medicine!

   So, the thing about life hacks is that sometimes you may be doing one, and have no idea! Those are maybe the best kind!
   That's what happened with me and giving my kids medicine. We had people over, and I needed to give my sick sickies a dose of medicine, and so I did what I always do, and my friend went, "whoa....that's brilliant!". Really? O.k!
   So, here it is, the easiest thing in the world (and I know it may not work for every child)-but the purpose of doing this was duelled. One, it was meant to water down the wretched taste of the medicine, and two, it makes it so the medicine isn't clinging to the measuring cup so that your child gets their full dose.
   So, pour the package recommended amount of medicine into a medicine measuring cup, add a smidge of apple juice (or any fruit juice), take a knife, stir it up, and hand it to the infirmed! 
   Like I said, not all kids will go, "ohhh, juice with it? Well then I will gladly drink that nasty medicine!", but most will be intrigued enough to try! And if you don't give your kids juice that often, it  makes it more alluring. 
   Can I just point out that I am not that brilliant though, Mary Poppins thought up the idea of adding juice to medicine....sort of. Please tell me you know what I'm talking about...?..."just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down"...please feel free to sing that all day now. :)

   Us parents will jump through hoops to get our kids to takes their meds because we know it will help them feel better. But kids often don't want to either because they hate the taste or syrup-y feel of it, or because they  feel so darned sick they don't want to cooperate! Fair enough! 
   Some other tricks to try if you need some more:
- Strait up bribing!: Hahaha....no, but seriously....I'm not necessarily talking a candy bribe, it could be a sticker, a stamp, a cool rock, just something you know your kid would actually love to have! 

- Hand over the reigns: As kids get older, they want to feel like they are active participants (if not the one in charge!) of their wee lives. Around 3 or 4, when a child can hold the measuring cup, put the medicine in it, hand the cup over to them, and let them take it. Again, I know it's simple, but for some (strong willed) type children, this could be just the pinch of power they need to take the meds.  

- Syringe it: If your kids are too young to hold the cup of medicine, and they seem reluctant, putting the meds in a syringe can help you be able to squirt the medicine inside their cheek (which can alleviate the weird taste by way of skipping some taste buds!), or you can just squirt it right down their throats. Then give them a chaser of juice!   

Theres just the tiniest drip left in here when you add juice to ease up on how sticky medicine can be.

   Anywhoooo...., that's all! I thought I would write about this because currently everyone in our house is fighting something, and the medicine is a flowin'!  :)  
   Can I also say that we haven't always had rosy gardens over here when it came time to do medicine. Our lovely Caleb wouldn't take anything-ANYTHING!-for most of his life (we once had a very exciting experience at a hospital where 4 adults had to hold Caleb down while a doctor tried to give him some meds. Good times...)! Not until the last few years has he started to willingly take some meds. And the girls went through a time when they would start to cry as soon as they saw me take the medicine out! I've been covered in my fair share of sticky children's medicine, so I know it's not always fun! I know! 
   Anyway, if you have any helpful tips or tricks for helping with sick kids, please do share! I would love to hear them!