This mum's genius toddler medicine hack can ease every parent's headache

Toddlers can throw some of the nastiest tantrums when they fall ill. From refusing to eat food, screaming and howling, to running away from taking medication. It’s hard for parents to keep their calm.

A lot of hard work, effort and patience goes into feeding your sick child their food and medicine, but at the cost of completely exhausting you. So it’s only understandable when you raise your voice or lose your cool whenever it’s time for your toddler to take medication. After all, what can you do if your little brat will not follow instructions?

Well, there is a solution to this problem — one mum seems to have cracked the code.

The ‘genius’ medicine hack

A Columbia-based mum recently shared an impressive, fuss-free idea to get her toddler to take his medicines.

As far as toddler medicine hacks go, this is an absolute genius method and will make you question, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Mum to a two-year-old, Yazmin Alexa Vargas recently took to Facebook to share the trick she uses to get her toddler to take his medicine without throwing a tantrum. And she says it works every single time.

The video, shared on Facebook page Family Lockdown Tips and Ideas shows her son Diego taking liquid ibuprofen. The video shows Yazmin pretending she does not know how to use the syringe to administer the medicine.

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But just then, little Diego comes to the rescue showing his mum how it’s done.

The video then shows Yazmin prompting Diego to demonstrate how to use the syringe with the medicine.

The proud mummy then asks, “What do we do now?” 

Diego then swallows the medicine without a tantrum.

The little toddler also appears pleased with the achievement. And just like that, a 20-minute ordeal was cut down to three minutes of clever parenting.

How netizens reacted to this clever toddler medicine hack

Writing about the toddler medicine hack on Facebook, Yazmin said, “So my two year old son hated to take his meds! And I found the best way to do it!!!! Hahahah. I pretend to not know what to do and I let him show me. No tantrums no dramas yayyyyy [sic].”

She further revealed that Diego’s father originally came up with the “genius” method only after she tried for days to force him to take his medication.

The mum elaborated on how it was “so easy” to convince her “clever” son who would often throw a tantrum over taking the medication.

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The Facebook group has been all praise for the couple for coming up with the brilliant idea.

One user wrote, “ That is one clever trick.”

Another commented, “Clever boy.”

Several users shared their own toddler medicine hacks to get their little ones to take medication. One user wrote, “I do this with mine also! For his daily Sambucol vitamin using a trusty Calpol syringe. He loves it.”

Another person commented, “I had [to] do [something] similar with my [two]-year-old or pretend I was going to take it.” One person commented, “I put my lad's [medicine] in milk and called it a magic milkshake.”

Five toddler medicine hacks to get your little ones to take their medications

Just to make sure that this one trick does not get old, here are five toddler medicine hacks that you can fall back on to get your little one to take his/her medication without throwing a tantrum.

1. Dipping a lollipop in medicine

It’s as simple as it sounds. Dip a lollipop in the medicine and feed it to your child. You may have to do this a couple of times to ensure that your toddler has consumed the complete dose. But just beware of the sugar level in the lollipop. You can alternatively create ice popsicles and dip them in the medicine. 

2. Hiding medicines in fruit snacks

Children may be averse to a medication when unwell, but a fruit snack is always welcome. Hide the medicine in the fruit snack and they will consume it without even realising.

3. Feeding your toddler medication by distracting them

Does your toddler get engrossed in that animated show or while playing a game? Use it to your advantage and feed them that medicine while they’re busy with these recreational activities.

4. Pour it into a container of their favourite drink

Save on those empty juice bottles so you can use them later to feed your toddler his medicine.

5. Use the sippy cup

The sippy cup is usually a trusted ally for the toddler and the mum when growing up. Fill it with medicine and let your child have it on his own. You also get sippy cups with a secret compartment to store medication. Clever? You bet!

This article was first published in theAsianparent.