How to help small children swallow pills (works for adults too)

Pills are hard for some kids to swallow but in the absence of convenient liquid medicines, it is possible to teach a child to swallow a pill in a pinch.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• M&Ms or other small age-appropriate candy that you are comfortable feeding to your child. (or adult)
• Banana or pudding of favorable flavor.
• The actual medicine you need the child to take.

1. Tell the child what you are doing.
   
   Explain to the child he is learning to get used to swallowing some yummy candies so he will be able to swallow a real pill. Go ahead and give him a few pieces of candy and let him eat them however he wants. This should help him relax a bit.

2. Bite and Swirl.
   
   Give the child a bite of banana. Tell him to chew it up but don't swallow it yet. Have him swirl the gooey mess around in his mouth for a moment to make sure his whole mouth is coated with the banana. If you are using pudding, give him a spoonful, swirl it a bit and have him hold it in his mouth.
   
   * If he swallows anything at this point, no big deal. Just give him a bit more. The calmer you are the calmer he will be.

3. Add a candy.
   
   Now have the child add a piece of candy into the mushy mix in his mouth without chewing, and without spilling any of the goo in his mouth. Swirl the candy again to make sure it gets coated with the goo to make it slide down easy.
   
   * If he chews, that's OK. Let him enjoy it and start over. You are trying to help him recondition himself to resist normal impulses so it might take a few tries.

4. Swallow the candy.
   
   If all went well and you have made it past step 3, have the child move the mass of the goo to the middle of his mouth and then swallow.
   
   * If this is still too difficult, you can have him either swallow the goo without a candy added, or chew the candy once and then swallow.

5. Perfect the process.
   
   Repeat the above a few times until the child feels comfortable with the "bite, add candy, swallow" process. If you want, you can alternate letting him chew the candy on one "dose", and then swallow it whole the next.

6. Add the real pill.
   
   Once you feel the child is ready for the pill, simply have him add the pill instead of the candy in step 3.
   
   * If for some reason this creates too much stress, you can back up a few steps and try a few candies again.

Tips & Warnings

• This process should work for adults as well as children.
• Remember this is a progressive process meant to build a child up and give him confidence to swallow a real pill.
• The more comfortable the child is, the easier and more enjoyable the process will be.
• A piece of bread with the crust removed works well too. Just have the child chew the bread until it is a slimy goo in place of the banana or pudding.
• Almost anything the child enjoys to eat can be used to make the goo. The goo does two things. It acts as a lubricant to coat the pill to keep it from sticking and it provides a "normal" feeling texture in the mouth so the child can swallow more naturally.
• If your child, or the person who has difficulty swallowing a pill, is prone to choking or you feel there is any reason he should not take solid pills, do not try this method and ask your doctor to prescribe a liquid medicine in place of the pills.
• This is a method I came up with to help my four children take pills when we lived in a foreign country where liquid medicines weren't readily available and it worked great for me but please proceed using your own judgement and at your own risk.