Can your kids swallow pills?? Can this be taught?

[4summergirls]

I know, this is a strange question, I'm asking because I'm getting a little frustrated with our situation. I've been following Dianne Craft's 12 week supplement program (from her "Biology of Behavior CD) w dd10, dd8 and dd6. It's mostly for dd10 to try to help with sensory and mood issues. Anyway some of the supplements come only in pill form, like the essential fatty acids supplement. It's called EFA for Children and is a smooth gel capsule, but my kids absolutely gag and insist they can't swallow it. I know they just need to relax and they can do it, but I'm stumped as to anything I can do to help them with this.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

[PiCO]

I know, this is a strange question, I'm asking because I'm getting a little frustrated with our situation. I've been following Dianne Craft's 12 week supplement program (from her "Biology of Behavior CD) w dd10, dd8 and dd6. It's mostly for dd10 to try to help with sensory and mood issues. Anyway some of the supplements come only in pill form, like the essential fatty acids supplement. It's called EFA for Children and is a smooth gel capsule, but my kids absolutely gag and insist they can't swallow it. I know they just need to relax and they can do it, but I'm stumped as to anything I can do to help them with this.

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

My oldest couldn't swallow pills until she was 12. I youngest could at 8. They say the trick is to put the pill in your mouth, drink some water, and let the pill go down with the water (or juice or milk if the pill tastes bad.)

[Hillary in KS]

Ds learned how when he was 8. It really scared him, and he gagged at first. We started with something small, though: an allergy pill. They're very tiny - like a sudafed pill.

 

I had him place the pill as far back on his tongue as he could, and then drink a glass of soda as fast as he could. (bonus points for a great burp afterwards. Boys! :001_huh: )

 

Anyway, the soda helped, because he couldn't feel the pill with all of the bubbles. You could also try practicing with a tic-tac. :)

 

Good luck!

[AnnetteB]

I agree with the water chaser. Swallowing the pill down with a spoonful of applesauce can do the trick, too. Some of my kids have actually chosen to chew pills or nip the gel end and just take the inner liquid part. They prefer the strong taste to the pill. Eventually, they have all figured out how to swallow a pill :)

[Tonia]

You could also try practicing with a tic-tac. :)

 

I learned how (I was probably 9 or 10 at the time) by practicing with smarties :D

[Quad Shot Academy]

All of mine but one could swallow large EFA pills by the age of 3. I started with small pills in a spoon of applesauce and worked my way up to large ones with juice. If the choice is to drink EFA oil from a spoon or in a pill form, they would rather have the pills! ;)

[TraceyS/FL]

Mine learned in the First Aid station at the Magic Kingdom. It was the only way i could attempt to get home - she needed to swallow that pill, there weren't enough bathrooms on the hour drive home.

 

It took about 10 minutes, and a fw puddles of water all over the floor (the ladies there were WONDERFUL to us).

 

Oddly she is my one with all the sensory quirks and learned first! LOL!!

[kewb]

Mine can swallow small pills with water. They will gag on larger ones and complain about the taste. I usually give them larger pills in applesauce.

[clarkacademy]

try putting the pill in a spoon of applesauce or pudding. My son has seizures and heart defects so he started with pills at 3. This was great for him.

[Jen500]

I'd just drop the issue, unless it's a medicine that's absolutely necessary. Especially if your daughter has sensory issues. I didn't learn to swallow pills until after age 12. Unless your kids are motivated and just having trouble figuring it out.

[Frontier Mom]

Three of mine learned but one of my ds's has a strong gag reflex and still can't swallow at 12. We have to do chewable with him.

[cathmom]

Start with mini M&Ms. When they can swallow those, move up to slightly bigger candy and keep moving up until they can swallow the size pill you want them to take.

[BritAnnia]

I had an awful time as a child due to a very sensitive gag reflex.

My mum had me practice with soft bread rolled into 'pills'. I had to pop the bread 'pill' into my mouth and do a pretend chewing motion with my mouth (not really chewing anything) and then swallow, as if I was swallowing a mouthful of food. The practice did help me a lot and I was soon able to swallow even larger pills from then on.

HTH

[sweetfeet]

All of mine but one could swallow large EFA pills by the age of 3. I started with small pills in a spoon of applesauce and worked my way up to large ones with juice. If the choice is to drink EFA oil from a spoon or in a pill form, they would rather have the pills! ;)

 

Same here. They go down easily and she thought/thinks it is cool to swallow pills.

[fivetails]

Neither of ours can swallow pills yet - ds10 may never be able to, hard to say. dd11 just can't - she flips out and says it gets stuck and whatnot...it's fine, pretty much anything they need to take is available in chewable or liquid form.

 

I have a cousin who is 18 and still can't...he never could and I suspect he never will....

[The Governess]

To this day, I cannot swallow a pill by putting it on my tongue and taking a drink of water to wash it down. It will be coughed across the room every time. :lol: But I have found a trick that works for me. I take the pill and, using my fingers, place it in my mouth at the back of my tongue, but on the side, not in the middle. I then push it into my throat with my finger, keeping it on the side, by my tonsil. Once it's down far enough I will automatically swallow it. Then I follow it with a drink of water. My gag reflex doesn't get triggered if I keep the pill away from the middle.

 

I'm sorry, this description does sound kind of gross. :001_huh: But I'll post it anyway in the hopes that it helps you.

[jacqui in mo]

Practice swallowing mini M&Ms or TicTacs. That seemed to help my dd get over her difficulty.

[MicheleinMN]

All of mine but one could swallow large EFA pills by the age of 3. I started with small pills in a spoon of applesauce and worked my way up to large ones with juice. If the choice is to drink EFA oil from a spoon or in a pill form, they would rather have the pills! ;)

 

:iagree:

 

We use applesauce or jam. A bit on the end of a spoon (the long baby spoons are great for this) and the pill pushed into the applesauce or jam. Ds's been doing this for years (ds 10), and now he can swallow the pills with just water.

 

HTH,

Michele

[swellmomma]

My kids 5,9 & 10 can all swallow pills. My oldest learned at 6, the middle at 5,a nd the youngest at 3.5. WHat I do is have them tip their heads all the way back, and open wide. I drop in a pill right to the back of the throat, they take a drink and swallow. We repeat with each pill. I still have to do this for ds10, the other 2 now take their own with no problem. WIth the pill right at the back of the throat it has no where to go but down when they swallow the water.

[Lovedtodeath]

Didn't read everything... but I have heard of practicing with tic tacs and mini m&ms and then increasing the size from there.

[OHGrandma]

Place the pill on your tongue, as far back as possible without gagging, then drink using a straw. The directed flow of water seems to do the trick.

[Laura Corin]

Hobbes can swallow pills; Calvin can't. I don't know if it's a difference in gag reflex, or actual size of passages. I haven't tried the straw trick though.

 

Calvin has chewy vitamins with Omega 3s. They don't taste great, but they are something that he can get down.

 

Laura

[Tammy]

She has no problem with it now though.....

 

.

[Ria]

My kids were sure they couldn't swallow a pill ever. I looked at them and asked about the hamburger we had for dinner. How big a bite did they take? Did they swallow it in tiny bits or one big swallow?

 

Once they realized that they really *can* swallow something huge, the fear of swallowing a tiny pill went away. They caught on quickly after that.

 

Ria

[SapphireStitch]

For my DD it finally came down to motivation. She was 12 or 13, she had bad period cramps, and the boxes of chewable Junior Motrin were breaking our budget. I found the smallest, most innocuous-looking generic ibuprofen available and told her she had to learn to swallow.

 

Her method is to toss pills to the back of her throat, swallow, and then drink water afterward. This is still, at age 19, accompanied by IMO way too much gagging and carrying on. I think I babied her with the chewables for too long.::glare:

 

I can swallow a handful of vitamins and minerals in one gulp with a big swallow of water. I learned because my mom said we had to take our supplements one way or another...we could swallow them or we could mash them up and mix them with a little orange juice. The night Mom was gone to a church function and Dad subbed out milk for the orange juice just about did me in...imagine the nasty taste of supplements mixed with a couple teaspoons of milk. Ick. I learned to swallow.

[Desert Rat]

My 5yo can swallow pills with no problem. My 8yo started swallowing pills at 6 or so. He fills his mouth half way with water and then sticks the pill in and swallows. To me this is awkward but it works really well for him. My little one swallows pills like most adults.

I remember my brother starting out swallowing M&M's.

I think my kids learned this skill early because my oldest had lots of bad chewable medicine. It was either swallow it whole or throw up. I'll take the first, thanks! :o)

[Ginger]

I went through this this summer implementing Dianne Craft's program, also.

My 8ds was able to take them if I put them in pudding. However my 10dd never was able to learn to swallow them. She gagged horribly. She's always had a pretty sensitive gag reflex, too. I'd love to know how to overcome that.

[jenadina]

I can't swallow pills unless I shove them down my throat with my finger...it feels like they get stuck. Since I don't particularly like gagging myself, I haven't taken a pill since I was pregnant with my son 6 years ago and had a bladder infection...I threw up every one of them and just stopped trying, and the infection cleared up on its own. I was probably 16 the last time I tried before that...I just can't do it!

 

I HAVE tried the water, both with and without a straw, and pudding, and apple sauce, and various other methods, and nothing works for me. Everything goes down but the pill.

[mchel210]

My 5 almost 6 yo can swallow pills. She just started as her dad told her put the pill in your mouth...and drink water. Thats all he did to teach her...and it worked the first time.

[KAR120C]

DS can do it fine and has been able to from a very young age -- never had to be "taught", but I was fully 16 before I could swallow anything bigger than a sudafed, and it took a week of CHEWING ASPIRIN (and I DON'T mean chewable aspirin - it was really nasty!) before I could manage to swallow it just bitten in half. Still horrible, but it was the best I could do and I had had some dental work done that actually hurt for two weeks... if it weren't for that I would probably never have "learned" to swallow pills at all. To this day I can't swallow multivitamins, but aspirin and Advil are fine if they're well-coated.

 

I probably do have some sensory issues, but never diagnosed... I do think it's kind of ironic that one would treat sensory problems with a swallowed pill! LOL

[NevadaRabbit]

I went through this this summer implementing Dianne Craft's program, also.

My 8ds was able to take them if I put them in pudding. However my 10dd never was able to learn to swallow them. She gagged horribly. She's always had a pretty sensitive gag reflex, too. I'd love to know how to overcome that.

 

Copied from this page: http://www.empoweredparents.com/pickyeating/pickyeating5.htm

 

Take a teaspoon and press down on your tongue in the front and use your tongue to push back against it. Fight the downward pressure with your tongue. Count 5. Move the spoon further in and repeat. Further again but not so far that it will cause gagging and repeat. Now turn the spoon on it's side and push against the side of the tongue and again, fight it with the tongue. Same with the other side. Repeat this 3 times a day.

Other exercises for the tongue include using a huge wad of gum and shaping it to blow bubbles, over and over again. Putting some peanut butter on the hard upper palate and using the tongue to work it off. Or placing a sticky candy or small marshmallow there and using the tongue to work away at it until it has dissolved.

 

Next Exercise: This one causes pressure on the hard upper palate (just

before it goes up into the caverns of the mouth) and has 2 benefits. It

exercises the nervous system by placing a marked sensation where it has not been accustomed to getting it and it causes a temporary numbing effect so that new foods are not as shocking when introduced.

 

About 5 to 10 minutes before each meal, regardless of what is being eaten, use the thumb of one hand to press firmly on that area of the palate starting from one side and moving along the semi circle of the palate to the other side. Go back and forth and back then remove finger and swallow.

Repeat 3 times then eat something in about 5-10 minutes. If a new food is

being introduced, bite and taste the food on the side of the tongue where it

is far less sensitive.

 

An OT who works with dysphagia/oral motor issues could help a bunch by suggesting more!

[Mommyof4ks]

I didn't read all of the other responses, but we used mini m&ms with DD8 then moved on to tic tacs and eventually those little pill shaped candies. That was enough for her to get used to it. We also use juice rather than water which seemed to help.

 

My DD3 is on daily meds that only come in pill form, and he chews them (ewww). This is probably not possible with capsules, but can the capsules be taken apart and the contents mixed with something like apple sauce or yogurt (if it can be taken with dairy)? We have even cut off the end of those soft gel caps and mixed the contents with something.

 

Good luck!

[SW in IL]

I have a 15yo DD who has tons of trouble swallowing any types of pills... she gags even on the smallest pills. And I have a 14yo DS who has been swallowing pills for as long as I can remember. He's always hated the taste of liquids and chewables even as a toddler. When I told him once, at age 3, that he had the choice between swallowing a pill whole and drinking the liquid, he was thrilled that he didn't have to drink the 'nasty' stuff (it was actually amoxicillan which I think tastes great). He's been swallowing needed pills ever since.

 

I asked DS's doctor about this and, after examining DS, says it's psychological (it wasn't quite that short and simple, the exam). Some kids grow out of it, some don't. Some adults have trouble swallowing pills. For people like DD, she'll just have to either learn to swallow pills or ask that the meds be given in another form.

 

Wish I had some tried and true method... I have lots that we tried with DD, but nothing's worked.

 

Sue

[KidsHappen]

All of mine but one could swallow large EFA pills by the age of 3. I started with small pills in a spoon of applesauce and worked my way up to large ones with juice. If the choice is to drink EFA oil from a spoon or in a pill form, they would rather have the pills! ;)

 

Yep! All my kids learned from a very young age that they were taking their medicine one way or another and pills are generally much more plesant tasting than liquid meds. Plus mom didn't have to sit on them and hold their noses. :tongue_smilie:

[lynn]

I am not sure how my children learned to swallow pills. I just tell them to put the pill towards the back of their mouth and swallow with water. I did not know it was not a common thing with children until I brought my 6 year old to the peditrician and I asked if ds Rx comes in pill for. She was very suprised he could swallow them.

[4summergirls]

to everyone who replied. Lots of great ideas, and my girls were interested in the idea of trying mimi M&Ms and tic-tacs so I think we'll try that first.

[5knights3maidens]

My dd 5, has been swallowing a smooth, B complex 50 capsule by first filling her mouth with water and then sucking in the pill and swallowing all at the same time! Seriously! :lol: