“My daughter will swallow a pill, my two boys will not,” says Kerri Mendres.

Many moms likely feel Kerri Mendres’ pain. When it comes to taking meds, her boys don’t make it easy.

“We tried the ice cream, we tried the applesauce, we tried putting it in a piece of cheese,” says Mendres.

For some people it’s not worth the headache, but her fiveyearold has a serious medical condition.

“There was no ‘okay, we’ll try this tomorrow.’ It had to be done twice a day,” says Mendres.

“We can teach even young children how to swallow pills,” says Dr. Christina Cavanagh, who is a family practitioner with Lee Memorial Health System.

It’s a skill most parents don’t think about; doctors say they should.

“Generally by the time they can drink from a bottle, like a water bottle or a soda bottle without spilling, they’re ready to learn how to swallow a pill,” says Dr. Cavanagh.

The old ‘spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down’ is not far off. Researchers identified strategies to help even the most stubborn child safely swallow pills. First: practice when they’re not sick, using something sweet.

“You can try Tic Tacs, I’ve even had some people start with little sprinkles like from ice cream. Get them to start with swallowing those and then gradually, gradually get them bigger,” says Dr. Cavanagh.

Pill positioning makes a difference too. Try putting it underneath the tongue or to the side. Specialty products can also make meds go down easier.

“You can buy flavored throat spray, which will also help mask the taste and sometimes they have a little numbing component in it,” says Dr. Cavanagh.

And people seem to swallow better when they are not looking straight ahead. That’s why we throw our head back and take a big gulp.

“So you can have them look up, you can have them tuck their chin down when they’re swallowing, or position their head to the left or to the right,” says Dr. Cavanagh.

Kerri’s daughter has no problem.

“I just put it on my tongue and get water and I swallow it,” says Kerri’s daughter, Chloe Mendres.

Her brothers might need some training.

“No we haven’t. But I should,” says Kerri.

Kids who learn early to swallow pills are less stressed taking medicine later in life.


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Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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