Search icon

Parenting

06th Sep 2022

Dad’s trick for getting his son to take medicine causes major parenting debate

Trine Jensen-Burke

take medicine

Because sometimes it is completely legit to resort to some trickery.

I mean; who hasn’t used the ‘behave yourself or I’m calling Santa’ threat for all its worth now for the last couple of months?

I know I sure have.

And guess what – I don’t even feel remotely bad about tricking my kids in situations like these.

Another scenario where I would argue it is completely above board to use a little parental trickery is when it comes to getting your kids to take their medication. Why? Because while it is one thing to calmly tell your children how taking this medicine is going to make them feel better, as we all know, it is an entirely different ball game to get them to actually take it.

But one dad recently shared his own very nifty little trick to Facebook, where website LadBible picked it up, and parents across the globe were quick to applaud his clever ways.

Using a juice carton, the crafty parent quickly hides the medicine syringe behind the carton, letting the child think he is sucking on the straw to get some juice, but really is getting the medicine squirted directly into his mouth.

Clever? I know.

And then, of course, once the medicine is taken, you can allow your child to take a little sip of actual juice, as a little reward.

Upon sharing the video, LadBible’s post was, naturally, inundated with comments and replies to the thread, most of which super-positive saying how this is a great idea and thank you for sharing. Others (probably those who have never actually tried to get a spoon of foul-tasting medicine into a squirming child) were pointing fingers, saying it is never right to trick a child.

That right there is modern parenting avoidance,” one person wrote. “Opportunity to teach a lesson missed – it’s called taking your medicine.

Needless to say, these types of comments were rather quickly shot down by parents everywhere.

Where do YOU stand, parents? How quick are you to trick your child – especially when it is something concerning their own good?