On occasion, your child may need to take medications, to cure an acute illness or to treat a chronic one.  Whether your child takes medication on a daily basis or only occasionally, it’s important to teach them to take them properly.

It is a good idea to get your child used to a routine when taking medications.  Even before they can tell time on a clock, you can help them to recognize medication times.  To do this, you will need two paper plates; one for 8 am to 8 pm, and one for 8 pm to 8am.

Draw the face of a clock on each plate.  In the center of the 8am to 8pm plate, draw a sun.  On the other, draw a moon.  This will help your child to recognize daytime vs. nighttime medications.  Draw hands on the ‘clock’ to indicate the hours at which your child should take their medication.

Your child should be able to look at the real clock on the wall and understand that when the hands are in the same position as those on their medication clock, it’s time to take their medicine. 

It is also important that your child takes each round of medication until it is finished.  If they have been prescribed a 10-day prescription, mark the day that they can stop taking it on the calendar.  Each day, cross the box on the calendar off until they reach their end date.

Read your child’s prescription carefully to be sure that you understand whether the medication is to be taken with food or drink.  Teaching your children to take their medications at the right time, and for the proper length of time, is a skill that will serve them well throughout their life.

It is still important for you to take an active role in your child’s care.  This system only works as long as you are monitoring your child’s medications.  They should never have access to their own prescriptions; you will need to dispense the medication and make sure that they take it.