Lying to our kids about medication

Parents tell all manner of little white lies to their kids, and one ofthe key areas has to be the taste of the medications they get.

"Oh, it tastes just fine," I instantly told my son years ago as I pushed one of those plastic little syringes together, while looking at a "banana"-flavoured liquid that, for all I really knew, tasted like cat food. I did try the liquid with a dot on my finger. It was sickly-sweet, and I don't blame Nick at all for giving us the sourest expression possible.

Last night, a new challenge. He has been prescribed little pills, and even though I told him they have no flavour, he wasn't biting, as it were. I can't blame him. I've told him for years that "Oh, it tastes just fine" about odious concoctions.

This time, though, I meant it. I told him it was like a jellybean, but without flavour. "I dont like jellybeans," he said, and that's true. I've never seen the kid ingest a jellybean or a related candy. I told him the only thing he'd taste was the water. "Soo... it's water-flavoured?" he asked. "Um, no," I replied. I was running out of metaphors. And patience.

So, he took the plunge, popped the little pill in his mouth, shot back some water and ... waited for something to happen. And it didn't.

"Ummm ... that's it?" He looked in his glass of water, then at me.

"That's it."

"Well, that was easy."

Comments

[Ursula]

"Well, that was easy."

I bet that is what my mother thought every morning , when she lined us all up ,and gave each of us a large teaspoon full of cod-liver oil .

God almighty .....