defiance/not taking medication

For my 8yo we did a behavior chart (only 4 things: meds, teeth, backpack, homework) and assigned a point value to them but not all the same. Meds 25, teeth 5, the other two were 10. She wrote her daily totals on my calendar. As soon as she earned 100 we gave her a reward (spend the night at G-mas house). Each 100 increment the reward was better, not expensive either, and she picked them. After 1000 I told her these were habits and her responsibility and no longer would there be rewards, but we could pick 4 new areas. This happened last Oct. and she takes her pills with no problems.

Tricia,
Does the med have to be taken whole. What is she on? Mine is 5 she doesn’t swallow pills well yet so I crush hers in applesause. You might ask your doctor or pharmacist if it can be done .Some meds cannot.

I have the same problem with my 5 year old daughter! My husband has told her: “Fine, if you don’t want to take the medicine, don’t. But if you come home with a bad conduct you are going to get a paddling”. We thought she took it that morning, but the teacher sent a note home that her behavior was very poor that day. She said she asked my daughter if she took her medicine, and she told her “no, I tricked mommy and threw it on the floor”. My husband held firm to his threat and she got the paddle. The next morning she took it willingly!
We call it her good conduct pill.

If your daughter is on Straterra, they advise NOT to break the capsule up. I have heard people say to buy minature M&M’s and teach them to swallow a pill by learning how to swallow the candy first. If they can swallow one or two, they get the whole container of candy! You might try giving her a glass of coke to take it with because the fizz helps the pill go down. My daughter prefers water but still gags once she swallows it. I tell her to get a mouth full of water but don’t swallow yet, then we “float” the pill into the side of her mouth before she swallows. You can try this with a cookie too, tell her to chew the cookie up but don’t swallow, then pop the pill into her mouth just before she swallows.

Why in heaven’s name can’t they make this pill into a liquid or patch since children are the primary ones using it? At least Adderall was a much smaller pill to swallow before I switched her to Straterra. A patch would really be great, you could apply to their arm like a big bandaid and while they are wearing it during the day it could be absorbed through their skin.

Also check around at different pharmacies. If you can find a pharmacist that is a licensed chemist, they might be able to make this into a liquid form but would have to have the prescription to do it. I have even heard they can turn pills into lollipops using this same method.

Good luck, I struggle with this same issue every day myself!