Getting a sick child to eat/drink unfamiliar things

Sarah is a picky eater at the best of times, let alone when she's sick. The nurse told me that honey (a teaspoon or so, straight up) and "warm fluids" are helpful for a cough, but Sarah gave both of them the big UH-UH.

She was willing to taste the honey, but pushed the spoon away before she'd had more than a lick. And she wouldn't even try the tea, even though I made some for myself too so that we could drink it together (and of course I let hers cool till it was only slightly warm).

Anyone have a good trick for getting things into them when they're sick? Or suggestions for other fluids that might be good warm? She hates "hot" (i.e., warmer than room temp) things anyway, so I don't have much hope there.

 

Minette - What does she like to eat when she's not sick? Dylan is also super picky, and when he's sick it's almost impossible to get stuff in him. He loves this special brown rice bread and I was able to get him to drink a bit of chicken broth by showing him how to dunk the bread in the broth - he thought that was funny and it was a way to get some liquid into him. I also made him some rice milk smoothies w/honey and fruit because he tolerates those some days.

One thing I still do is use those mesh bag things - you know the ones they can hold and suck ice out of or frozen grapes? The kids don't use those regularly anymore, but when they're sick I bring those out and put frozen grapes in them and they think that's a special treat. Does Sarah tolerate frozen stuff okay? I know you were looking for suggestions for warm liquids, but sometimes cold stuff can be soothing to the throat. I just try to be creative with the foods they will eat and see how I can use those foods when they're sick to get other foods in their system.

I'm surprised Sarah doesn't like honey - I could down a gallon of it plain. lol You could try spreading a bit on some toast. What are her favorite things to drink?

 

Hey Lisa,
That's a good idea about the mesh bags. I think we handed ours down already, but they were cheap -- I can buy more. Sarah isn't a fan of cold things either, but Amy is, so that might work for her. (Sarah even refuses ice cream.)

Their repertoire of liquids is not large (that's probably part of the problem) -- they really only ever drink water & milk. (And fortunately, she is usually pretty good at drinking water even when sick.) I've actually thought that I might start trying to give them juice or cold tea on a regular basis, solely so that they'll be more willing to drink it when they're sick. But then I'm afraid if they develop a taste for it, they'll want it all the time....

Sarah's favorite foods are hummus and yogurt -- anyone know of a way to make warm liquids resemble hummus?

 

Well my first suggestion was have some yourself (that always works around here), but sounds like you've already tried that. How about some Russian tea? Or even hot chocolate (adding vanilla & cinnamon is a favorite at our house). My boys are obsessed with "cooking" so if I let them stand on a chair to help me prepare something they'll eat about anything.

Russian Tea (my mom used to make this whenever we got sick -- great for sore throats)
Boil: 2 quarts water, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1 teaspoon cloves.

Remove from heat and add 10 tea bags. Cover and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Add juice of one lemon, 46 oz. pineapple juice and 46 oz. orange juice.

Return to low heat and add honey to taste. Keep warm but do not allow to boil.


Russian Tea (here's a convenience mix version)
3 cups sugar
2 cups orange flavored breakfast drink (ie. Tang)
1 cup unsweetened instant tea mix
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 envelope unsweetened lemonade mix

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container. To serve, put 1 1/2 -2 spoonfuls of mix into a cup filled with boiling water. Stir well.