Children’s Books About Taking Medicine
Taking medicine is a pretty universal experience, and yet, that doesn’t always make it easy. Many children struggle with taking medicine. Understanding why it is important is one step in helping a child be compliant. Another step is giving the child some control and some choice. These books can help adults find the words to explain why the medicine is necessary, and some of them can help parents find choices that kids can make. Another important aspect of medicine is safety. Some of these books focus on teaching kids the dangers and safety tips related to medicine, another important conversation if you have medicine in your house (which we all do!). Definitely adding this to my list of topics that I’d like to write about. I was excited to a few great books that have been published recently, but I have so many ideas now of other related books that should exist. Read below to learn about some cool books!
If you are looking for books that support a specific medicine experience like vaccines, chemo, insulin, etc., I have shared several books like that in prior blogs. I suggest going back to the blog search bar, and typing in ‘medicine’ or your specific need.
As always, I am sharing links to help you find the books and get an inside peek. I do receive a small commission from purchases through some of these links - helping justify the lengthy search for good books. :)
What Medicine Can Do by Gabrielle Balkan
What a find! This book is a great mix of silly and factual information. The book talks through a few different scenarios of silly animals with different health issues who need medicine. The book explains words like symptoms and diagnosis and the general concept of how someone decides a medicine will help. An adult hlsp raccoon find a lotion for poison ivy, and a doctor prescribes antibiotics for a fox’s strep throat. Bonus, the book also discusses the foxes doctor visit and getting a throat swab. (I have yet to find that experience talked about in a children’s book!) The nurse talks to the fox about the doctor visit, and when the little fox is “too cranky” and doesn’t want to let the nurse examine him, the nurse shows him each step with his stuffy. A great way to prepare kids! The book covers other topics like only taking medicine that belongs to you. Every child will take medicine for one reason or another, and so I think this book is a great fit for your bookshelves at home, in the hospital, in the clinic, or for the classroom. If your child struggles with taking medicine, this book is a great opportunity to talk about why medicine is important, while being a little silly at the same time. In my opinion, this book is a little wordy for really young children, but great for preschool through middle elementary.
https://amzn.to/4bCTI4o
Smalls Steps to Success: Pill Swallowing Made Simple by Adina Levitan
Written by a child life specialist with years of teaching kids to swallow pills under her belt! This book gives families the words and steps to practice pill swallowing. The book encourages kids to pick positive affirmations, stay calm, and practice for small periods of time once a day. The book uses the widely popular method of practicing with candy to help the process seem more fun and tasty. While most families won’t read this resource from front to back in one sitting, I can see adults using it with their child to set up some realistic and reachable goals. Readers can choose certain pages to talk about what practicing looks like and to find some new ways to experiment if the traditional way isn’t working. Good for school age through high school, but best with adult involvement. If you are not comfortable practicing with candy, this is not the book for you. Also, this book promotes practicing for weeks. If you are in a situation where your child needs to be able to swallow a pill right away, you may want to avoid those pages or discuss crushing the pill/emptying its contents with your doctor, until the child acquires the skills.
https://www.illuminatechildlife.com/resources/p/small-steps-to-success-pill-swallowing-made-simple
Taking Medicine (Looking After Me) by Liz Gogerly
This book starts with a young boy who finds medicine in his house and uses it to play doctor with his teddy bear. His mother discovers what he has done and is upset. She then explains to the young boy why medicine isn’t something to play with and why it can be dangerous. It also explains that there are different types of medicines that have different kinds of rules (with or without food, how often, etc) The book is simple, brief and easy to follow for young children. Important when teaching medicine safety. I will say as a reviewer there were a few parts that I wondered about the grammar (comma usage, a couple of strange words used, and I am going default to this book being written by an English author. I do think the benefits outweigh the few grammatical issues. Good for young children through early elementary.
https://amzn.to/4d0f3pN
Medicine Safety with Pharmacist Flo by Elizabeth Walsche
In this book, a pharmacist invites the children of the town to her pharmacy to learn more about medicine. They talk about how medicine can come in different forms, reading labels, only taking your own medicine, confusing candy and medicine, etc. The book also talks about injections. The book gives a few safety tips such as letting adults know if you see a medicine bottle with no lid on and making sure needles always go into a sharps container. If you are looking to have a quick conversation with a classroom about medicine safety, this book uses easy to understand words and is inclusive of a variety of experiences. This book would be best for preschool through young elementary.
https://amzn.to/4bBx6kG
My Medicine by Angus Olsen
This book is simple, but perfect for young children. A boy introduces himself and says that he and his friends all need to take medicine. The rest of the book is just pictures of him and several other animals taking medicine. I can definitely see families or nurses having conversations with the child about how each animal would take the medicine and letting the child choose “which animal” they want to be when they take their medicine. The power of having a choice AND the power of being silly… sounds like a great toddler tool. This book would be best for young children.
https://amzn.to/4b54oJ1
In honor of Child Life month, I will be sharing at least one book written by a child life specialist in each March update. Keep following to learn about more unique resources written by these professionals.
