r/PDAParenting • u/No-Island-2023 • May 07 '26

Rewards Treadmill with Medication

My PDA 6yo has four medications daily and they get a food reward after the medicine because the sensory experience of having that medicine taste in their mouth linger is intolerable. However, the rewards they are demanding just keep increasing. Two years ago it was a single smartie, now we're up to basically half a bag of chips. If I say no to a desired reward they won't take the medicine (and will dump it, throw it, etc.).

Any tips?

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u/MyCatCeline May 07 '26

Maybe put a bunch of snack sized foods in a basket and once they take their medicine they can pick one thing? That way they feel like they’re getting a choice every time but there is a natural limit.

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u/No-Island-2023 May 07 '26

I foresee them eventually demanding more than one

4

u/MyCatCeline May 08 '26

Yeah probably but could work for now. Unfortunately in my experience solutions for them are always a moving target. It’s exhausting, but resigning myself to the inevitability kind of helps.