scarlet Strep infections, for example, require ten straight days of antibiotic treatment. Some infections-urinary tract and ear infections, for instance-often take even longer, even though the symptoms may disappear in a day. Therefore, such instructions as "Give for ten full days," "Continue for two weeks," and "Give until finished" are not just so many words. They are precise and necessary directions to you from the doctor. Consider such an instruction, not as a request, but as an order. HOW TO GIVE MEDICATION It is best to let your child find out early that taking medication is just one of those things that children have to do now and then-a situation in which you are the boss and the child doesn't have a choice in the matter. Every parent needs to know how to give a child medicine, and the parent who reports to the doctor that "my child just won't take your medication" is forcing the doctor to resort to another method of treatment that may be less effective. In extreme cases, a child who cannot be medicated at home must be hospitalized so that the appropriate medications can be given by professionals. A young child, approached in a reassuring and matteroffact manner, will usually accept medication without any trouble. There are also some special techniques that may make it easier for both you and the child. Liquid medicine can be given directly from the spoon (after careful measurement), and many medications designed for children are specially flavored so that they are not unpleasant to taste. An alternative method is to use a nonglass medicine dropper to squirt the liquid slowly into the child's mouth. If you use this method, you must be very careful not to direct the stream of liquid forcefully against the back of the throat and down the windpipe, but rather against the inside of the cheek. If the medicine doesn't taste good, give the child a sweet treat afterward to take away the bad taste or disguise the medicine in a little applesauce, ice cream, or juice. If you do this, however, make sure the child takes the entire portion. Some infants and toddlers will accept medicine in the form of chewable tablets, or even regular tablets or capsules that can be swallowed whole. However, do not give pills and capsules to even a cooperative child under the age of five. Small children can easily choke to death on a bulky pill. If the medication is not available in liquid form, a tablet may be mashed (or the contents of a capsule emptied) and mixed with a small quantity of juice or food. (Always check with your pharmacist or physician first, though, to be certain that the medication will be effective if given in this way.) Again, you must make sure that the child gets the whole dose. After the age of five or six, your child can probably swallow tablets or capsules whole. You can help the child learn how to do this by taking advantage of occasions when he or she needs a nonprescription remedy-aspirin for a slight headache, perhaps. hand