COLUMBIA, Md. —Flavors like bubble gum or banana could be the key to getting a child to take their medications.

Whether it’s the pill or the will, for children, taking their medicine can be a bitter pill to swallow, but it goes down a little easier when it’s their favorite flavor.

“It gives mothers and children some control over how they want their medication, and medicine can be a real challenge. Mothers find it very stressful, children equally,” said Stuart Amos, president and CEO of FLAVORx. “For 10 years and beyond, we have developed a formula of different combinations of tastes that work well with liquid medications, so our job is to provide the best taste choices for children.”

Columbia-based FLAVORx has made it simple. A pharmacist can mix it up, and thanks to a machine called the fill-master, the work is already done for them.

“It’s got a database of about 5,000 drugs and it knows the name, volume and strength of each medication and the flavors that work with that medication,” said Chad Baker of FLAVORx.

Parents can also get online with their kids and meet Fred at FLAVORx.com and enter the medication, for example, Tamiflu, and it gives the best flavor choices.

“We do a lot of research, a lot of studies just to make sure it’s a good match,” said Ursula Chizhik, FLAVORx’s director of pharmacy.

There are 12 different flavors, and most pharmacies offer FLAVORx, but it’s on a parent to ask for it.