5 Herbal Cough Remedies For Kids

Oct 11, 2023

Written by Maria Chow

Too many of us are tending a sick kid these days. A hacking cough with phlegm or dry cough and tickly throat just make the runny nose, red eyes, and fussy temperament that much harder to take.

As a busy mom, you’d love to just cuddle your coughing child until they feel better, but the world keeps moving and you’ve got to keep up. Taking a miserable, sick kid along with you throughout normal day-to-day tasks is awful for everyone, especially when they've got a cough.

Those days were and are awful, and they weighed heavily on my mind as I chose herbs for a supportive tincture. In order to ease both child and mama’s struggle during a bought of coughing, I put together a few incredible herbs to create my Children’s Respiratory Support herbal cough remedy.

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5 Key Herbs to Ease a Child’s Cough

Each of these could stand alone as herbal cough remedies, but together they combine to soothe and heal. Here’s why I love each of these herbs when battling a dry or croupy cough.

Elderberry

A powerful antiviral, elderberry is native to most of the United States and a time-honored herbal remedy. The berries grow on tall bushes especially along creeks and rivers. In some parts of the world, the berries and flowers are common culinary fruits, found in jellies and syrups. Medicinally, elderberry has performed quite well in studies on flu control thanks to its antiviral effects. It is also an immune booster, helping the body to do the work necessary to fight away the illness. When properly prepared, it is also incredibly safe, making it ideal for children.

Thyme

You might enjoy thyme in poultry, but I love it in tinctures! Thyme is a traditional and well-studied herb for respiratory support. The German Commission E recommends it for this purpose, and again as a culinary herb it is excellent for children.Aside from a respiratory support cough remedy, you might also add thyme to your child’s nighttime herb bath to help stimulate the immune system and relax and clear the airways before bed.

Rose Hips

Beautiful ornamental flowers that also carry healing benefits are a wonder of nature and some of the best highlights of herbal medicine. As part of an herbal cough remedy, rose hips provide two vital functions: vitamin C and delicious flavor.Many of us are familiar with the importance of vitamin C for optimal health, and when our bodies are struggling with an illness it’s beneficial to add more to the diet. Rose hips are filled with vitamin C without the harsh acidic quality of citrus fruits.And don’t underestimate the importance of flavor! Moms know how important it is for children to like their medicine. Nobody wants to struggle with their kids who are already sick, and no kid who is sick wants to be even more miserable with yucky medicine. Adding rose hips to an herbal tea or cough remedy carries the double benefit of nutrition as well as flavor to make each dose extra effective.

Wild Cherry Bark

Another remedy coming right from our backyards, wild cherry tree bark was stripped and used as cough remedies dating back to the days of Native Americans. We can bring this traditional knowledge into our homes with powdered or tinctured wild cherry bark as part of an effective herbal cough remedy.Where some other herbs are good supportive options for regular immune boosting, wild cherry bark works best treating acute conditions. Use a wild cherry remedy at the onset of your child’s cough or when you need to finally kick a persistent cough to the curb.

Oregon Grape Root

How many of us remember the days of Echinacea and goldenseal as go-to cough and cold remedies? Goldenseal has not lost its potency, but sadly, it has suffered in sustainability. Fortunately, Oregon grape root is an excellent alternative with very similar and just as potent effects. Keep it on hand as part of an herbal travel kit, especially, to keep the immune system strong in the face of unfamiliar germs.Oregon grape root is a go-to herb when the immune system needs a boost in order to tackle an infection. Just like goldenseal, it’s best used right when the first signs of a tickle in the throat start to appear.

With just the right ratio of these herbs blended into a cough remedy for kids, the benefits and flavors combine to create a kid-approved herbal medicine. And we all know that unless the little ones like it, it can’t be all that helpful!

If you want to learn how make your own herbal remedies for kids, what herbs are safe for children and what illnesses are good to start with herbs when working with children...

Then you will love my Herbs for Kids Online Course!