Do you wonder what herbs for kids you need to have on hand to keep your kids healthy all year? Have you ever run into a situation where your little one has a cough, fever, or earache late at night after the stores are closed, and you just wished you had the right remedies in your medicine cabinet or pantry?
The natural home medicine checklist in my course Healthy All Year contains the remedies that you are likely to find in other articles on my website, that help you troubleshoot common kids' conditions like colds, ear infections, coughs, fever, and more. I also include the basic kitchen supplies you'll want to have on-hand if you plan to make your own remedies from the course or my Herbal Medicines for Kids e-book, which is free.
I recommend keeping 2 ounces of the bulk herbs in stock at home, and 1-2 oz. of the liquid extracts/tinctures. A half oz. of the essential oils is plenty. Stored out of direct sunlight and away from heat, the dried herbs last for a couple of years, the tinctures 3-5 years, and the oils 1-2 years.
Kitchen Supplies You’ll Need for Making Basic Preparations of Herbs for Kids
- Tea kettle and a wire mesh tea strainer OR Tea kettle and a FRENCH PRESS (makes tea prep SO easy!)
- Wooden cutting board
- Vegetable grater
- 2 quart stainless steel or glass pot
- Measuring spoons
- A few mason jars in 1 pint (= 2 cups, 16 oz, or 400 ml) and 1 quart sizes
Dried Herbs (for making teas)
- Anise or fennel seeds (for cough)
- Catnip (for fever, restlessness)
- Chamomile (for tummy aches, fever, restlessness, irritability)
- Cinnamon powder (for tummy aches, gas, and diarrhea)
- Elder flowers (for fever, combine with spearmint or peppermint)
- Lemon balm (for fever, fussiness, restlessness)
- Licorice root (for sore throat and cough)
- Marshmallow root (for dry cough)
- Peppermint leaves (or spearmint) (for tummy troubles, gas, and to combine with other herbs for flavor)
- Slippery elm powder (for constipation)
Herbal Tinctures/Extracts
- Echinacea tincture and glycerite (for cold, flu, and general respiratory infection prevention)
- Black Elderberry syrup (for flu)
- Herb Pharm Children’s Herbal (calming and for use in fevers)
- Planetary Formulas Calm Child Formula or Gaia Kids Calm and Restore (calming, helps with sleep)
- Herb Pharm Echinacea Goldenseal Tincture (for respiratory infection)
- Herb Pharm Children’s Winter Health (for cold prevention, cough)
Herbal Oils
For topical (external) use only.
- Garlic-mullein earache oil (for earache, ear infection)
- Mentholated chest rub (for cough, use only as directed on the package, never on the face!)
- Lavender essential oil (for headache, anxiety, and to make a soothing bath)
- Thyme essential oil (for vapor steams for cough)
- Peppermint essential oil (for headache, fever)
Fridge and Pantry Supplies
- Raw organic honey (for cough, babies over 1 year old only)
- Sea salt (throat gargle)
- Fresh ginger root (fever, tummy ache, gas, cough)
- Fresh lemons (for flavor in teas, for garlic-honey-lemonade for cough)
- Fresh garlic (for garlic-honey-lemonade for cough)
Nutritional Supplements
- Zinc lozenges (immune boosting, prevents respiratory infections, shortens colds and coughs)
- Vitamin D3 (immune boosting, prevents respiratory infections)
- Vitamin C (immune boosting, prevents respiratory infections)
- Probiotic (immune boosting, prevents respiratory infections)
- NAC (prevents ear infections, helps resolve fluid in the ear)
Want to learn how to use all of these remedies in detail? I'd love to teach you! Join me in my course, Healthy All Year, where I teach you how to safely, effectively, and affordably use herbs for kids or other natural remedies to prevent and treat common children's infections. You'll feel more confident and at ease knowing when and how to use these, and also when it's time to go to the doctor. You'll be able to use less medication with your children, and spend less unnecessary time in the doctor's office!
