Many herbs are quite safe for children — although unfortunately, the taste is often far from pleasant and administering the remedy can prove a problem. Giving babies weak infusions of soothing herbs, such as chamomile or linden, by bottle from a very early age can encourage acceptance of herby flavours, while dosing breast-fed babies can often be best achieved by the mother taking the herbal remedy herself, as many of the active ingredients will then pass into the breast milk. This is an especially neat solution for colic and wind remedies (see below), which can thus be dispensed precisely at feeding time.

Toddlers can be dosed with teaspoons of honey containing herb powders or drops of tinctures, while capsules are ideal and tasteless just as soon as children are old enough to swallow them. Tinctures (neat or dilute, depending on age) given in drop doses on the tongue can also be quite acceptable — the process can even be made into a game that can override the unpleasantness of the taste.

Herbal BeautyTaste is held to be more significant in some cultures than in others: Ayurvedic medicine, for example, divides tastes into six categories: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. A child’s healthy growth depends on a good balance of tastes, and special sweets and pills are sold which combine all six tastes with which parents can dose their children.

Herbal dosages need, of course, to be reduced for children. Much depends on the child’s size but a general guide is given in this table.

Children’s dosages

0-1 year 5% of adult dose

1-2 years 10% of adult dose

3-4 years 20% of adult dose

5-6 years 30% of adult dose

7-8 years 40% of adult dose

9-10 years 50% of adult dose

I 1-12 years 60% of adult dose

13-14 years 80% of adult dose

15-plus 100% of adult dose

In many childhood illnesses herbs can help to calm over-excitement, ease tension and encourage sleep — which will all significantly aid the healing process. Chamomile, linden and lemon balm are ideal taken in infusions and sweetened with honey. If over-excitement leads to nervous exhaustion then give oatmeal porridge or oatcakes, along with vervain and wood betony infusions. Older children can also be safely given Californian poppy for sleeplessness, while some preparations containing passion flower can also be suitable.

Children also suffer the same complaints as their elders, so reduced doses of many of the remedies suggested for coughs, constipation and stomach upsets will generally be suitable. For infections, low doses of echinacea are quite safe. Children can develop dramatically high fevers with the temperature reaching 39°C (102°F) or more. Raising the body temperature is part of the normal defence mechanism to combat invading organisms and is not generally a problem. However, if the temperature rises above 39°C (102°F) for more than 24 hours, professional help is advisable. For milder cases herbal remedies containing elder flower, yarrow and linden can be helpful. Especially suitable for children is catmint (Nepeta cataria), which can easily be grown in gardens and makes an ideal tea for feverish conditions and minor stomach upsets.

Catarrhal problems

Persistent catarrh in childhood is often associated with milk allergy, so try switching to soya milk instead of cow’s. Soya is a good source of calcium and other minerals, so completely eliminating dairy products from a child’s diet is unlikely to cause any deficiencies — although if possible you should avoid the genetically modified soya products now coming on to the market. Soya-based yoghurts and desserts which can be suitable for children are also now commercially available. Gentle herbs for catarrhal conditions include elder flower and ribwort plantain. Eliminating milk can also be helpful in many cases of glue ear.

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