Herbs and Kidlets

​My little 2 and 3 year olds have been sick over the last few days. And while they do enjoy chewables, liquid drops, and glycerites, I also love to use fresh or dried herbs with them.
Herbal medicine is something that has been around for centuries and the active constituents found in herbs are actually where a lot of our modern day synthetic medicines have been derived from. When used properly, herbs can have potent and effective properties with no disturbing side effects.
Below, I have shared a few ways that I have successfully been able to get some of these amazing herbs into my kiddos at the right time. If you have a herbal prescription from your ND or herbalist, I recommend trying some of them out!
 

1. Through their bath – I will add a specific dried herbal decoction or tea to the water in their bath along with some essential oils. The skin absorption route is a great and easy way to go with kids! Works way better than trying to get them to drink a cup of tea throughout the day. Chest rubs are another easy way to do the same thing.
2. Another way to get a herbal tea prescription into a child is by turning it into some fun-to-eat gelatin. Just make the tea (2T dried herb to 2.5cups water), add then whisk in 1.5T grass-fed bovine gelatin, some honey and fresh lemon juice to taste, and some fresh fruit pieces and pour into an 8x8 pan to solidify in the fridge. 
3. Add some fresh or dried herbs to your bone broth soup recipe that will help boost the immune system and fight the bugs!
4. Use some of the greatest kitchen herbs – onions, garlic, or ginger to make a bug-busting homemade cough syrup! The easiest way to do this is simply to pour sugar over a sliced onion in a container and let it sit on the counter for 6-8 hours until a liquid starts to form. That is the syrup! Store it in the fridge. As they say, ‘a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down’. 
5. If you can get your hands on some elderberries, making elderberry syrup is easy and kids love it! Wellnessmama.com has a good recipe for this.
6. Finally, powdered remedies can be added to nutritious smoothies, applesauce or a sweet treat such as a date ball.  

I hope you find these ideas helpful when treating your sick kids at home! When all else fails, remember the best medicine is a big hug and a giggle from mom or dad. :)