One of the most common childhood ailments is the common cold—I don’t know any child who gets through childhood without catching the occasional cold virus. However, you don’t have to treat a cold with a store-bought cough syrup, decongestants, and antihistamines. There are better ways to relieve the symptoms of a mild child’s cold. Here are a few natural remedies to help ease the symptoms of a cold (including a homemade cough remedy). You are going to love this homemade cough syrup recipe for kids. It is easy to make, all natural, and very effective.
Thanks to Barbara Rodriguez, the organic celebrity nanny for sharing this DIY cough syrup from her new book- The Organic Nanny’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids: Reclaim a Natural Diet and Lifestyle for Your Child. You can find the book at local bookstores or through my affiliate Amazon link.
The Organic Nanny’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids [Book Review]
The Organic Nanny is on a mission. She wants to create better childhoods and believe me when I say is passionate about this and her enthusiasm is infectious! Mothers and celebrities alike have been moved by her desire to share tools that will allow for a more organic and peaceful lifestyle for the whole family. I too have been moved by her new book, The Organic Nanny’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids, it really is so full of resources and recipes for more natural living. An excellent read!
Barbara Rodriguez shows parents some simple lifestyle changes that can help them dramatically improve the well-being of their children. In her years of experience as a celebrity nanny, she saw some disturbing trends. This motivated her to write a guide that would make it easier for parents to raise healthy kids with better childhoods. Rodriguez uses nutritious food and natural remedies to resolve chronic health and behavior issues. In her book, you can learn from her more than twenty years of experience working as a nanny and teaching celebrity families how to integrate an organic and positive lifestyle into their homes.
Organic Nanny Natural Cough Syrup Recipe:
Always consult with a qualified doctor about any health concerns or questions about you or your child’s health.
For coughs, this homemade cough syrup recipe is easy to make and helps even the most stubborn little coughs. It also helps clear out congestion. This recipe is a gentle and effective alternative to over-priced commercial cough syrups, and it contains no artificial ingredients. This old fashioned cough syrup recipe is an all natural recipe. Next time a family member has a cough, try making your own cough syrup. It is easy with these powerful ingredients.
This diy cough syrup recipe uses honey. Honey is not technically vegan, but because it has natural cough suppressant properties, I prefer it as a medicine to pharmaceutical cough syrups, which contain drugs and often contain alcohol. If you can buy honey from a small scale local beekeeper, that is ideal. If you are opposed to honey, use maple syrup instead. The sweet syrup itself can help relieve coughs, even if it doesn’t have all of the healing properties of honey.
This homemade cough syrup is safe for young children and toddlers but is not safe for small children under 1 year due to the honey content.
Cough Syrup Ingredients: (for children over 1 year)
- 2 cups of purified water
- 1 tablespoon powdered slippery elm (find it in natural health food stores, Whole Foods, or through www.mountainroseherbs.com)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (fresh ginger is best)
- ¼ cup raw honey
- Juice from 1 organic lemon (if you don’t have fresh lemon juice, you may substitute 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar)
Combine water and herbs in a saucepan. Heat on low until the liquid comes to a boil. Continue to boil until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from the heat and stir in the honey and lemon juice.
Store homemade cough syrup in a clean glass bottle in the refrigerator. Give your child 2 tablespoons up to four times per day.
More Natural Remedies to Fight the Common Cold
For stuffy noses, try this natural remedy. Fill a bowl with steaming water. Add 4 drops tea tree oil and 4 drops eucalyptus essential oil (peppermint essential oil also works well). Stay with your child and have her lean over the bowl, but not too close that she feels uncomfortable. Drape a towel over her head and the bowl. Sit with and rub her back for ten minutes. The steam will help loosen congestion.
Conclusion
The author of The Organic Nanny’s Guide to Raising Healthy Kids wants to help your family make the organic natural diet change. The first seven chapters of her book are helpful to ensuring kids get a healthier, more natural diet. She offers lots of actionable tips for how to eliminate the worst offenders from your child’s diet. She also provides useful tools like sample meal plans to help you get an idea for healthy food choices throughout the week.
Barbara Rodriguez then delves deeper into adopting a natural lifestyle and detoxing your home. She offer natural remedies for the botanica to help avoid medicines when possible. She also talks about how to makeover ourselves for an attitude of gratitude and listening from the heart.
Let me know how you enjoy the book. I think it is a real life changer!
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