Herbs for Kids

I get asked a lot about how to administer herbs for kids. It’s pretty simple actually, but what it starts with is a commitment.

What I mean by that specifically is that sometimes, what’s healthy for kids is not always what they want to do. If I left it up to my 4-year-old, all she’d eat all day is plain M&Ms and flour tortillas. So I don’t leave it up to her.

My commitment is that she eat a healthy, balanced diet and sometimes she just doesn’t want to do that. That’s where my commitment comes in.

The same is true for herbs. Sometimes she just plain doesn’t want to take her herbs. Luckily, manufacturers make herbs for kids. They come in a liquid form called a tincture. They taste good and use a glycerin base instead of the more common alcohol base. We actually prefer tinctures in our house because of how easy they are to take and they last a really, really long time.

To administer herbs for kids, the easiest way is to put the tincture drops in a small glass of juice, (we use a shot glass).

Ideally, you would use Bio-Kinetic Testing to determine which herbs and how much to give your kids. If you haven't learned how to test yet, just go by the guidelines on the bottle.

Note: Usually you don't need to use nearly as much as it says to on the tincture bottle. A few drops goes a long way.

Then just have the kid drink it down.

Most of the time it’s not an issue because the herbs have no taste or are naturally flavored to taste good. But sometimes the herbs are yucky and there’s a bit of a showdown. Luckily for me, my commitment is for my kids to be in optimum health, so I usually win.

If your kids need to drink a tea, make them a little spritzer with half tea and half juice. If you’re feeling a little playful, put a little sparkling water in it for some fun fizz.

Giving herbs to kids who are still using a bottle is a lot easier. Just make sure you don’t add any until you are about to give the bottle to the child. There are some herbs that can react with the liquid and make the taste unbearable if it sits for too long. Another option for small kids is to put the herbs and liquid in a syringe and just give them a little squirt.

So that’s how we do it at our house. I hope this will help some of you out there. I’d love to hear how other people do it, so feel free to leave a comment here and share your thoughts with me.

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