If you have kids, it’s inevitable that the common cold will rear its ugly head in your home. No matter how many healthy habits you employ, most kids experience stuffy noses, sore throats, sneezing and coughing at least once during the year. And while every family has tried-and-true remedies to treat these miserable symptoms, many of them are not appealing to kids. Cold remedies for children are tough because toddlers and kids can be really picky and not want to eat and drink the things that will help them the most. But if you use these simple tricks, you can create cold remedies for kids that they’ll enjoy, helping them feel better as quickly as possible.
Alphabet Soup
Soup is probably the number one cold remedy for people the world over. The hot broth sooths sore throats, clears out nasal passages and warms your whole body. However, if your kids are like mine, they may turn their noses up at traditional soups. Whether it’s the hot temperatures, the blatant vegetables or the non-finger food status, many children will not willingly eat it. But I’ve found by just adding alphabet noodles to any basic soup recipe, it turns a plain bowl into a fun treat. My kids love to try and spell out their names and other words, and they eat the soup instead of complaining about it. Try adding them to a simple vegetable soup or substituting them for the pasta or rice called for in other soups like chicken noodle or minestrone. Not only will the soup nourish a sick child, the fun will distract them from their symptoms for a little while as well.
Popsicles
When kids are sick with a cold, it’s important that they stay hydrated with lots of fluids. Many pediatricians recommend drinks such as Gatorade or Pedialyte to ensure kids are getting all of the nutrients they need to keep from getting any weaker. But sometimes these drinks don’t taste as good as juice to children, and they don’t drink as much as they need. Instead of pushing these drinks in liquid form, try freezing them. All kids love popsicles, and the novelty of having this type of treat while sick will make any child smile. Simply pour the Gatorade or Pedialyte into a popsicle mold or small paper cups with craft sticks and freeze. Offer your child these popsicles throughout the day (with a towel and a big bowl to catch the drips) too keep him hydrated without him even knowing he’s doing something healthy for himself.
Lemon Ginger Honey Tea
Besides juices to keep you hydrated during a cold, tea is also a wonderful cold remedy. But hot tea can be unappealing to many children, as well as dangerous for young children and toddlers. And if your sick kids are like mine, they spend most of their time on the couch with a sippy cup or other spill-proof tumbler, which you cannot fill with hot tea. To get the soothing ingredients of tea into your sick children, try iced tea instead. Lemon tea is wonderful for your throat and caffeine free, ginger is a pungent spice that clears out your sinuses and aids in digestion, and honey is more than just a sweetener, some studies suggest it works better than OTC medications in suppressing a cough. Simply steep four to six bags of lemon tea in a pot, mixed with pieces of crystallized ginger and honey. Once the taste is to your liking, pour it into a pitcher, add cold water and ice, and refrigerate. This mixture is sweet enough that kids will drink it like juice, and it’s cold, so it can be put in a spill-proof cup for easy sipping throughout the day.
Next time your children are down with a cold, try these cold remedies for kids to perk them up and help them feel better in no time. By using these simple tricks, kids will enjoy traditional cold remedies and not even realize these novel treatments are helping them get well.