If you are anything like me, each time your child hacks or coughs a little fist of panic squeezes your heart and sends you to Google to search for cough remedies for kids. The holiday season isn’t the only “season” to arrive this month. And now more than ever, parents are acutely aware of all the bacteria and viruses that threaten our children. We used to worry about cold and flu season, now we only need to turn on the news or log into social media to see “mysterious polio-like illness afflicting US kids.” While the ease of spreading information is a good thing, it also foments fear.
Sometimes a cough is just a cough. Other times it can signify more, which is why I rely on medical professionals to make the diagnosis. However once our pediatrician has weighed in, I turn to other moms and my own experience to help my kids stop couging at night.Best Natural Cough Remedies for Kids
Other moms are a valuable resource when researching nighttime cough remedies. I often ask my mom friends for advice on how to stop kids from coughing (after I call my mom and my mother in law). My mother is filipino and taught me how to make a hot tea from Kalamansi (an ornamental sour citrus fruit that is a hybrid of kumquat and mandarin fruit) and honey. This is one of our go-to’s and why we grow calamondin (the English name if you are at the nursery). My mother in law is a firm believer in tablespoons of local honey. My kids dump tablespoons of honey in their mugs of kalamansi tea so their combine what their Grandmas advise.
During the day, the kids prefer my natural pineapple popsicles. The bromelain and vitamin C in this “treat” quickly soothe their throats and quiet their coughs. Pineapple juice is one of the home remedies for cough that multiple moms recommend.
I’ve dug deep and asked many many moms about their cough remedies! Check out some of these other suggestions for treating coughs naturally from toddlers coughing on.
Why is your child coughing at night?
I’ve been researching cough remedies for kids for years. When my children went to daycare, they were always sick! They came home snotty, coughing, and cranky everyday (or so it seemed.) We dealt with RSV when Pea was an infant and Pork Chop a toddler. We had bouts with the flu. Luckily, once I became a stay at home (work at home) mom and the kids went on to elementary school. They stopped catching every virus and bug that came through. However, the night coughing still plagues us. It’s important to uncover the why before you can figure out how to stop coughing at night.
Both of my kids have seasonal allergies. Also, when either one catches a virus or gets a bacterial infection that causes a cough, the cough lingers long after the other symptoms have faded. It is what it is. Our homemade “vicks shower soothers” do help loosen the mucus and provide relief during a hot shower, though.
Often a combination of different cough remedies for kids is what finally does the trick. Here is a list of some of the best cough relief tips I’ve found. Hopefully you find the one that will work best for your family!
15 Cough Remedies for Kids at Night
10 Mom Approved Cough Relief Tips for Kids
More Tips for When Your Child is Coughing At Night
Most of the time, our doctor tells us to let the cough run it’s course. She decides not to prescribe cough syrup and specifically advises against giving our child over the counter cough syrup. That doesn’t mean that I don’t try natural remedies to relieve the “throat tickle.” Along with fluids, soup, and adequate nutrition, simple home cough remedies for kids can provide relief and a reprieve from the disruption that coughing brings.
However, other times the doctor has prescribed medication. She prescribes antibiotics for bacterial infections, antihistamines for allergies etc. When it’s a toddler coughing at night who has been prescribed medication, it adds a whole new level of stress of an already overwhelmed mom. This trick for giving medicine to young child is a lifesaver–at least until your child is old enough to swallow tablets!
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