A long time ago, when I was just a child, my grandmother took me into her gardens and introduced me to her weeds. As we walked in the scented oak forest, she rubbed my skin with fresh bay leaves, assuring me it would prevent poison oak and keep the insects from swarming over us. When I fell in the nettle patches, she soothed the painful welts with the fresh juice of yellow dock or plantain leaves. When we “weeded” our gardens, much of what other people called weeds went into my grandmother’s gathering basket to be added to her favorite Armenian stews and soups. Strong and powerful, like her, her words sank deep and took root in my heart. That magic my grandmother taught me in the garden of my childhood stayed with me throughout my life and has been a guiding force as I continued my journey into the world of plants and herbal medicine.
It’s those simple, practical, yet powerful lessons I seek to pass on to you and your children. Herbs serve as wonderful teachers for our children while providing an effective, gentle system of healing for them. Children’s bodies are sensitive and respond naturally and quickly to the healing energy of the herbs in these time-tested recipes.
Licorice Cinnamon Balls
This is a tasty, soothing remedy for a sore throat. I often add a bit of powdered ginger to the recipe, but ginger can be too hot for small children. (Honey isn’t recommended for children under 1 year of age.)
- Combine the powdered licorice root and cinnamon with just enough honey to make a paste. Add a drop or two of water and knead until smooth and not sticky. Add more of the powdered herbs (or cocoa powder) as needed to thicken the mixture until you can roll it into balls.
- When the mixture is the right consistency, roll it into pea-sized balls and place them on a baking sheet. Cover with a clean dishcloth and let air-dry for several hours or overnight. Or, place them in an oven with the pilot light on, or set them on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate at low heat for a few hours.
- When the balls are completely dry, store them in glass containers. To use, give one or two balls to suck on as needed to ease a sore throat.
Nourishing Creamy Nettle Soup
The tips of young nettles can be harvested in early spring and summer. If you’re lucky enough to have a stand of nettles nearby, trim them throughout the season so they’ll keep producing those tasty tops until fall. Nettle seeds are abundant and can be harvested in late summer and fall, when they’re fully ripened. When harvesting nettles, wear a heavy long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and protective gloves, and carry a pair of scissors and a large gathering basket. If you or your child does happen to get stung by nettle, look for jewelweed or plantain in the area; they often grow by nettle patches and, when made into a poultice, will offer a soothing relief from the sting. Or, mix baking powder with water or aloe vera gel to make a soothing paste. Lavender essential oil applied topically can also help lessen the sting. But the best sting reliever is to not get stung in the first place, so just be mindful and harvest with extra care.
This soup is a perfect remedy for children (and adults) recovering from illness, when a nourishing, easy-to-digest meal is just what the herbalist ordered.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 2 to 3 medium potatoes, chopped
- 2 quarts broth (whatever kind you prefer)
- Seasonings, as desired (try rosemary, sage, thyme, or smoked salt)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Several large handfuls of fresh nettles
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Warm the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft and golden. Add the potatoes and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes. Then, add the broth, seasonings, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Bring the soup just to a boil, and then reduce the heat and let simmer until the potatoes are nearly done. Then, with tongs or wearing gloves, add the fresh nettles to the pot. Put the lid on the pot and let the nettles steam for 15 to 20 minutes. (The heat will then neutralize the nettles’ sting.)
- When the nettles are fully steamed and the potatoes are cooked through, blend the soup, either in a blender or with an immersion blender.
- Adjust the seasonings, add a touch of Parmesan, and there you have it: one of the world’s best soups for convalescence. Most children will enjoy this soup, especially if they know it’s made with fresh nettles!
Tonic Teas for Good Health
Here are some of my favorite tea recipes for promoting good health in children. They can be drunk on their own or mixed with sparkling water or fruit juice to sweeten. If your child enjoys (or needs) a particular tea recipe, blend several ounces to have on hand, and brew a pint or more so it’s available for your child to drink during the day, which often eliminates the desire for sugary drinks that are far less nourishing or healthy. Stored in the refrigerator, herbal teas will keep for up to three days.
You can also make herbal ice pops by brewing double-strength herbal tea, sweetening with maple syrup or honey (for children over age 1) or stevia, and freezing in ice-pop molds. These pops are especially nice for toddlers who are teething. For an even tastier treat, combine herbal tea with an equal amount of unsweetened fruit juice and then freeze.
Calming Tonic Tea
This blend is especially useful for calming a fussy child. It’s soothing and can be used over an extended period of time as a tonic for the nervous system. This blend is also helpful during stressful situations, such as colic, fever, and teething.
- 2 parts chamomile flower
- 2 parts lemon balm leaf
- 2 parts green milky oats
- 1 part catnip leaf
- 1 part rose petals
- Pinch of stevia leaf
- Combine all the ingredients, and store in an airtight container until you’re ready to use the blend.
- Then, brew as an infusion: Place the herb in a container, pour boiling water over it, and cover tightly. Let steep for 30 to 45 minutes. This is a tonic, so your child can drink as much of it as they want.
Respiratory Tonic Tea
This blend makes an effective tea for building strong, healthy lungs. It’s helpful for children who have recurring respiratory problems, such as colds, flus, hay fever, asthma, ear infections, and general congestion. This isn’t necessarily the blend for the acute stages of a respiratory infection, but when taken over time it’ll aid in establishing a healthy respiratory system.
- 2 parts fennel seed
- 2 parts lemongrass
- 2 parts red clover blossom
- 2 parts rose hips
- 1 part calendula flower
- 1 part mullein leaf
- Combine all the ingredients, and store in an airtight container until you’re ready to use the blend.
- To prepare, brew as an infusion, following the instructions provided for Calming Tonic Tea.
High C Tea
This wonderfully refreshing and colorful blend provides bioflavonoids and vitamin C in an organic, naturally biochelated base so all the nutrients are readily available for absorption. The high level of vitamins found in commercial vitamins are therapeutic dosages, and they may be useful to combat illness, but for daily maintenance, this tea, with its natural dose, is better for your child.
Ingredients
- 4 parts rose hips
- 3 parts hibiscus flower
- 2 parts lemongrass
- 1 part spearmint leaf
- 1/8 part orange peel or cinnamon chips
- Pinch of stevia leaf
- Combine all the ingredients and store in an airtight container until you’re ready to use the blend.
- To prepare, brew as an infusion, following the instructions provided for Calming Tonic Tea. This is a tonic, so your child can drink as much as they want.
Herbal Oil
Herbal oils are made by infusing fresh or dried herbs in oil. I usually dry-wilt herbs before adding them to oil. I place the herbs in a dry, warm area out of direct sunlight and allow them to semi-dry for several hours, or until most of the moisture is gone and they’re wilted but not completely dried out. This allows some of the moisture to evaporate, so there’s less chance of spoilage.
Here are the steps for a solar infusion.
- Place the herbs in a wide-mouthed glass jar. Add enough high-quality cooking oil, such as olive oil, to cover the herbs by 1 to 2 inches. Cover tightly.
- Place the jar in a warm, sunny spot and let steep for 2 weeks.
- Strain the herbs from the oil. Discard the spent herbs and bottle and label your herbal oil.
Salves and Ointments
Once you’ve made herbal oil, you’re a step away from a salve. Salves, or ointments, are made of beeswax, herbs, and oil. The oil serves as the solvent, extracting the medicinal properties of the herbs, and also provides a healing, emollient base. The beeswax adds a soothing and protective quality and the firmness necessary to form the salve.
- Make an infused herbal oil.
- For each cup of herbal oil, add 1/4 cup beeswax. Heat the oil and beeswax together over very low heat until the beeswax has melted. Stir together.
- Thanks to the beeswax, the mixture will thicken as it cools. To check that it’s going to have the right consistency, do a quick test: Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture in the freezer for just a minute or two, and then test it. If it seems too soft, add more beeswax, reheating as necessary until the beeswax melts. If it seems too hard, add more oil.
- Once you’re satisfied with the results of your consistency test, remove the mixture from the heat and pour into small glass jars or tins. Obviously, you’re working with very hot oil, so be careful. Leave the lids off the jars or tins until the salve has cooled and hardened. Once the salve has firmed up, place the lids on.
- Label the containers and store in a cool, dark place. Stored properly, salves will keep for several months.
All-Purpose Healing Salve
This is my favorite salve for diaper rash. It’s also useful for soothing and healing cuts, scrapes, burns, and other skin irritations. I prefer to make the salve using a solar-infused oil. But if you don’t have the time to steep the herbs in olive oil in the sun for 2 weeks or, if there’s not much sun, let the herbs steep in a double boiler over very low heat for several hours.
- 1 part calendula flower
- 1 part comfrey leaf
- 1 part St. John’s wort flower
- Olive oil
- Grated beeswax
- 1 or 2 drops essential oil per 1 cup oil (optional; lavender, tea tree, or chamomile would be a good choice)
- Prepare the ingredients as a salve, following the instructions in “Salves and Ointments,” above.
- Apply as needed. To treat diaper rash, wash and dry your baby’s bottom after each bowel movement and apply the herbal salve. This treatment will generally clear up even the worst diaper rash, unless herpes or staph is involved.
This lightly edited excerpt is from Herbs for Children’s Health (Storey Publishing) by Rosemary Gladstar.
Originally published in the April/May 2025 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS and regularly vetted for accuracy.
