It’s that time of year – Fall! The time of year where we all rejoice in with the grazing of homemade pumpkin food items, chunky sweaters and colorful leaves. But there is one thing that all moms fear about Fall – Colds! The aches, pains, running noses, coughs and just overall yuckiness that takes over your little one for days at a time with little to soothe them but hugs, comfy blankets and a variety of over the counter medication that do little to help ease the symptoms at hand, not to mention are filled with dye, processed sugar and mystery ingredients that no one can even pronounce.

In preparation of the inevatable – here are 6 of my favorite homemade cold remedies for toddlers. All of them are comforting, homey and soothing with the bonus that most of the recipes call for ingredients you probably already have in your home. I plan on stocking up and making the ones that store well this weekend, my go-kit for when the dreadful cold invades my home.

I am not a health care professional – so please make sure you talk to you pediatrician before you use any of the remedies below. And remember that honey shouldn’t be given to your wee one before the age of one. 

Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops with Ginger – Yummy tasting, all natural cough drops that are filled with anti-bacterial, cough suppressing honey, phlegm fighting lemon juice and tummy-settling ginger root.

All Natural Vapor Rub – All the great benefits of the classic version but without the processed crude oil, turpentine, paragons, diazolidinyl urea and peg-100 stearate [trust me when I say you don’t even want to know what is in those ingredients]. This great recipe has 2 different versions, one for small kids and one for adults. I plan on making both because you know you will get sick as soon as your little one is feeling better.

Flu Fighting Cookies – I just had to include this link – a cold remedy that will be taken seriously by your toddler. Cookies for being sick! Score! But when you fill these tasty treats with ginger for its’ antiviral compounds, cranberries and oats that help fend off cell damaging free radicals, walnuts for the zinc that keep viruses from reproducing and yogurt that has active cultures to help boost your body’s ability to absorb nutrients in them, why not try them? A cookie couldn’t hurt a cold, right?

Home Cold and Flu Remedy – I know what you are thinking, another mixture of honey, lemon and ginger? Really? But yes, those 3 ingredients will help any cold and why not attack it from all angles – cough drops, cough syrup and now a cough drink. Trust me, they will work wonders for your little one. Add a little cinnamon to any of these recipes for even more healing benefits.

Homemade Pedialyte Recipe – Keep your little one hydrated with this easy and fast recipe for pedialyte. Would be great with a little apple or cranberry juice mixed in. Photo of homemade apple juice.