Grand Mum's recipes and remedies for kids

Hey Ladies,

I thought of starting this thread to share recipes and remedies for kids that we got to know from our Grand Mum's days. Since this forum consists of ladies from different parts of India, sharing this kind of information will be very informative and helpful for Mum's with kids.

Let me start with what I know

Due to gas relief problems, you may find your child's stomach hard to touch.
Take a small qty of hing and mix it in 3 - 4 drops of coconut oil. Apply it on the child's stomach. This will help relieve gas and it can be applied to kids upto 5yrs.

Hey Akila,

Thanks for opening up such a thread. If everybody is going to share this is definitely going to be very useful, especially for Moms like me who stay far away from parents.

Take equal quantities of moong dal and rice. Wash and dry it in Sun. Roast them separately in ghee. Grind together into a coarse powder. Boil 1 cup of water, add sugar and salt to taste, add 2-3 tbspn of this powder. Cook well and serve.

You can grind and store this powder in an airtight container and use whenever required. This is a very healthy and light food suitable for kids in the age group of 3-4months to 1 year.

Here is a home remedy for dry cough of kids...

Boil 1/2 cup of milk. When it boils add 1/2 tspn of turmeric powder and
1/4" inch of ginger(smashed). Mix a pinch of salt, a little jaggery for taste and 1/4 tspn ghee.

Give this 2 times a day for a definite cure of dry cough - can be given to kids of all ages above one year.

This is a good home remedy for kids upto 1 year to stop diarrhoea.

Boil 1 tsp arrowroot powder in 1 cup water. Add 1 tsp sugar and 1 pinch of salt. Give this porridge and immediately stops diarrhoea.

Note: Arrowroot powder looks almost like corn flour and is used for thickening sauces, gravies and in puddings.

You can also try this to stop diarrhoea.

Extract fresh juice from pomegranate and make the child drink it fresh.
This controls diarrhoea. I have tried this with my kids.

Its really tough for the moms to bear when their children suffer with constipation. There is a simple remedy for this which has worked out for my nephew.

To a glass of milk (hot or cold) add a spoon of honey and a spoon of sugar and give it to the child twice a day. It can be given to kids of any age.

This drink which is called vasantha kashaya in kannada is very helpful to soothe cold, cough and sore throats, for kids and also adults. It tastes good also and my daughter at one indication of cold asks me "amma, can u make that yellow milk for me?" Here it goes.

Boil together for five minutes the following

Milk - 1 glass
Pepper corns - 10
honey - 1 tsp
turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Once boiled, strain the contents to a glass. Add a teaspoon of sugar if needed. cool the drink a little, but it should be hot enough to soothe the throat.

I just read this page on rediff. USeful home made remedies have been listeed here. Click here to read them. http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2005/sep/22remedy.htm

Kids get to put anything in their mouth (especially those below 2 years) when they play, which may cause infections resulting in loose motions. Otherwise also when we try solid foods for them in the initial stages, easily they end-up getting loose motions.

This is a home remedy very commonly followed in Kerala...

Dry roast poppy seeds (khus-khus) and powder it.
Add 1/2 tspn of this powder with 1 tspn milk and little sugar for taste.
Give this 2 to 3 times a day to the child.

Can be given to kids above 6months of age.

Prathi, heard that giving too much of honey will lead to constipation, isn't it?

Anyways, will keep yr point in mind. One more idea is to soak black raisins in warm water and squeeze out the juice and can be given two times. No constipation problem at all and this can be given to even 2 months old kid!!

And, for diarrhoea, here is the best & simple remedy-feed curd rice(thick curd & rice) for two times. You will see an immediate effect which found with my daughter recently.

For younger kids, can give plain curd. Obvious, for grown-ups, can use the above method.