Herbal Tea for Kids by Age: Saunf, Ajwain, Babuna, What to Skip
Under 6 months, a baby needs nothing but breast milk or formula: no saunf water, no gripe water, no herbal tea of any kind. Star anise (badiyan) tea is never for babies, and honey is never for anyone under 1 year. After the first birthday, a few sips of a weak, lukewarm, unsweetened herbal tea is usually fine as a drink, not as medicine. Here’s what’s allowed at each age, what to skip, and the signs that mean a child needs a doctor rather than a qehwa.
Before you start
- Under 6 months: milk only, nothing else by mouth
- 6 to 12 months: sips of plain boiled, cooled water with meals; no teas, no honey
- 1 to 3 years: a few sips of weak babuna or saunf tea, lukewarm, now and then
- 3 to 6 and over 6: a small cup of mild herbal tea is fine; still no caffeine habit
- Never: star anise tea, mulethi tea, slimming or “cleansing” teas, unlabelled herbal drops
Prefer to listen? This post as a 2 min video · Video page with transcript
Can babies drink herbal tea? The under-6-month rule
No. A baby under 6 months gets everything from breast milk or formula, water included, and anything else by mouth takes up room in a very small stomach. That includes saunf water, ajwain water, ghutti, gripe water, janam ghutti drops, sugar water and plain water too.
Colic and gas are real and exhausting, and the urge to give “something” is strong. Our guide to newborn gas, colic and gripe water walks through what actually helps: winding, holding, a calm routine. It isn’t repeated here.
Real Chinese star anise can be contaminated with Japanese star anise, a poisonous lookalike that has caused fits, jerky eye movements and vomiting in infants given “colic tea”. You can’t tell them apart in a bag. Our star anise guide has the full story. If a baby has had star anise tea and seems unusually irritable, jittery, drowsy or has a fit, go to hospital now and take the packet with you.
Herbal tea for kids by age
Advice changes with age, so here it is band by band. “Weak” means one small pinch of seeds or one tea bag in a full cup of water, steeped briefly, then cooled to lukewarm.
| Age | Herbal tea | Ajwain water ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Under 6 months | None. Milk only | None |
| 6 to 12 months | None. Sips of plain boiled, cooled water with meals | None |
| 1 to 3 years | A few sips of weak babuna or saunf, lukewarm, occasionally | 1 to 2 tsp |
| 3 to 6 years | A quarter to half a cup of mild herbal tea, unsweetened | 15 ml |
| Over 6 years | A small cup of mild herbal tea | 30 ml |
The ajwain water ceilings are the most a child of that age should have at a time, not a target. They’re given because ajwain water is so often handed to children for a sore tummy. If the tummy pain is bad, keeps coming back or comes with fever or vomiting, that’s for a doctor.
1 to 3 years
Toddlers can have a few sips of weak, caffeine-free tea as a warm drink. It shouldn’t fill them up before a meal or replace milk, and it doesn’t need sugar. Saunf is fine as a flavour; European herbal regulators don’t recommend fennel as a remedy for young children, because of a natural compound called estragole, so don’t turn it into a daily “medicine”.
3 to 6 years
A small cup of mild babuna, elaichi or saunf tea is fine now and then. Children this age love the ceremony of “tea like Abbu’s”, and a weak herbal cup is a much better answer to that than doodh patti.
Over 6 years
A mild herbal cup is ordinary. Keep it unsweetened or barely sweet, and watch the evening chai habit, which is really a caffeine question.
Chamomile (babuna) and fennel (saunf) tea for kids
These are the two most searched, and they’re also the gentlest.
Babuna (chamomile) has a mild, apple-like taste. Children with hay fever or an allergy to daisy-family plants can react to it, so give a few sips the first time and watch for a rash, swollen lips or wheeze.
Saunf (fennel) is sweet and familiar. It works well as a flavour, and a pinch after dinner is ordinary food. Strong daily fennel tea for a young child isn’t advised.
- Boil 250 ml of water and let it rest for a minute.
- Add a small pinch (about a quarter teaspoon) of dried babuna flowers or lightly crushed saunf seeds.
- Cover and steep for 3 minutes only. Weak is the point.
- Strain through a fine sieve so no seeds or petals are left.
- Cool it to lukewarm. Test a drop on your inner wrist; it should feel barely warm.
- Offer a few sips (1 to 3 years) or a quarter to half a cup (3 to 6 years), with no sugar.
Teas and drinks to skip for children
- Star anise (badiyan) tea: never for babies, and not worth the risk for small children.
- Mulethi (licorice) tea: it can raise blood pressure and lower potassium, and children are small.
- Senna, “cleansing” and slimming teas: strong laxatives, not for children at all.
- Unlabelled herbal drops, powders and “colic mixtures”: you can’t know what’s inside.
- Chai, green tea, pink tea and matcha: these contain caffeine; see below.
- Honey in any drink: never under 1 year, because of infant botulism.
Caffeinated teas are a separate question. Chai, green tea, Kashmiri pink tea and matcha all contain caffeine, and tea at mealtimes gets in the way of iron from food. Our guide to bachon ko chai, the right age and the iron problem covers it in full.
Saunf, ajwain and a pinch of zeera in warm water were the household answer to every baby tummy ache, and many grandmothers still reach for ghutti. The instinct was comfort. Today we know a baby’s kidneys and gut are too young for anything but milk in the first 6 months, and that older children do best with food amounts, not remedies.
A warm drink for a child with a cold (caffeine-free)
Warm fluids soothe a scratchy throat and help a child drink more, which is the real goal when they’re ill.
- Under 6 months: more breastfeeds or formula feeds. For a blocked nose, saline drops made from half a level teaspoon of salt in 250 ml of boiled, cooled water.
- 6 to 12 months: more milk feeds, plus sips of plain boiled, cooled water with meals.
- Over 1 year: warm water, or warm water with half a teaspoon of honey (only once the child is past 1 year), which can ease a night cough.
- Over 3 years: a weak, lukewarm babuna tea or warm water with a slice of ginger, if they like the taste.
No over-the-counter cough and cold medicine under 6 years, and no Vicks, camphor or menthol rubs on or near young children. For fever, paracetamol or ibuprofen goes by the child’s weight, as worked out on the pack or by a pharmacist, and never double up syrups containing the same medicine. For loose motions, ORS and continued feeding matter more than any kahwa; see loose motions in children by age.
When a child needs a doctor, not a qehwa
Go today, or to emergency care now, if your child has any of these:
- Fast or effortful breathing, the chest sucking in, grunting, or blue lips
- Any fever in a baby under 3 months
- A fever of 39 °C or more with the child unwell, or any fever lasting more than 3 days
- Unusually drowsy, floppy or hard to wake, or a fit
- No urine for 6 to 8 hours, no tears, sunken eyes or a sunken soft spot
- Vomiting everything, green vomit, or blood in vomit or stool
- A rash that doesn’t fade when you press a glass on it, or a stiff neck
- Refusing all fluids
- A possible poisoning, including a herbal tea, powder or oil: go to hospital and take the packet
A weak herbal cup is a comfort drink. It isn’t a medicine, and it can’t wait out a red flag.
More child-health guides live under Bachon Ki Sehat.
Herbal tea for kids: questions parents ask
When can babies drink tea?
Not before 6 months, and ideally no teas in the first year at all. A few sips of weak, caffeine-free herbal tea is usually fine after 1 year. Caffeinated tea such as chai is best kept for much later.
Can toddlers drink herbal tea?
Yes, a few sips of a weak, lukewarm, unsweetened caffeine-free tea, now and then. Babuna and saunf are the usual choices. It shouldn’t replace milk or fill them up before meals.
Is chamomile tea safe for babies?
Not under 6 months, when a baby should have only breast milk or formula. After the first birthday, a few sips of weak babuna are generally fine. Watch for signs of allergy the first time.
Can I give fennel (saunf) water to my newborn for gas?
No. Under 6 months a baby needs nothing but breast milk or formula. Winding, holding and a calm routine help colic more safely.
Is star anise tea safe for kids?
No, and never for babies. Star anise can be contaminated with poisonous Japanese star anise, which has caused fits in infants. Using the spice whole in family biryani is different, as long as a small child doesn’t chew it.
How much ajwain water can a child have?
None under 1 year. At most 1 to 2 teaspoons at a time at 1 to 3 years, 15 ml at 3 to 6, and 30 ml over 6. These are ceilings, and tummy pain that is bad or keeps coming back needs a doctor.
Can a child under 1 year have honey in tea?
No, never before the first birthday, because of the risk of infant botulism. After the first birthday, a little honey in warm water is fine and can ease a night cough.
What is a healthy tea for children?
A weak, caffeine-free herbal tea without sugar, such as babuna, saunf or elaichi, served lukewarm. For most children, water and milk remain the main drinks, and tea is an occasional treat.
Is matcha or green tea OK for kids?
They contain caffeine, so they’re not a good daily drink for children. Matcha in particular can be quite strong. The chai and caffeine guide linked above explains the age and iron questions.
Can kahwa help a baby with loose motions?
No. A baby with loose motions needs continued breastfeeding or formula and, where advised, ORS. Watch for signs of dehydration, such as no urine for 6 to 8 hours, and see a doctor.
Is pink tea good for kids?
Kashmiri pink tea contains caffeine from green tea leaves, plus salt and often sugar. A few sips at a family gathering is fine for an older child, but it isn’t a regular children’s drink.
Are herbal colic drops safe?
Not under 6 months, and unlabelled ones are never safe because you can’t know what’s inside. If colic is severe, ask your doctor or health visitor.
Is ginger tea safe for children?
For children over 3, a weak, lukewarm cup with a thin slice of ginger is fine now and then. It can taste hot to small children, so keep it mild and unsweetened, and never use it in place of a doctor for tummy pain that is bad or keeps coming back.
Can I give my baby gripe water or ghutti?
Not under 6 months. A young baby should have only breast milk or formula, and some older gripe waters contained alcohol or sugar. Our newborn colic guide, linked above, covers what helps instead.