Is it possible to give tea to an 8 month old baby? Soothing teas for children: buy at the pharmacy

Last article updated: 04/24/2018

The first year of life is the most important stage in a baby's development. During this period, he receives everything he needs through breast milk. After six months, parents are wondering what else to introduce into their children’s diet, how to properly introduce new food into the daily menu. What else can you drink? Today we will talk about ordinary tea, which is present every day in the life of every family. When can you give your child tea, how much, can your baby have this drink with sugar? We will discuss these and many questions in our article.

Pediatrician, pediatric cardiologist

The main substance in tea is tannin. Has tanning properties. Important! Tannin binds iron and prevents it from being absorbed, which, in turn, leads to a decrease in hemoglobin, and accordingly, the risk of anemia increases. Also, one of the negative properties of this substance is that it interferes with the formation of vitamin D, which can lead to the development of rickets;
theine has a stimulating effect, has beneficial influence on intestinal motility;
oxalic acid, which is part of the composition, binds calcium, which provokes the development of caries on delicate milk teeth.
Dentist Natalya Yuryevna: “Recently, cases of caries in young children have become more frequent. It is important to understand that the enamel of children’s teeth is very vulnerable to external factors, and tea is no exception”;
One of the important components of tea drinks is purine bases, which lead to the formation uric acid. Accordingly, there is a huge load on the baby’s kidneys;
flavonoids are excellent antioxidants that remove heavy metal salts;
methionine is a substance that can normalize the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates in the body.

Many adults cannot imagine their life without tea. But, it should be borne in mind that for a child the use large quantity tea is a huge burden on the body.

From what months can babies be given tea?

The optimal age when you can give tea to children is from one and a half to two years.

Many mothers do not comply with this age criterion. Children are given tea as early as 6 months of age, which is incorrect. And tea is absolutely contraindicated for newborn children.

It is better to brew tea for your baby in leaf form. Bagged tea contains a lot of harmful impurities that can cause allergies.

Use freshly brewed tea. Beneficial properties when boiled again tea drink disappear, and it can even cause harm.

When can you give your child tea? It is better to do this before five o'clock in the evening. This is due to the fact that tea has an invigorating effect, and if given later, it will be difficult for the child to fall asleep.

Only tea that is not too strong can be given, since excessive strength has an aggressive effect on the delicate gastric mucosa. It is advisable to drink this drink warm.

The child can be given tea with milk or sugar. Milk has a neutralizing effect on some harmful properties tea. And you can drink this drink by diluting the tea by half with milk.

The milk additive is capable of:

Sugar is best used in minimum quantities. If there is no allergy, then sugar can be replaced with honey.

Additives in the form of thyme, mint, lemon balm and chamomile herbs are perfect for tea. They have a calming effect and a wonderful aroma.

Black tea or green

It is better not to give green tea to children. This is due to the fact that it contains a higher content of tannin and theine compared to black.

Is it even possible for children to have green tea, parents ask? It is recommended to drink green tea from school age.

Komarovsky O. E.: “Of course, tea is good for a child’s body, but everywhere you need to know when to stop. At the beginning of the first complementary foods, it is not forbidden to give a teaspoon of tea, this is from about 6 months. It’s better, of course, to start with the black variety. If allergic reactions occur, tea should be discontinued. At 2 years old, you can try introducing a tea drink again.”

It is important to know that the main source of nutrition for children under 6 months is breast milk. A small child's body does not need to drink tea drinks every day. A few times a week is enough.

Early introduction of tea to a child’s menu can harm the development of neurons in the cerebral cortex, which can later manifest itself in a tendency to lie and excessive imagination in the child.

Pharmacies also sell special children's teas that can be used to supplement children up to one year old. Some have a mild sedative effect.

Mother of twins Olga, 28 years old:“My daughters had problems sleeping. I started giving her some tea with mint, lemon balm, and fennel in the evening. The effect was already visible after three days. The children began to fall asleep faster and wake up less at night.”

It is better to choose loose leaf tea in stores or trusted markets. It is also worth paying attention to expiration dates.

At the end of the article, you can safely answer the question, can children have tea? Can. But the measure and age limits should be taken into account.

When feeding a baby, it is difficult to limit yourself to milk and water. A variety of juices with pulp are also used, and sometimes even teas. But at what age and what kind of tea can a child be given?

What is the peculiarity of the impact different varieties tea on the child’s body? More on this later in the article.

Up to one year

According to WHO recommendations, infants under six months are not advised to give anything other than milk. From four months (if the child is not at breastfeeding) it is already allowed to give special teas for children, which do not contain caffeine or tannins that reduce appetite.

Such teas are completely safe for children and have pleasant taste and various beneficial properties: calming, normalizing the functioning of the stomach, and so on. You can buy them in specialized stores, but first of all, pay attention to what age this tea is intended for, and also consult your pediatrician.

Starting from six months, it is recommended to give your child special herbal baby teas. Of course, the concentration should be age appropriate. The most beneficial herbs for a child’s health are: chamomile and fennel (they have an antiseptic, antispasmodic effect, increase the activity of food glands and normalize intestinal motility); mint and lemon balm (have a calming effect). It is recommended to give such teas to a child up to 1 time a day at least an hour before bedtime.

Up to three years

After one year, you can start making vitamin-rich fruit and berry teas for your child. They strengthen the immune system and the body as a whole, are sources of vitamins, and improve appetite.

An excellent option are the following fruits and berries: rose hips, green apple, currant, pear, raspberry, apricot, linden. You can use their leaves instead of fruits - they are less allergenic.

After three years

If you want to give your child “adult” teas, for example black, green or white, then you should do this strictly after 3 years.

It is also important to note that these types of tea are saturated with caffeine and tannins, so you should brew them strictly once a day and in the morning. If you give this tea to a child in the evening, there is a high probability that he will suffer from insomnia and nervousness.

Doctors recommend starting your acquaintance with this drink after 3 years with black loose leaf tea without additives. It should be lightly brewed and without sugar, but if you want to “sweeten your life,” you can add honey to it.

You can also brew hibiscus for your child, which does not have pronounced tonic properties, but at the same time contains many vitamins.

Andrey Starikov, 930

Sugar is the most common product on our table, sweet and pleasant. We can use it and not even know about it. Some people fear it like fire and call it “white death.” But is he as dangerous as they say?

It has been scientifically proven that with complete abstinence from glucose long time You can get a disease such as sclerosis and this disease, unfortunately, has no cure.

Little babies up to six months old get glucose and everything they need from their mother’s milk or formula, but what next? Of course, baby purees and dairy products come to the rescue; they also contain a lot of useful glucose.

Which sugar is right and which is not for a small growing organism? What should children drink - black or green tea, and at what age should they start? What are the benefits and harms of such a drink for children? How to cook properly? Let's look into this further.

Age restrictions for use

Children under two years of age should absolutely not be allowed to drink “adult drinks” such as black, white and green tea, as well as coffee.
When you start introducing tea into your diet, you should brew it not from bagged tea, but from whole leaves, in order to preserve all the benefits of the drink.
You also need to monitor the strength at the outlet, the color of the liquid should be pale yellow, the drink itself should be slightly warm. You should let your child drink it for no more than an hour, as then all the beneficial substances will evaporate completely.
It is better to completely eliminate white and brown sugar before the age of five; you can replace it with the so-called “ healthy carbohydrates»: dried fruits, frozen berries, fresh berries and fruits. Just brew tea with them.
If you still decide to introduce regular sucrose, then limit yourself to a couple of teaspoons per mug, but no more than three to four tablespoons per day.

Beneficial effects of tea with sugar

White beet sugar and brown cane contain the same amount useful substances. The difference between them on the functioning of the body is negligible, which cannot be said about the price.

Glucose itself has a beneficial effect on the intellectual functioning of the brain, increasing its productivity.
It also helps cope with bad mood.
Improves the functioning of the liver and spleen.
In combination with the beneficial properties of tea, which contains magnesium, zinc, manganese, fluorine, vitamins A and C, a truly therapeutic effect is achieved for the whole body.
This tea will help remove all toxins from the body, normalize metabolism, and strengthen the circulatory system.

Who should be wary of sweet tea?

First of all, diabetics and people at risk of this disease should not drink this tea.
It should not be taken by anyone who is obese.
Children too young due to high content theine and oxalic acid, which are not very beneficial for child development.
Children with hyperactivity are also contraindicated.

How to cook properly?

Brew black tea leaves in a mug previously scalded with boiling water. Cover with a lid for ten to twenty minutes. Add five grams of sugar. Drink with pleasure.

For very small children, you can buy special tea for babies; try using honey, if you are not allergic, or fruit. Be healthy!

Elena Malysheva has her own opinion about the benefits of white and brown sugar. If you are interested, then spend 10 minutes on this video, it details the differences between sugars (highly refined and unrefined).

Tea - traditional drink for Russians and not only for them. It is impossible to find a person who is not familiar with its taste. Tea contains many biologically active substances: vitamins (especially B and C), microelements (the most valuable: potassium, magnesium, zinc, manganese), tannins, alkaloids, pigments - they all have positive and negative effects on the human body. Question: When can you give your child tea? interests many parents.

Tea contains tannins - tannins, which can bind iron and prevent its absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. That's why Drinking tea by infants can lead to anemia.
Tea contains alkaloids, including caffeine, but in tea it is associated with tannins, therefore it has a milder, but longer-lasting effect and is called theine. Thein excites nervous system, accelerates metabolism, enhances gastric secretion and intestinal motility, increases heart rate and temperature. Young children are more sensitive to theine than adults. Caffeine (theine) disrupts the formation of vitamin D in the body and contributes to the development of rickets. Other tea alkaloids have a vasodilator and diuretic effect, which is also not beneficial for young children.
Tea contains many purine bases, from which the body produces uric acid and its salts. The kidneys of a child in the first year of life are not mature enough to excrete. The accumulation of uric acid in the blood can lead to increased excitability, irritability, skin rashes, and frequent vomiting.
Tea stains tooth enamel and binds calcium. Tea contains oxalic acid, which can bind calcium. In children of the first year of life, the main food is milk; it contains a lot of calcium, so if tea is consumed after meals, oxalic acid is neutralized in the gastrointestinal tract and does not enter the blood in significant quantities. But if tea is given before meals or between feedings, insoluble calcium and oxalic acid compounds accumulate in the blood and urine. Oxalic acid interacts with calcium in teeth, destroying them; in addition, coloring pigments contained in tea are deposited in the sensitive tooth enamel of milk teeth.

For adults, these effects are noticeable only when drinking very strong tea or a large amount of it, and in children's body even influences a small amount of tea.

Should you give your child black or green tea?

Black and green tea are variations of the same product.

They differ in production technology. Black tea is fermented, but green tea is not. Green tea retains more vitamins, especially B vitamins and flavonoids (antioxidants), but also contains more caffeine. Therefore, it is recommended to give black tea to children of preschool and primary school age.

How to brew and how to give tea to your child

After 2 years, children are not allowed strong tea: Brew 1/2 teaspoon of tea leaves per 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 2-3 minutes (tea does not need to be brewed for a long time; long-term infusion increases its concentration), strain, cool until warm and give:

up to 3 years, 50 ml - 3-4 times a week,
from 3 to 6 years old, you can increase the amount of tea to 100 ml - 3-4 times a week,
from 7 years old you can give stronger tea: 1 tsp per 200 ml of boiling water, 200 ml 3-4 times a week,
Children are not given tea before bed because of its stimulating effect,
tea is not given at high temperatures, because it can help increase it,
tea should be given freshly brewed, after an hour the concentration of vitamins in it significantly decreases, and when heated, harmful substances are formed,
It is better to give tea to children warm, hot tea destroys tooth enamel and has a pronounced irritating effect on the stomach, and cold is less absorbed and loses some of the vitamins.

Tea that is good for children

Tea with milk

Exactly This tea is recommended for young children and most often appears on the menu of kindergartens and primary schools. This tea is healthier than regular tea. For children under 3 years of age, tea is diluted with milk by half; for children over 3 years of age, milk is simply added in an arbitrary amount.

Milk reduces some of the unwanted effects of tea

dilutes the tea, makes it less concentrated,
neutralizes oxalates in the cup, as a result they do not interact with tooth enamel, do not enter the blood, and, together with part of the calcium, are excreted by the intestines (thus the calcium that is already in the body is not washed out of it),
binds tannins and reduces their negative effects, including their irritating effect on the gastric mucosa and their binding of iron,
milk prevents the interaction of tea pigments with tooth enamel,

Preserved in tea with milk

all vitamins and microelements, which are in regular tea,
caffeine (theine), milk does not affect its absorption, the stimulating effect of tea on the nervous system remains, therefore it is not recommended to drink this tea at night,
purine bases.

Tea with sugar

Tea with sugar is not good for children. Sugar doesn't make tea better useful properties. The less sugar there is in tea, the better for the child. It is best if the child drinks tea without sugar.

Tea with honey

To improve the taste of tea, significantly It's healthier to add honey to it. This tea is especially suitable for colds. You can read more about him.

Tea with fruits and berries

To improve the taste of tea healthier than sugar, add into it:

sliced apple, zest or pieces lemon, black currants- these teas are rich in vitamin C and iron,
raspberries- has a good effect on the gastrointestinal tract, has an antipyretic effect,
strawberries, lemon balm, mint- regulate metabolism, calm.

Also useful for children herbal and fruit teas, which do not contain regular tea. Their Can cook at home and give to a child, but it is always better to consult a doctor.

Exist ready-made teas for children which can be consumed every day as well as medicinal ones that the doctor prescribes as medicine.

It is important for children to get enough fluids every day. And if about the benefits ordinary water, fresh juices, homemade compotes or fruit drinks are known to parents, then such a popular drink as tea raises doubts. Let's figure out whether it is possible to give it to a small child, at what age it is acceptable to give it to a baby, and what is the best way to prepare this drink for children.

A child, imitating adults, wants to try tea at an early age

Pros: a little about the benefits

Tea in the traditional sense is useful for adults; infants should wait to introduce it into the diet

Harm

Drinking tea in early childhood can have the following negative effects:

Cause an allergic reaction.
Provoke hyperactivity and increased excitability.
Impair sleep, cause insomnia and nightmares.
Worse heart function (increase heart rate).
Has a bad effect on memory and attention.
Provoke the appearance of anemia.
Cause the accumulation of uric acid salts.
Bind calcium.
Change the color of tooth enamel.

Adults will notice these effects only if they drink it in excess every day, but even a small amount of this drink can negatively affect a child.

Are there any contraindications?

Tea should not be given to a child if:

Hypersensitivity to caffeine.
Gastritis or peptic ulcer.
Elevated temperature.
Insomnia.
Kidney diseases.

Consider contraindications before giving your child black tea

Children's teas

All the properties and effects described above are typical for black tea, but in stores you will certainly see special teas intended for young children. These are products from the brands Hipp, Babushkino Lukoshko, Humana, Heinz, Bebi and others. Some of them are soluble (presented as granules), while others are in bags. All the ingredients are baby tea safe for babies.

Usually this is not just a drink, but one of medicinal products, since such children's tea has its own effect on the child's body:

Dill or fennel - helps eliminate intestinal colic and relieve abdominal pain.
Chamomile - helps you fall asleep quickly, has an anti-inflammatory effect, and improves digestion.
Linden - has a beneficial effect on sleep and the functioning of the nervous system.
Mint - will help calm the nervous system, relieve flatulence and bloating.

In infancy, it is allowed to drink children's teas, the use of which has indications

From what month can it be introduced into the diet?

Infants are only allowed to be given special tea intended for small children. The age at which it can be given to a baby is indicated on the packaging. Usually fennel tea given from 1 month, chamomile and linden - from 4 months, and vitamin with berries and fruits, as well as mint and ginger - from 5-6 months. Tea is not recommended for newborns, and the introduction of crumbs of any baby tea into the diet should first be discussed with a pediatrician.

Black tea is not recommended for children under 2-3 years of age. After two years, a child can brew a weak drink and give it in limited quantities. Due to the high caffeine and tannin content, familiarity with green tea should be postponed until 10-11 years of age or even postpone the trial of such a drink to a later period.

How to brew?

The drink that the child will drink should be brewed very weakly. For 200 milliliters of boiled water, take half a teaspoon of tea leaves. Infuse the drink for a maximum of two to three minutes so that the concentration of active substances is low. After straining the tea, cool it to the desired temperature and offer it to your child.

Black tea offered to a 3-year-old child should be weakly brewed.

Standards of use

Children from 2 to 3 years old can be given weak black tea up to 4 times a week. A single serving of the drink is 50 ml.
For children over 3 years of age and up to 6 years of age, a single serving of a weak drink can be increased to 100 ml.
For children over seven years old, the tea may be stronger (take a teaspoon of raw material per 200 ml of boiling water). One serving at this age is 200 ml.

Sufficiently strong tea can only be brewed for children over 7 years old.

Recipes and their benefits

With milk

Supplementation with milk is recommended for preschoolers and primary school children. Children 2-3 years old should dilute brewed tea with milk 50 to 50, and for children over 3 years old, milk is added to the drink in an arbitrary amount.

Added milk lowers the concentration of compounds harmful to the baby, and also neutralizes tannins and oxalates. In addition, milk prevents tea pigments from interacting with tooth enamel.

With ginger

Tea made from ginger normalizes digestion, helps with nausea, headaches, runny nose, and colds. It has the ability to strengthen the immune system and eliminate cough. To prepare, a piece of ginger root about 3-5 cm is peeled and cut or grated, then poured with water brought to a boil (0.5 l). The drink should be infused for 30-60 minutes. You can add sugar, honey, and a slice of citrus to this tea.

Ginger tea strengthens the immune system and helps cope with colds and coughs

With lemon

This tea is rich in vitamin C, so it is an excellent prevention of colds. After preparing weak black tea, reduce its temperature to 50°C, and then add a slice of lemon or a spoonful of lemon juice to the drink. You can sweeten it with honey or sugar.

With raspberries

This drink is noted positive influence on digestive system, as well as an antipyretic effect. Add dried, frozen or fresh raspberries to the tea infusion, brew with boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes.

With thyme

This tea supports immune system, acts as a source of vitamins (group B, vitamin A, vitamin C) and mineral compounds, as well as organic acids, resins and other useful substances. It is recommended to cook for children over 2 years of age for the treatment of ARVI, cough, runny nose, and flu.

To brew it, add a teaspoon of the dried plant to the black tea brew. This amount is enough for an average teapot. You can also use this tea to prevent colds, however, like any other herbal teas, you should not drink it every day.

Tea with thyme is very useful, it calms and gives strength.

If you are going to give your child black tea, buy it from a specialty store. It is best to take it without any additional ingredients.
You should not brew tea in a bag for your child, as its composition is questionable.
Enter in children's menu Any tea should be used with caution, like any other product unfamiliar to the child. Give it to your baby for breakfast the first time and watch your child’s reaction for the rest of the day. If the drink has affected your behavior and sleep or caused any other negative effects, stop drinking it for a while.
Be especially careful with any herbal teas, since on healing herbs the child may develop an allergic reaction.
Hibiscus can be given to a child from 3 years of age. This drink has the ability to strengthen the immune system.
You should not give tea to your child in the afternoon, as its stimulating effect can worsen falling asleep and staying asleep.

For information about when to give tea to a child, see Dr. Komarovsky’s program.