When your child is sick you feel so terrible for them, and all you want to do is help them feel better, especially when they have a gunky, chesty cough that keeps them up all night!

I know it’s absolutely normal for kids to get coughs – in fact, young children can catch between 6 to 12 colds a year. And during winter, it feels as if the kids are constantly sniffling and coughing. But as parents we want to do everything we can to help soothe and relieve coughs and chesty congestion due to a cold.

What Causes A Chesty Cough?

Chesty coughs can be caused by the mucus function capturing unwanted particles in our airways, which is a common symptom of a respiratory-tract infection due to colds and flu. When there is a build-up of mucus in the lungs, the cough tends to get more chesty.

These are our top tips to help provide relief for your child’s chesty cough.

1) Little Coughs

Little Coughs provides soothing relief of chesty coughs. Available in two great flavours, Little Coughs comes in Raspberry and Original (mild aniseed) syrup.

Little Coughs provides soothing relief for those loud chesty coughs. Its active ingredient is natural ivy leaf (Hedera helix) extract, which works to increase secretions in the respiratory tract to help thin and loosen mucus, making it easier to cough up and clear chest congestion.

The use of ivy leaf to clear chest congestion goes back hundreds of years so you know it’s tried and tested.

Little Coughs is suitable for the whole family including children from 6 months of age, but remember to consult your healthcare professional before using it for children under 2 years of age.

2) Staying Hydrated

Keeping your child hydrated when they have a cold is very important. Staying hydrated ensures the body can function properly.

If your child isn’t a good drinker it’s an even bigger challenge when they’re sick, but you must try and get lots of fluid into their bodies, as it’s so important to maintain hydration.

My secret weapons are ice-blocks or crushed ice and these are both fantastic ways to keep the kids hydrated, especially when they may not have much of an appetite.

3) Try A Humidifier

When your kids develop a chesty cough, bring out the humidifier. This adds moisture to the atmosphere, which helps prevent your child’s airways from drying out and also loosens mucus.

Run the humidifier in their room at night and it’s recommended you opt for a cool-mist product as opposed to a warm air one.

Be sure to open the windows and air out the room during the day too, as the humidity from the humidifier can cause mould.

4) Remove Irritants

Whenever cold season starts, you should do a clean up in your kids’ rooms and house in general. There are many irritants that can make a cough worse, so do your best to remove these. This includes perfume, room fresheners, pet hair, stuffed animals which can be big dust collectors and of course stay away from smoke.

5) Honey

We know that Mary Poppins was always a big fan of honey. For older toddlers and children, honey can help to thin congestion and loosen up a cough.

Parents can give kids over the age of 1 a spoonful of honey or else dissolve the honey in warm water or milk. This can help to improve the severity of the cough and help your child to sleep more easily.

Never give honey to kids younger than 12 months as they can get botulism from the bacteria in the honey.

6) Elevate

Some experts recommend elevating your child’s head with an extra pillow. This will help to open their airways and allow the mucus to drain. However, keep in mind that pillows are not recommended for your babies so this remedy is only for toddlers over the age of two.

When Should You See A Doctor?

If you are at all concerned about your child’s symptoms that persist or worsen talk to your doctor.

What are your top tips to help relieve your child’s chesty cough? Tell us in the comments below.

The team at Mouths of Mums is working with Little Coughs to bring you this article. As no one understands children’s health like the Little Range do. The Little Range helps children to get back to being children again, so you can enjoy the little moments that can make a big difference.

A couple of months ago we ran a review campaign for Little Coughs Raspberry Cough Syrup and 9 out of 10 MoM reviewers said they’d recommend the product to family and friends! Click HERE to read the reviews. You can purchase Little Coughs at leading pharmacies.

ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS FOR USE. IF SYMPTOMS PERSIST, TALK TO YOUR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. CONSULT YOUR HEALTH PROFESSIONAL BEFORE USING LITTLE COUGHS IN CHILDREN UNDER TWO YEARS OF AGE. CARE PHARMACEUTICALS IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF THIS MOUTHS IF MUMS PRODUCT REVIEW CAMPAIGN. PARTICIPANTS MAY RECEIVE A REWARD FOR THIER PRODUCT REVIEWS.