Is that even something? Can Ayurveda really help children prevent health issues or manage their problems? After all, in the first few months, all they do is drink milk, and then move on to simple baby food—so surely Ayurveda has no role to play, right?
But that’s where you’re mistaken. The earlier we begin incorporating Ayurvedic principles into life—starting from childhood, or even from the time a baby is in the mother’s womb—the stronger the foundation for lifelong health. This way, when life later gets busy with work and studies, children can handle it with greater ease and resilience.
Ayurveda even recommends panchakarma—a deep, cleansing detox—before a couple conceives, to eliminate potential imbalances and reduce the risk of health issues being passed on to the child. This is followed by garbhini paricharya (diet and lifestyle care during pregnancy), which emphasizes sattvic foods, calming music, mantras, storytelling, and emotional nourishment for the mother—because the child absorbs it all. Postpartum, Ayurveda places equal importance on the mother’s recovery with nourishing foods, ghee, warm oils, and rest, since the mother’s health directly supports the child’s early months of life.
When it comes to children, Ayurveda can be approached in two broad areas:
- Guidelines for children to maintain health in body and mind
- Ayurvedic or kitchen remedies for common childhood problems
How to Incorporate Ayurvedic Principles from the Start
It may sound challenging, but a few simple steps can lay a strong foundation—
For babies-
- Milk after weaning: Once the child is weaned off mother’s milk, make sure to boil cow’s milk and serve it lukewarm. Avoid adding sugar, especially the white processed sugar. Babies haven’t tasted sugar yet, so the natural sweetness of milk will feel similar to breast milk.
- Water habits: Introduce room-temperature or warm water rather than cold or iced water from the very beginning.
- Daily oil massage: For infants, a gentle daily oil massage followed by simple limb exercises improves flexibility, strengthens digestion, and supports growth.
- Deep sleep support:- Putting oil or ghee at the sole of the feet, behind ears, bregma point for good sleep.
Incorporate specific Ayurvedic routines for toddlers –
- Mouthcare – Tongue cleaning after brushing teeth. Thai simple exercise will help them with clean breath and remove toxins.
- Nasya– Daily applying ghee with your pinkie in each nostril. This helps with immunity, sleep and hormonal balance. If they are prone to congestion then get Ayurvedic oils after consulting a Pratcitioner.
- Ear and Jaw – children have a habit of clenching their teeth or grinding their teeth, massaging the ear pinna and behind the ear with sesame oil to keep the vata balanced as it gets prone to imbalance. This helps ease teh tension in teh ear throat area.
- Eyecare– Eye exercises – trataka. In today’s world of constant screen time, children are more prone to eye strain. Practicing simple eye exercises like trataka (steady gazing) can help strengthen their eyes and reduce fatigue.
- Skincare – incorporate weekly full body abhyanga if not daily abhyanga.
- Yoga: As soon as children start walking, introduce simple poses like tadasana (mountain pose), bhujangasana (cobra pose), and gradually teach them sun salutations as they grow older. These support digestion, flexibility, and growth.
- Pranayama: Teach abdominal breathing with longer exhales (double the exhale length), equipping them to handle stress as they grow.
- Stillness and meditation: Once toddlers, encourage them to sit with you in silence for a few minutes—focusing on their toy, their breath, or even a candlelight. This becomes the seed for lifelong meditation practice.
- Shlokas and stories: As soon as children begin speaking, introduce shlokas if they are of Indian descent—or any cultural equivalent for families of other backgrounds—along with bedtime stories that nurture love, compassion, and values.
- Family and community: Spend quality time, visit grandparents, aunts, uncles, parks, libraries, and community events. This sense of connection helps children feel secure and loved.
- Tonic – Introduction to rasayanas like chawanprash to boost their immunity and also to familiarize them with the taste.
- Diet: Tailor your child’s meals to help maintain dosha balance. (Refer to the previous blogs on recognizing your child’s prominent dosha and the corresponding diet to support health.) Note: The best food for your child is what your family and culture traditionally eat. Cook it fresh, and for babies, simply mash it. Familiar foods digest best and also keep them connected to their roots.
- Ayurvedic clock: Help children follow the Ayurvedic circadian rhythm—lighter breakfast and dinner, the main meal at midday (pitta time), morning yoga and pranayama, and an early bedtime around 8–9 PM. When this becomes a habit early on, it’s easy for them to continue even as life gets busier with school and, later, work.
2) Common Health Problems and Ayurvedic Home Remedies for children
Childhood is a time of kapha predominance, which can lead to congestion, colds, and digestive issues. These tend to be worse in children with a kapha prakriti (constitution). Gentle remedies include:
- For immunity: Warm turmeric milk regularly supports immunity and digestion.
- For avoiding phlegm: Add cardamom while boiling milk to reduce its mucus-forming property.
- For cold, congestion – You can also mix a few drops of ginger juice with honey and let the child lick it.
- For dry cough– mix unequal amounts of ghee and honey. Make the child lick the mix every hour.
- For colic pain: Mix a pinch of hing (asafoetida) in ghee and apply around the navel. Small sips of dry ginger water, fennel–cumin water (½ – 1 tsp at a time throughout the day) improve digestion and relieve gas.
- For allergies (milk, wheat, etc.): Weak digestion is often the root. Offer dry ginger water, fennel tea, or CCF tea (cumin, coriander, fennel) in small sips to strengthen digestion.
- For good sleep: Apply oil behind ears, on the soles of feet, and at the bregma point.
- During teething: Gently massage gums with a ghee or sesame oil with a pinch of clove powder on your finger.
Dosage for young children: Use the muhur muhur method—giving tiny licks of honey-based spice pastes or small sips of teas every half-hour through the day for maximum effect.
When to Seek Help
While home remedies are gentle and effective, Ayurveda also recommends knowing when to consult a practitioner. For persistent fevers, chronic coughs, skin conditions, or digestive problems, always seek professional advice rather than relying only on home treatments.
In short: Ayurveda has a strong role in children’s health—not as complicated rituals, but as daily rhythms, food choices, and simple home remedies that nurture body and mind from the very beginning.
Simmi Chopra is a highly accomplished Ayurvedic Practitioner NYC with a unique blend of expertise in traditional Ayurveda and modern science. Trained in the ancient healing system, she completed the prestigious Ayurveda Doctor program from Kerala Ayurveda. Based in New York City, Simmi practices at SIDH Ayur, where she offers personalized Ayurvedic therapies, dietary guidance, lifestyle recommendations, and herbal solutions to help clients achieve holistic balance.
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