Tina Taylor - Herbal Medicine for Children: Safe and Effective Practices

In this episode, we sit down with Tina Taylor, an experienced naturopath, lecturer, and PhD candidate, to explore the art and science of safely prescribing herbal medicine for children. Tina shares her wealth of knowledge on tailoring treatments to suit the unique needs of young patients, ensuring safety and efficacy at every step. She also highlights some of her go-to herbs for addressing common childhood conditions, offering practical tips and insights to build confidence in supporting this cohort of patients in clinic.

In this Episode:

2:30 – Welcome Tina

3:00 – The benefits of prescribing herbs to children

5:00 – Important considerations when prescribing herbs to children

7:13 – Dosage rules for children

9:25 – GIT and liver metabolism in children

9:56 – Children only require small doses of herbs

11:04 – Breastfeeding as a delivery of herbs to infants

12:45 – Common conditions in infants and toddlers

13:40 – Common conditions in school-aged children

14:16 – Common conditions in teenagers

15:46 – Worms in children

18:00 – Pre and Probiotics

19:04 – Food intolerances and the gut microbiome

19:28 – Supporting the immune system through the gut

21:20 – Digestive herbs for children

25:22 – Herbs for reflux

26:42 – Strategies to address constipation

29:59 – Caution with licorice

31:49 – Herbs for stress in children

34:02 – Anxiety and sleep support

35:47 – Amino acids for nervous system support

40:18 – Passionflower for anxious children

42:10 – Pathology assessment in children

43:23 – Correcting nutrition and addressing the diet

46:20 – Encouraging children to be active

46:42 – Mindfulness and meditative practice

48:57 – Considerations when prescribing liquid herbs to teens on the learners or provisional licence

50:06 – Herbal and nutritional pearls and tips

53:17 – Herbal creams

56:30 – Deciphering what’s going on for a child when they cannot express themselves very well e.g. toddlers – working with the parents to look for signs

58:25 – Compliance and dosage tips

Bio: Tina holds a BHSc in Nutritional Medicine and BHSc in Naturopathic Medicine and has been in clinical practice since 2008, supporting individuals with diverse health issues and goals and children's health. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice from SCU, a Diploma in Integrated Somatic Psychotherapy, and is currently a PhD Candidate at UTS researching 'Patient-focused public health information shared by Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine practitioners in clinical encounters and patient engagement.’ With over 12 years of teaching experience at Endeavour College of Natural Health, Tina supervised Naturopathy and Nutritional Medicine student clinics for 7 years and contributed to teaching and supervision at the Australian College of Natural Therapies (now Torrens University). She continues to supervise Naturopathy clinics at Torrens University, combining her extensive expertise with a passion for mentoring future practitioners.