Herbal Tea for Babies and Children

What the NHS, EU regulators, NCCIH and pediatric case reports say about herbal tea for babies and children, including documented infant poisonings, age limits and the missing colic evidence.

Content last updated October 22, 2026. This page has not been medically reviewed.

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Read this first. Talk to your baby's clinician before giving a baby any herbal tea. The NHS (UK) says breast milk is the only food or drink babies need in the first 6 months, and that tea and coffee are not suitable for babies or young children. [1] Published infant poisonings from herbal teas include:

Star anise tea: a pediatric case series of 7 infants with neurologic reactions after home-given star anise tea. The authors found Chinese star anise (Illicium verum) contaminated with Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum) and said it should no longer be given to infants. [2][3]
Pennyroyal in mint tea: two infants developed liver and brain injury after mint teas that contained pennyroyal oil; one died. [4]
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: an 18-month-old boy who had a tea mixture from the third month of life developed hepatic veno-occlusive disease. The parents had gathered the wrong plant. [5]

In the US, Poison Help is 1-800-222-1222; call 911 if a child has collapsed, had a seizure, has trouble breathing or cannot be woken. [6] See a child swallowed a supplement or natural product.

What age limits say

EU herbal monographs (European Medicines Agency) are written for herbal medicines, and "not established" means data are missing.

Tea (plant)	Age statement in the EU monograph
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)	Oral use of the herbal tea under 6 months not established, because of nutrition and fluid-intake considerations [7]
Fennel fruit (Foeniculum vulgare)	Not recommended under 4 years [8]
Peppermint (Mentha × piperita)	Not recommended under 4 years [9]
Valerian	Not recommended under 12 years [10]
Lemon balm, passionflower	Use under 12 years not established [11][12]
Senna	Contraindicated under 12 years [13]
Licorice, red raspberry leaf	Use under 18 years not established [14][15]

NCCIH calls chamomile possibly safe for adults and children for short-term medicinal use, and likely safe in tea amounts for adults. [16] The NHS adds that if sugar is added to tea, tooth decay can follow. [1]

Herbal tea for colic: tradition and evidence

Traditional use: herbal teas are given to infants for colic in many homes. LactMed says fennel and chamomile have been "safely and effectively" used alone and with other herbs in infants for colic. [17][18] That statement is LactMed's summary; we could not read the underlying trial abstracts.

Research: Proper evidence not found for herbal tea as a colic treatment. We searched PubMed on 23 October 2026 for systematic reviews of herbal colic remedies and found none; two colic reviews returned by the search covered manual therapy, probiotics, simethicone, acupuncture and other approaches, not herbal tea. [19][20][21] Label: insufficient evidence.

What a reader can do

Ask your pediatrician or health visitor before any herbal tea, and bring the product label. See children and teens and babies and infants.

Frequently asked questions

Can babies have chamomile tea?

The EU monograph says oral use of chamomile tea under 6 months has not been established, and the NHS says tea is not suitable for babies. [7][1]

Is fennel tea safe for infants with colic?

LactMed says fennel has been used with other herbs for infant colic, but the EU monograph does not recommend it under 4 years. We found no readable trial of fennel tea. [17][8]

Is star anise tea safe for babies?

A pediatric case series reported neurologic reactions in 7 infants and recommended it no longer be given to infants. [2]

At what age can a child have herbal tea?

No single age appears in the sources we read. The EU monographs range from 6 months to 18 years depending on the herb. [7][15]

What if my child drank a herbal tea and seems unwell?

Call Poison Help in the US at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 for collapse, seizure or trouble breathing. [6]

More details: evidence, limits and cautions

The details behind this page: cautions, limits of the evidence and where sources disagree. Open any note to read it.