Honey and lemon are fine, alcohol is not. Children are more susceptible to alcohol than adults and an amount that might just make an adult a little drowsy could be more problematic for kids (this is also a reason to be wary of over the counter cold remedies, some of which contain pretty large doses of alcohol).

It also typically helps to have it warm, cold is not the sore throats friend.

Dear eric, French and german children get little sips of wine from toddlers on up. They seem healthy enough.Never heard of any childhood problems. Don't think they have near as much alcoholsm as americans. Has'nt it been proven that a little red wine a day prevents heart problems. Probably should try it but can't stand the taste. Do i need to look that up?

Resveratrol is looking like a very helpful compound, but thats not the issue here. The alcohol is not the active compound in the red wine, and redwine that has had the alcohol removed or redwine vinegar are both just as heart healthy. Just because Alcohol is given to children in other countries is not a good reason to do it, I could come up with a few examples of things they do in other countries that you would not agree with but that would be unfairly prejudicial, and I really don't know which side to take on the issue of alcohol and children, so I'll stay out of that question beyond nudging the argument away from irrelevant issues.

I had the same cough "medicine" (honey, lemon, whiskey) growing up. I must say though, the whiskey didn't make it into the formula until we were 8-10 years old. When we were tiny it was just honey and lemon.

FataMorgana

Cherries cut coughs. Cherry bark is usually indicated in tea form, but preserved cherries-- even the 100% fruit preserves in the jelly section of the supermarket-- work & kids love them.

Horehound also supresses coughs & works in dogs, too. (Cherries are not good for dogs)

Horehound is good for coughs but watch how much you use as it can act as a bowel purge. I love real horehound candy or tea & honey but my system revoltes if I use too much of a good thing, too often.

Speaking of horehound ... I was growing some last year, but not paying too much attention to it. Does it normally look like it is coated in powdery mildew? I haven't tried it before, haven't read much about it, thought maybe I overseeded and the hot-wet climate led to disease. Is that white stuff the 'hore' in horehound? I am now thinking of the term 'hoarfrost' and wonder if that was my bad. That planter is still alive, could make a comeback if it got some attention. But if it is powdery mildew, I will probably clear it out and do something else with that container.

To a variable degree, common horehound (Marrubium vulgare) is covered with fine white hairs that give it the "hoary" appearance. Close inspection of leaves should confirm this. There's a completely different plant known as "black horehound" which sometimes gets into horehound preparations for cough. This one (Ballota nigra) lacks the white hairs on the leaves and stems.

Generally, silver-leafed plants (especially those with hairy leaves/stems tend to suffer in hot, damp weather and may rot out if kept wet for too long.