The doctors change their minds too many times. OTC cough syrup is not good for children under 4 - which is fine because I never liked the stuff anyway. All it did was mask the symptoms so that they could not get better half the time. Good old raw unpasturized honey has always done the trick. I will give this to them before bedtime and it really does help the cough and this is with a child that would cough all night long. And if they wake up with a sore throat. This sometimes will just nip it in the bud and get rid of it. I love the honey!