calyx156 replied: "Codeine is an opiod, that is, an extremely strong narcotic and pain killer. If all your daughter has is a cough, codeine would be a completely inappropriate medication, total overkill. I really have to wonder about a mother who wants to give her daughter, no matter what age, medicine containing narcotics for a cold...If you have to go the allopathic route, try something containing guaifenisen, which is an expectorant. Or better yet, simply buy a bottle of Boericke & Tafel's Cough Syrup and a box of Panda Black Licorice (an excellent, highly effective expectorant). Best solutions to a cold I know. Add some slippery elm lozenges (also expectorants) and push lots of clear fluids and miso or chicken soup. Almost all colds and coughs are viral, and it's mostly a waiting game to heal them anyway. Look at it as the body making seasonal adjustments and getting rid of the guck (mucous) it's had hanging about or forming since last one was ill. It's wonderful the body has the capacity to clean itself out. The fact that anyone would want to suppress that function amazes me. Exactly what do you folks think happens to dead white cells, intercellular waste and junk, the bodies of invading viruses, fungi and bacteria? It is necessary for the body to have a good cold for itself every once and a while. Suppressing symptoms leads to worse symptoms/diseases later on. Physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. What must come up and out, must come up and out. To drive it back in deeper worsens the discharge later on, and can lead to auto-immune diseases and cancer as well. Read, people. Do some reading and some study. You live in bodies. Don't you think it's time you learned how they work and how to take care of them? Here's a clue: synthetic chemicals are NOT about HEALING, they are about suppression of symptoms, and the backlash is simply HUGE! Every bill comes due in its day, and one does not get out of paying by claiming ignorance."