Sleeping position for baby with cold

Babies and little kids are no strangers to runny noses and coughs.

Average age of baby's first cold

In fact, babies can catch eight or more colds in their first year alone – especially during cold and flu season if they attend daycare or have school-age siblings.

Whether it's your baby's first sniffle or what seems like the thousandth, it can be confusing to identify what's going on and how to help your child.

Here's how to handle your baby's cold, plus when to reach out to your pediatrician.

Baby cold symptoms

How your baby looks and behaves can tell you a lot.

If they have a runny nose, cough, and possibly a low-grade fever, but play and eat as usual, it's probably a cold and not the flu, allergies, or another illness.

Cold symptoms include:

• Runny nose with clear mucus that may thicken and turn gray, yellow, or green
• Congestion
• Mild coughing
• Low-grade fever (but not always)