The use of natural therapies--things like herbs, medicinal teas, and tinctures--has been growing among adults for years. Now there's strong evidence that children are receiving these treatments in greater numbers too.

A recent study of 142 families in a pediatric emergency department in Atlanta found that 45 percent of caregivers had given their child an herbal, or "natural," product, including some outright quack remedies such as turpentine and cow chip tea. That last item, says study author Dr. Steven Lanski, of Emory University, "is exactly what it sounds like."

It wasn't only the high number of children taking herbal remedies that was surprising, said Lanski. Even more astonishing--and worrisome--was that 77 percent of those surveyed didn't believe, or had no idea, that natural products could have side effects.

In today's world of catch-phrases and trend-oriented marketing, "natural" doesn't always mean safe. Unlike prescription and over-the-counter medicines, the United States Food and Drug Administration doesn't regulate herbal remedies and other such supplements. Thus, they face no extensive tests before they are marketed and don't have to adhere to any standards of quality in manufacturing.

"Parents must be very careful," says Dr. Susan S. Baker, a physician who served on the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Alternative and Complementary Medicine. "They cannot assume that what is on a label is actually in the container. Similarly, they cannot assume that what is on the label is all that is in the container."