What do you give a young child with a cold? Many parents reach for over-the-counter cough and cold medications, but is that really the best medicine?

On a beautiful fall Friday in Omaha's Hanscom Park, it's tough to think about being sick, but when Teresa DeGeorge's kids catch a cold she reaches for over-the-counter medicine.

"When I use the Ibuprofen Cold I feel that it works better than just the Tylenol Cold and I feel like it helps with the congestion and helps them sleep better."

DeGeorge is no different than millions of parents who have used over-the-counter medicines for decades to treat their children's cold symptoms. Pediatricians say that's not always a good idea because they don't help and aren't safe.

"At times a cough medicine may be okay, but I would only do that under the supervision of your physician so that you know the product you're using is okay and you're using the right dose," says Dr. Betsy Stephenson.

What if it's late and your kid is feeling miserable and you can't get a hold of your doctor to get the okay to use these medications? Dr. Stephenson says a lot of old-fashioned remedies like nasal spray can help your little ones feel better.

"Simple things that our moms had us do, staying at home, resting, drinking fluids, a humidifier in their room, a cool mist humidifier, saline drops in the nose and gentle suctioning, those are always appropriate,” says Dr. Stephenson. “If they had a fever, using Tylenol would be fine."

DeGeorge still believes over-the-counter cold medicine does help. "I think it does. It seems to help my kids and when they sleep, I sleep."

Some pediatricians have asked the Food and Drug Administration to ban all over-the-counter cold medications for children ages two to six. The FDA already advises parents not to give any over-the-counter cold medicine to children under the age of two.