I hope you were able to read my previous post about the basics of Essential Oils. It would be a good basis before you read this particular post on good ways to use essential oils to help kids and babies.
For me, the biggest thing about essential oil use is safety! Essential oils are powerful, so we definitely have to be careful about how we use them. The #1 thing to know is to never let a child ingest the oils. Some brands say that it’s ok if they’re 7 years old or older, but definitely never before then!
Another key with using essential oils with babies or kids is dilution. NEVER use an essential oil directly on their skin. Little ones have such sensitive and thin skin, and you definitely don’t want anything to irritate or burn them! The great thing about dilution is that it’s not only the safest way to use oils, it also saves you money since your essential oils will go further. Our favorite oil to dilute with is coconut oil, but you can also use almond, jojoba or olive oil. Personally, I just love how good coconut oil smells, plus we know it’s good for the skin by itself, so why not?
When diluting I would start with 1tbsp of a carrier oil (like coconut oil) per 1 drop of the essential oil. Since Little Piñata is 2 now and we know that he’s not sensitive to any of the oils we’ve used on him, I will often dilute with 1 tsp of carrier oil to 1 drop of essential oil. When you put the oil on the bottom of a baby’s feet, you’ll also want to put a sock over those feet so they don’t put them in their mouths!
Personally, I like to make our “oil mixes” ahead of time and have them around the house when I need them. Some places sell handy roller bottles where you can mix the essential oils with the carrier oils and have them ready to “swipe” on your kid when you need them, but I just haven’t invested in that yet. The most important thing is that you can only put essential oils in glass or stainless steel. Since essential oils often have a “detoxifying” effect, if they are stored in plastic they can leach toxins out of the plastic, so you definitely don’t want that!
A great way to use oils with kiddos is aromatically. If they are feeling stuffy there are great oils to put in a diffuser or cold-air humidifier in their rooms to help clear out their nasal passages at night. We have had a lot of bad luck with cold-air humidifiers and essential oils since they’re usually made of plastic. The only one we’ve had luck with is actually from Wal-Mart.com! These Suppentown Humidifiers have a specific place for the oils so that the oils don’t corrode the plastic, but if you really want the scent to fill your little one’s room, a good diffuser is the way to go.
So, with all the safety mentioned, here are some great oils to use on babies and kiddos. Even though I will just mention the essential oils below, know what we always, always dilute appropriately!
1. Sleep!
What parent doesn’t need help with sleep? Either for themselves or for their little ones? We put a diluted mix of lavender on Little P’s feet every night to help him sleep. You can also use Roman Chamomile as long as you dilute it well. Putting a diffuser in the room with Lavender would also really promote all night relaxation and help your little one sleep through the night.
2. Teething
When we started thinking that Little Piñata might be teething, we started putting lavender along his jawline at bedtime. And just a couple of weeks ago I noticed that ALL of his teeth had come in and we didn’t even realize it! So, I think the lavender definitely helped with the pain. This is another area where you could add Roman Chamomile.
3. Colic
We didn’t struggle with this personally, but Lavender is supposed to help calm baby colic! Based on what I’ve heard about colic I’d say it’s worth a try. 
4. Diaper Rash
Ok, so I hate to repeat it, but lavender of course! Whenever Little P gets a bit of diaper rash we use Lavender with coconut oil on it and it heals so quickly!
5. Tummy Aches
I know it’s hard to tell when you baby has a tummy ache, but if you suspect it, you can use wild orange and/or Roman Chamomile. At our house we use a digestive blend (with peppermint, fennel and a few other oils) along with orange whenever we or Little P has an upset stomach.
6. Fever
For a child with a fever you could dilute peppermint or lime and put some on the back of their neck or feet, but because peppermint is a stronger oil I wouldn’t use it on a baby, so I would stick to lavender for a baby with a fever.
7. Colds
For colds we actually use a respiratory and immunity blend. The immunity blend helps kill germs and boost immunity. We would heavily dilute that oil and put it on the bottom of his feet. We would then put both blends in the diffuser in his room. Sometimes we even put the diluted respiratory blend on his chest. Once we started this protocol with him, he would be over his colds within 2-3 days! And his nighttime sleep was never interrupted, so we were impressed with how well they worked.
If you’re dealing with younger kids, you may want to use “gentler” oils, so oils like lemon, lavender and melaluca would definitely help. They probably wouldn’t be as good at opening up those nasal passageways though, so I would recommend oils like Eucalyptus, Peppermint, and Laurel Leaf in the diffuser to help them breathe.
8. Ear Infections: We are really lucky that Little Piñata has never gotten an ear infection. But, a friend of mine has been able to use oils on her toddler whenever he would have an ear infection and never had to use antibiotics! For ear infections the most commonly recommended oil is Melaluca behind the ear (or a drop of it on a cotton ball placed in the ear). Some people recommend Oregano, but that’s quite a strong and hot oil, so I wouldn’t use it on babies and would heavily dilute it on toddlers.
9. Insect Bites: Poor Little P is SO sensitive to bug bites! So, we use this remedy all the time of melaluca and lavender. If he has a particularly awful bug bite we will put some Frankincense on it as well.
10. Constipation: A great gentle oil for kiddos with constipation is orange oil. After diluting it you can just rub a little bit on their belly to help their system work it all out.
11. Sunburns: Hopefully you don’t often have this, but lavender is a great relief to any kind of burn, including sunburn!
I hope this list gives you an idea of where to start with oils on your kiddos. I like to remember that essential oils don’t heal your body, but they just help give your body what it needs to heal itself. They can help support your little kiddos’ immune systems as they fight various bugs or ailments and I love that they don’t have side effects like drugs often can. Of course, if your child needs medication, I would never suggest not using them! We have just been very grateful we haven’t often had to use them thanks to our use of these oils.
*I do not claim to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure disease. If you are under a doctor’s supervision, please consult with them before making any changes.
blogger / pomegranate / 3491 posts
So interesting – thank you for sharing all this!!
squash / 13208 posts
Any thoughts on something for anxiety in children?
Is topical better than breathing?
Does it work quickly or take several hours?
pear / 1837 posts
I diffuse Serenity in my DD’s room at night and put some on her big toe… she loves her “special lotion” and asks for it at bedtime
I am anxiously awaiting my next shipment of oils, and am loving your posts! Thank you!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@Mamaof2: for anxiety, serenity, lavender and.Roman Chamomile would be great for kids! And topical and aromatic are just different. If the use is for.any mood issues, like anxiety or depression, aromatic is probably best since smelling the oils gets the oils to your brain so quickly to help with mood. Depending what the issue is it works immediately or can take time. If you put oils on a cut or burn the injury won’t disappear right away, but you may notice a difference in minutes or certainly hours. Automatically you would notice.a difference in mood.or energy pretty quickly.
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@LulaBee: oh yay! I know Little P always asks for “wavender” on his boo-boos.
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
Hmm help with sleep eh? I may have to try this
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
what about peppermint oil for mosquitos?
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@Mrs. Chipmunk: I try not to use peppermint as much on little kids, because it’s one that’s kind of controversial for use on little ones, so I especially wouldn’t recommend it for use with babies. DoTerra has a blend called TerraShield that we like. I like to add Geranium to it too. But, Lemongrass and Lavender would be good to try. I think Peppermint would be really good in a diffuser outside to keep the mosquitoes away!
But, maybe not on babies skin. 
You could try it on yourself though!
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
i’m definitely thinking for me – i’m a mosquito magnet! how would you recommend i use it? could i put it all over my arms and legs with coconut oil?
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@Mrs. Chipmunk: Oh now! Mosquito magnet is an awful role to have! So, the book I use has 3 different recommended blends. The first blend is marked as the MOST recommended (so likely most effective).
Combine 5 drops lavender, 5 drops lemongrass, 3 drops peppermint and 1 drop thyme. Add to 8oz water and spray with a fine-mist GLASS spray bottle.
If it were me I might just use the TerraShield (their blend) and add peppermint to it. And hopefully that would work without having to add lavender or thyme (and so I would buy fewer things). Essential oils are so strong, if you wanted it all over your body (which it sounds like you would), you want to add it to water or coconut oil to dilute it.
blogger / clementine / 998 posts
what would happen if you used a stainless or plastic bottle? do you have a recommendation of where to get a glass bottle? the nozzle and “straw” part would still probably be plastic, yeah?
cherry / 190 posts
Peppermint is definitely controversial for kids, especially those under 6. Breathe has peppermint in the blend, so it’s one of the “iffy” ones for me to use with my LO. I have, however, used it on myself in a pinch, when I’m too congested to breathe, because I’d rather go with an oil (even while breastfeeding) than something stronger like Afrin that would affect my supply. Most decongestants are no-nos while nursing anyway.
One thing I would also like to add, is that there are also a lot of other holistic remedies to reach for in tandem with oils. Like garlic mullein for ear infections. Hydrosols are also a safe bet, which are made from the steam of the EO process, and thus less powerful.
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@Mrs. Chipmunk: Your question was so good I asked people who have been using the oils for longer. A stainless steel bottle would be fine.
But, essential oils can “soak up” chemicals because of their cleansing nature, so plastic is generally seen as unsafe. But, in the case of a bottle that is made FOR use with essential oils, the nozzle and straw parts would be high-enough quality plastic that that should be a problem (vs the plastic in reusable water bottles, etc.)
You can get the spray bottles at health food stores, Amazon or aromatools.com. I’m buying this one in July for our bug repellent mix. https://www.aromatools.com/2_oz_Amber_Glass_Bottle_with_Black_Trigger_Spray_p/9120g.htm
blogger / persimmon / 1220 posts
I have some co-workers who are super into DoTerra EOs so I’ve sampled some. Nice natural alternative to meds!
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
Big fan of lavender for calming time.
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
many of my friends are really into EOs! i need to learn more!
blogger / persimmon / 1398 posts
This is a great post!! I favorited it for when I have more brain power to actually “absorb” it all!
guest
Where did you get those little glass jars? I’ve been looking everywhere for them!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
I got them at Target! Here’s the link! http://www.target.com/p/anchor-hocking-glass-custard-cups-with-snap-on-lids-set-of-4-clear-6-oz/-/A-11031034?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=11031034&CPNG=Kitchen&kpid=11031034&LID=26pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=11031034&kpid=11031034&gclid=CMq6yNSAtMACFSbl7Aod_h4AiQ
guest
Hi, you mentioned a book you use to check what eos to use. Could you provide the title of the book.? Really interesting article! Thanks
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@E here’s the book we reference all the time!
http://www.aromatools.com/Modern_Essentials_Sixth_Edition_2014_p/1151.htm
guest
I’m wanting to diffuse oil in my 6 month old room for sleep. How many drops do I need to use? Do you still dilute it if you are diffusing? I’m new to all of this. Thanks!!
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
Hi Blayne! You should have directions in your diffuser but usually you add water up to the fill line and then add a few drops of the oil. Definitely don’t dilute to diffuse. The water already dilutes it. I start with 2-3 drops and add more the next time if I want a stronger smell.
guest
Hello, I’m interested in buying the lavender oil. My question is, if I add it to the humidifier is it safe for my 2 month baby? Thank you
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@marisol definitely safe for the baby, but I would use a diffuser and not a humidifier. A warm air humidifier will break down the oils, making them less effective. And also, humidifiers in general are made of cheap plastic that breaks when oils are used in them.
guest
Hi, could you let me know how did you apply lavender oil on the jaw line for teething pain? Did you dilute it? Thank you
blogger / pear / 1563 posts
@marta: I did dilute it! Probably about 1-2 drops per tsp of carrier oil, like coconut oil. Or put some coconut oil in the palm of your hand and then add a drop of the lavender and rub that all in.
guest
Hi! Does it matter if I put oils on any type of humidifier? I read this buying guide(https://tophumidifierreview.com/humidifier-buying-guide-for-baby) and realised that there are so many models in the market!