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!

ADVERTISEMENT

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.