Who doesn’t love taking in pleasant scents? Beyond the simple fact, that good aromas are highly enjoyable, exposing your nose to certain smells derived from essential oils is one of thebest natural ways to deal with anxiety, lack of focus, and insomnia. If you use aromatherapy strategically for your kids, you can see improvements in their overall wellbeing.
Introducing Your Kids to Aromatherapy
Whether you usearomatherapy to help your kids sleep, feel more focused when getting schoolwork done, or to feel calm if they get anxious, there are a few important things to keep in mind. It’s best to go through a bit of testing to see how your kids react toessential oils. Not every kid will react positively to certain oils, so start out by using one type of oil at a time. Lavender oil is typically recommended as the best oil to start out with. It’s a calming scent that is known to reduce anxiety and help with sleep. Plus, it’s a gentle smell that kids typically enjoy right away. Be sure to make note of how your kids react to each essential oil you try to make sure they respond well to it.
It’s also recommended to start using essential oils for aromatherapy no earlier than about five years old. Some essential oils are more prone to causing allergic reactions for infants and toddlers.
Use Essential Oils Safely
It’s important to remember that essential oils are extracted in a way that makes them very concentrated. Essential oils should never be orally ingested or directly applied to the skin. If they are being used for skin application, they need to first be diluted with a carrier oil or lotion. It’s also important to remember that they are oils, which means they are flammable. So keep them stored away from open flames or sources of heat.
The best way to use essential oils to help your kids is to use a diffuser, which will disperse the scent through the air.
Read Labels Carefully
When you make your purchase of essential oils for aromatherapy, make sure you are getting good quality by reading the labels. Stay away from anything labeled “perfume oil” or “fragrance oil” since they aren’t pure essential oils. There should be five elements present on a good essential oil label: common name, Latin name, part of the plant used to extract the oil, country of origin, and method of extraction. If these elements aren’t present, it’s likely an inferior product and could contain additives that your kids won’t respond well to.
Once you have found high-quality essential oils at a good value and know how to use them safely, experiment with exposing your kids to the diffused scents to find the best ways your essential oils can help them feel calm, focused, and sleep more soundly.