We all want what is best for our children: the best food, the best school, the best life has to offer… 

What if you could keep your kid healthy every season and give them a better night's sleep? Using a humidifier in your child’s room is a surefire way to improve their overall health, soothe itchy skin, a dry or scratchy throat, and improve congestion. 

What is a Humidifier?

First and foremost: what actually is a humidifier? 

A humidifier is a home improvement tool that converts water into water vapor, which is then released from the device and into the air. The purpose of a humidifier is to increase the moisture levels or “humidity” of a particular space in order to maintain a healthy environment. 

Weather and seasonality are the primary culprits for dry, harsh air. When humidity levels drop to lower levels during the fall and winter months, you may observe symptoms like:

• Dry, chapped skin
• Eczema or psoriasis flareups
• Runny nose
• Congestion
• Dry or itchy throat
• Chronic cough and sore throat
• Dry, flaky scalp

Optimal humidity levels fall between 40% and 60% year around. Optimal indoor air quality should be a priority regardless of season. So, before packing up your humidifier for the season, think again. Similar to forced heat, air conditioners pull moisture out of the air, reducing humidity in the room making the air dry and stale. When the air is dry, it begins pulling the  moisture from your skin. To avoid this discomfort, when the heat or AC is on, your humidifier should be too.  Where exactly your home should fall on this relative humidity (RH) scale is based on outdoor temperatures, indoor factors such as heat or AC, or personal preference.

Benefits of a Humidifier for Kids

You may be familiar with the general benefits of a humidifier, but how exactly does a humidifier help kids and what are the benefits of regular use?

The key benefits of using a humidifier for your child’s room include, but are not limited to: easing congestion, soothing a sore throat, and improving dry, itchy skin. 

Ease Congestion 

As you probably know, children are especially prone to stuffy noses and dry sinuses. You have inevitably experienced the uncomfortability of a stuffy nose more than once in your life, and we can all agree that it is frustrating, exhausting, and just plain annoying. 

When your child experiences nasal congestion, they are likely to have disrupted sleep and overall frustration and fussiness. Using a humidifier in your child’s room can help to increase moisture in their nasal passage and reduce inflammation for easier breathing. 

Soothe Sore Throats

A dry, scratchy, and painful throat can make a good night’s sleep merely a lofty dream. A humidifier adds lubrication to your little human’s throat, which releases mucus buildup, alleviates dryness, and reduces coughing. 

Alleviate Dry, Itchy Skin

Youthful skin is delicate and sensitive. While our adult skin can weather a storm, literally, our children’s skin is far more volatile to the surrounding environment. When air is dry, your mini may experience itchy or flaky skin on their body, eczema flare ups, dry scalp, and more. 

Incorporating a humidifier into your home can improve dry, inflamed skin by improving the moisture barrier and reducing TEWL (transepidermal water loss) as a result of dehydrated air. 

What is the Best Humidifier for a Kid?

One of the most overwhelming parts of being a parent - that no one ever tells you - is the stress of making the “right” decision for your child. Luckily, the “right” decision is unique to you and your situation. 

So, how do you choose the right humidifier for your kiddo? We recommend considering the following features when choosing your humidifier: cool mist vs. warm mist, device output, run time, and cleaning requirements. 

Cool Mist vs. Warm Mist

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), using a warm mist humidifier or vaporizer poses a potential risk for infants or young children. The actual mist emitted from a warm mist humidifier is perfectly safe for children since the mist cools to room temperature before reaching the room surfaces. The water tank of warm mist humidifiers can be hot to the touch as a result of boiling water in the water tank. If your infant or toddler touches the water tank, or pulls the warm mist humidifier down from the shelf or nightstand, they can get seriously burned. 

The AAP recommends the use of a cool mist humidifier in your child’s room.. Finding the right cool mist humidifier is important. The safest humidifier for your child is an evaporative humidifier such as Canopy. Canopy’s anti-microbial filter catches bacteria and metals, and uses a no-mist technology to produce invisible, clean moisture. Canopy is easy to use, easy to clean, and will look great in your children’s bedrooms, playrooms or nurseries. For extra safety, make sure that the cord is also out of reach from your child, or completely hidden from view. As you know: children will get into anything. 

Output

When searching for the best humidifier for your child’s room or nursery, you need to consider the output of the device. You want the output of your humidifier to cover the entire square footage of your little one’s room. If the room size is 200 square feet, you need a humidifier with at least a 200 square foot output. If the room size is 500 square feet, you need a humidifier with 500 square foot output. 

Run Time

Run time is a key feature when choosing the best humidifier for your kid. The longer the run time on your humidifier, the larger the tank size. The larger the tank size, the less frequently you need to refill your device. 

Especially during the cold, winter months you need to keep the humidity levels of your child’s home at optimal levels. This means you need a device that covers not only the 12-14 hours of sleep at night, but 1-3 hours for naps, and 3-4 hours of play time in their room. At minimum, you need a humidifier with 16 hours of run time. Ideally, you want a humidifier with 20+ hours of runtime to reduce the frequency of refills. Canopy’s 2.5 liter tank has a 36 hour runtime, keeping your children hydrated day and night.

Cleaning Requirements

Let’s be honest: you could place your child in a life size bubble suit, and they would still manage to make a mess of your home. You have enough to clean without the stress of a complicated humidifier device with 47 parts. No, thank you. 

When choosing the best humidifier for your child’s room, you need a humidifier that is easy to take apart and most importantly easy to clean. Since it is recommended to  deep clean your humidifier weekly or monthly depending on the frequency of use, easy cleaning is a necessity. It’s important to regularly clean your humidifier to reduce the risk of any mold growth. Most humidifiers on the market are difficult to clean and the process can be tedious.   

Unlike the rest, Canopy is easy to take apart and dishwasher safe (I mean..wow). Simply take apart your Canopy, toss it in the dishwasher, sit back, relax, and pour that glass of wine you finally have time for. 

There are countless essential oil singles and blends available on the market, each with a set of unique therapeutic benefits. Whether you prefer diffusing your essential oils, applying your favorite oils topically with a carrier oil, or some combination of inhalation and topical use, essential oils can make a huge difference in your daily life. 

What are Essential Oils?

An essential oil is a highly concentrated plant extract that is captured through a process of distillation or mechanical pressing. Various parts of the plant are distilled or pressed when developing an essential oil; flowers, stems, bark, fruit, and leaves are all fair game. 

The distillation or pressing process pulls only the pure oil essence from various plants, leaving the remaining water content for various uses including hydrosols. The purity of essential oils is the reason for such a powerful aroma; in order to create just one pound of lavender essential oil, it requires 220 pounds of lavender flowers!

Just as each plant contains a varying therapeutic application in holistic medicine, so does the essential oil produced by each plant. Some essential oils are widely used in aromatherapy as well as in conjunction with western medicine treatments to expedite specific results. 

What is Aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy is the medicinal or therapeutic use of essential oil aromas. Aromatherapy comes in the form of inhalation or topical application. 

Before we delve into the key differences between inhalation and topical application, it is important to understand how aromatherapy works. The various scents emitted from essential oils stimulate the olfactory system (including your nose and brain); these scents move through the nasal passage and into the lungs and various parts of the body. When the scent molecules reach the brain, they primarily affect the limbic system. Your limbic system controls your emotions including stress and hormones and regulates your heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing. 

Diffusion

One way to reap the benefits of aromatherapy is by the use of a diffuser. A diffuser uses ultrasonic or evaporative technology to disperse essential oil infused vapor into the air. The aromatherapy benefits will vary depending on the essential oil or combination of essential oils diffused into the room. See our essential oil breakdown, below, for more information on the benefits of each popular essential oil.

Choosing the right aroma diffuser is important. Although less common, evaporative diffusion is the healthiest and cleanest way to diffuse essential oils. Evaporative diffusion is favored over ultrasonic as it requires no mist or water. This allows for the aroma to be diffused into the air without transmitting any oil, bacteria, or mold particles.

In addition to clean humidity, Canopy has a evaporation diffusion feature allowing you to diffuse essential oils with ease. Simply drop a few drops of your favorite essential oil on the diffuser puck, and enjoy the pure aromatherapy benefits. The oils will naturally evaporate into the air around you, providing the cleanest form of aromatherapy. Enjoy all of Canopy’s exclusive aroma kits to unwind, focus, and optimize your home space. 

Topical Application

Another way to revel in the benefits of essential oils is by topical application. When paired with a carrier oil of your choice, a few drops of essential oils can have a magnitude of benefits. Aromatherapy by topical application is a common tactic used by massage therapists; the calming scent of lavender essential oil can promote relaxation while the anti-inflammatory properties of eucalyptus essential oil can relax muscles and ease joint pain. 

What are the Health Benefits of Each Essential Oil?

With countless essential oils on the market,  how do you know what essential oil   will provide the desired benefits? Exploring essential oils for the first time can be overwhelming, so we’ll break this down for you. 

Here are the top ten essential oils and their key physical and mental health benefits. 

Bergamot

Bergamot essential oil is an oil in the citrus family. Bergamot is a popular essential oil used to reduce stress and increase positive sentiment. Diffuse a few drops of bergamot during the winter months to reduce depression, sadness, or grief.  

Chamomile

Ever drank chamomile tea before going to bed to help lull you into sleep? Chamomile is a powerful essential oil with relaxation properties. Chamomile can reduce nervous tension, depression, and anxiety and is safe to use on children when properly diluted. 

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is often used for its respiratory properties, improving cough and mitigating cold symptoms. Eucalyptus can also be used to reduce joint pain and improve muscle aches, which is why eucalyptus is commonly used in massage therapy.

Lavender

Lavender essential oil is probably one of the most commonly used aromas for calming and relaxation. Lavender oil promotes a restful sleep, especially when diffused in the evening. One of the lesser known qualities of lavender essential oil is the antiseptic properties; when used topically, lavender can help to heal minor burns, scrapes, sunburns, and bruises. 

Lemon

The fresh scent of lemon essential oil can turn a lackluster day right around. Lemon essential oil has antiseptic and antibacterial properties, which make it the perfect essential oil for disinfecting a space. You will often see lemon essential oil used in home, DIY cleaners or in naturally-scented home cleaners. Lemon can also be used in conjunction with other essential oils to reduce dark spots on the skin; the use of lemon essential oil can increase photosensitivity if not protected with sufficient sunscreen.

Peppermint

While peppermint aromas can make you reminiscent of winter, particularly sitting by the fireplace while sipping a peppermint hot cocoa, peppermint has a variety of health benefits. Peppermint can produce a “zing” of energy and is often used to promote focus, memory, and alertness. In addition, peppermint can ease tension headaches and reduce muscle aches or muscle pain.

Sandalwood

Sandalwood is a rich ingredient used in many spiritual practices for grounding and balance. Sandalwood is thought to improve spiritual connection and is often used in chakra work.

Tea Tree

Tea tree essential oil is a common ingredient found in natural or clean beauty acne products. The antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties found in this essential oil make it the perfect mild acne treatment. Tea tree can also be used to treat insect stings.  

Ylang Ylang

Ylang Ylang is a particularly effective essential oil for emotional well-being. This oil is thought to stimulate feelings of confidence and self-assurance and reduce sentiments of anxiety and depression. What can’t Ylang Ylnang do?

Pro Tip: You can also find blends or diffuse multiple oils together at once to reap the ample benefits.  

Maintaining healthy skin for your bundle of joy can be slightly overwhelming. How do you care for brand new skin? 

Baby skin has never been exposed to city pollution nor been burnt from laying out in the sun too long. It has never suffered PIH from premature pimple popping or been scratched so hard it bled. Baby skin is fresh and perfect. Unadulterated, if you will. 

You can keep your little darling’s skin fresh, vibrant, and clear by adhering to a few healthy skin tips along the way. But first, let’s dive into skin function and the importance of healthy skin. 

Importance of Maintaining Healthy Skin

Before we delve into why healthy skin is so important and crucial to your overall health, let’s define healthy skin. 

Healthy skin is smooth, hydrated, and warm with no visible cracks, bumps or lesions. Healthy skin has abundant collagen and elastin. Think of pinchable baby cheeks… Babies have loads of collagen and elastin in their skin, which contributes to those chubby cheeks we all know and love. 

Why is Healthy Skin Important?

The skin is your body’s largest organ and serves the following functions:

• Protects the internal organs from external threats
• Prevents germs and bacteria from entering the body and impacting internal organs
• Regulates body temperature
• Alerts the body of external threat through your sense of touch (think: pain and extreme temperatures)
• Converts sunlight into Vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium (a crucial mineral for bone development)
• Prevents body dehydration by regulating TEWL (transepidermal water loss)

Have a little more appreciation for skin now? Good! Skin plays a crucial role in keeping the rest of your body healthy and disease free. 

5 Tips for Maintaining a Baby’s Healthy Skin

Aside from being plump, silky smooth, and downright squeezable, baby skin is ultra sensitive. One day your tot has a perfectly healthy tummy and bum, and the next day you’re staring straight into a painful-looking rash. Sometimes you just can’t win. 

Here are a few tips to keeping your baby’s skin healthy and smooth:

Keep Baths Simple

Up until your love bug starts crawling around the house, you really only need three baths a week. While this seems counterintuitive to our adult daily showers, baby skin is very sensitive and prone to dryness and irritating rashes. 

After moving to daily baths to remove the dirt, sand, poop, or various other sticky textures from your child’s hands and feet, you may feel tempted to use ample amounts of shampoo to remove the goo. Not so fast! You only need to use sensitive, baby-specific shampoo every other bath (unless there’s a blow-out) and you don’t need very much to get the job done - about a teaspoon-sized amount should suffice. 

Opt for Natural Ingredients

While natural isn’t always better, choosing natural or plant-derived ingredients to use on your bean is the best option. Organic skin care or body care products are more likely to be free from irritants like synthetic fragrances, artificial colors, parabens, sulfates, phthalates, and more. 

Say “No” to Powder

Diaper rash is an inevitable reality. Whether you just started solid foods and a particular ingredient did not agree with their tummy, or you tried a new brand of diapers since they were out of your go-to brand, your cutie pie will get a rash. 

You may be inclined to use baby powder after wiping the area clean with a wet wipe, but experts now advise against the use of baby powder. Instead, opt for an organic or natural diaper rash cream and wipe clean every change. 

If you have loads of baby powder sitting in your baby’s nursery, baby powder actually works great as a dry shampoo in a pinch, so save that full bottle of powder (maybe put it in a fancy glass jar) and keep it on your vanity. 

Dress in Layers

Not only are your baby’s brain, appendages, muscles, and countless other things developing in the early stages of life, their sweat glands are also in development! This fun fact makes your tiny more inclined to develop an uncomfortable heat rash. Dressing your little one in layers allows you to control the temperature by removing or adding layers as necessary according to the thermostat. 

Use a Humidifier

The fall and winter months bring colder weather and dry winds. We combat those cold temperatures by cranking the heater to stay warm. The combination of cold weather and higher thermostat temperatures can lead to a serious case of dry air. 

Extended exposure to dry air can cause a bevy of health issues for not only you, but your munchkin as well. Some of these health issues include: dry eyes, dry skin, congestion, sore throat, a proclivity for catching the flu or cold viruses, and more.

Using a humidifier in your baby’s nursery can help raise humidity levels to a comfortable range, which will help your precious baby battle the elements with ease. In order to reap the benefits of humidity, a humidifier must be used for the nursery to reach optimal humidity (40-60%). Always use an evaporative humidifier, to avoid the spread of bacteria and potential mold growth. 

How Can a Humidifier Help a Baby?

A humidifier is one of the most useful tools for your baby’s nursery. Whether you are a first-time parent or a seasoned veteran with multiple children, a humidifier is an important device to have on-hand. 

Regular use of a humidifier in your baby’s nursery can help to ease cold symptoms including congestion and sore throat, improve dry or irritated skin, and a humidifier can serve as a preventative tool to keep your bundle of joy safe and healthy all year long.  

Ease Cold Symptoms

When your little one  catches a cold, which most children do at some point in their early life, it can be heart wrenching to watch them struggle. Congestion interferes with their breathing, a dry and itchy throat leads to excessive coughing, and they wriggle in uncomfortability.

A humidifier can help to ease cold symptoms in both adults and children. The increased moisture content from your humidifier device will help to lubricate the throat and nasal passages resulting in congestion relief and the improvement of a dry, scratchy throat. 

Improve Dry, Irritated Skin

As we discussed in the previous section, baby skin is very sensitive and requires a little extra TLC. For new parents, it can seem like dry skin or rashes appear out of thin air. 

Regular use of a humidifier in your child’s nursery can reduce TEWL resulting in higher levels of moisture on the skin. TEWL is the process of the skin releasing water into the surrounding environment by way of evaporation. Dry and cold weather conditions increase TEWL while warm, humid environments decrease TEWL. 

Optimal humidity can improve the moisture content of the skin, which hydrates the skin and reduces the likelihood of eczema flare ups (atopic dermatitis affects 13% of children under 5-years-old). 

Prevention

You don’t have to wait until your little angel gets sick or has an unpleasant eczema flare up to run your humidifier. Humidifiers can serve as a preventative tool, as well. 

Maintaining optimal levels of humidity 24 hours a day, 365 days a year can ensure a comfortable, safe, and healthy environment for you and your family. Optimal humidity levels can help to:

• Reduce the spread and survival of viruses
• Ensure proper lubrication of throat and nasal passages to prevent infection, congestion, and cough 
• Keep the skin moisture barrier in tact, preventing dry or dehydrated skin

Use your smart thermostat or a handy hygrometer to measure your home humidity levels. Optimal humidity range is 40-60% 

Which humidifier is the best for your baby?