This content has been reviewed and updated on July 14, 2023.
Essential oils date back thousands of years, with ancient societies using highly concentrated plant oils for their medicinal purposes and strong, pleasant aromas. Fast forward to the present day, and essential oils are gaining popularity once again.
It’s not just adults who can benefit from essential oils. The advantages of essential oils for children are vast as well, helping with everything from restlessness to anxiety. Although there are clear benefits of essential oils, it’s important for parents to know how to use and store them safely.
Making Essential Oils Safe for Kids
When using essential oils for kids, it’s critical that you use them with caution and care. As with adults, using essential oils for children as a form of aromatherapy can have considerable benefits. Yet, there are some important steps you must take to make essential oils safe for babies and children. Here are a few of the most important tips to bear in mind.
Never Use Essential Oils With Babies Under 3 Months of Age
Essential oils are not suitable for infants under 3 months of age. The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians does not recommend diffusing essential oils in a nursery setting for newborns. Once your child has reached 3 months of age, however, you can diffuse kid-safe essential oils in your home.
Always Choose High-Quality Essential Oils
The therapeutic properties of essential oils are largely dependent on the quality of the essential oil. Avoid synthetic oils and ingredients and products with lots of additives, as these ingredients can cause adverse reactions.
Choose your essential oils carefully, especially when it comes to those you’ll diffuse in a home with babies or small children. The best essential oils for kids are those that are pure in form and sourced from a trusted company, so read ingredient labels and product descriptions carefully.
Store Essential Oils Properly
Ingestion of essential oils is unsafe for children, so make sure your essential oils are always stored far out of reach of babies and children. Keep them in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. If you find that your child has been exposed to essential oils without your supervision, call poison control immediately at 1-800-222-1222.
Benefits of Using Essential Oils for Children
Memory Enhancement
Some of the best essential oils for kids are peppermint, sage, and rosemary. These unique scents could help your little learner retain information better. It’s possible the aromas can reach the brain and trigger actions that aid in creating memories. Consider diffusing these scents when you’re doing flashcards or working on new concepts with your child to help bolster their memorization skills.
Sleep Aid
One of the major benefits of using essential oils for kids is improved sleep. Lavender and chamomile essential oils are commonly used to calm babies and children and lull them into a restful slumber. Diffuse lavender and chamomile essential oils in your child’s nursery 15 minutes before bedtime for a soothing effect. Chamomile is featured in Salt Cave, a blend within our Rituals by Canopy aroma kit.
Mindfulness
The ability to practice mindfulness is a skill that can benefit people of all ages. It helps us stay grounded in stressful situations and improves focus. A familiar or soothing scent could have this effect on children, enabling them to take in their surroundings and observe the world with more clarity. There’s no one specific essential oil that will have this effect on all children, as favorite scents will vary from one child to the next.
Consider testing out different essential oils for children to find out which aromas your little one responds to best. Sweet orange, in particular, is known for its mood-boosting effects. You can find this uplifting fragrance in Rise from the Little Dreams aroma kit, or in Orange Neroli within the Canopy x Curie kit.
Calming Effects
Anxiety and worry can affect children, too. From school projects to sports performance, to friendships new and old, there are lots of thoughts going on in a child’s mind. When diffused, the scent of lavender can help create a soothing environment to keep little ones calm and ease these normal childhood worries.
You can find lavender in some of our most popular aroma blends:
- Lull, part of the Little Dreams nursery kit
- Lavender Dream from the Laneige x Canopy collaboration
- Botanica from the Prose x Canopy collaboration
- Dusk, part of the Canopy x Open Spaces kit
Cold & Flu Symptom Reducer
Camphor, eucalyptus, and peppermint essential oils are great decongestants and can significantly improve the symptoms of the common cold and flu. In fact, a blend of diluted eucalyptus, peppermint, lemon and melaleuca (Tea Tree) oils can be diffused in your child’s room to reduce congestion.
Chamomile and tea tree essential oil are antiviral by nature and can be used to disinfect your home space and reduce the chances of a prolonged illness. Both chamomile and tea tree oil can be used with children over the age of 6 months.
Concentration Support
Whether they’re working on homework or finishing up a big project, certain fragrances could help your child focus on key tasks. Specifically, patchouli, sandalwood, and chamomile are beneficial for promoting concentration. Consider diffusing these scents to create an environment that facilitates focus when your child needs to push through a big assignment.
Upset Stomach Soother
Scents like peppermint, mandarin, and ginger could help to soothe an upset tummy. These essential oils are particularly powerful for addressing nausea and bloating and are therefore commonly used by people with Celiac disease. Diffuse these aromas to help soothe gastrointestinal symptoms, such as when your little one has a stomachache or is recovering from a stomach virus.
Many of our aroma sets are suitable for children, but our Little Dreams nursery bundle is especially designed with children in mind, including toddlers, children, and even babies over the age of 3 months. Featuring notes of lavender, eucalyptus, and sweet orange, these all-natural oils support a refreshing environment in the morning and a soothing ambiance at night. Like all our essential oils, these blends are free of any synthetic fragrances. Diffuse the Little Dreams set right in your child’s room or enjoy any Canopy essential oils throughout your home using our Humidifier Plus.