Essential oils have been used for centuries to promote positive physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, along with treating a range of ailments. These potent oils are extracted from the flowers, leaves, stems and other plant parts, and each oil carries its own range of therapeutic benefits.
Can essential oils be used for children?
The benefits of essential oils don’t end with adults. Essential oils can also offer a wide range of benefits to children, including encouraging sleep, calming anxiety and relieving the symptoms of colic.
However, care must be taken when using essential oils on children. Essential oils should never be used around babies under three months of age due to their delicate body systems.
We’ve put together the best essential oils for babies and children to help you to choose the right oil for your child’s needs.
Essential oils to help babies and children sleep
It’s a well-known fact that babies and children often struggle to sleep. This leaves their parents tired and lacking energy and the baby or child out of routine.
It’s important to ensure you’re following good sleep hygiene with your child, including limiting screen time before bed, making use of age-appropriate and consistent bedtimes, and sticking to schedules and routines. However, this isn’t always enough. Many parents search for other ways to support sleep naturally in children.
Lavender is perhaps one of the most well-known essential oils, with calming and sedative effects. Research supports its use in babies and children. A 2008 study investigated the impact of adding lavender oil to a baby’s bath before bed. Lavender oil was found to be effective in reducing cortisol levels in both mothers and infants, reducing crying in the babies and increasing time spent in a deep sleep afterwards.
Many parents also rely on the effects of German chamomile and Roman chamomile essential oils for naturally helping their babies and children sleep. Although its effects have not yet been fully proven, there is strong anecdotal evidence to suggest that chamomile essential oil has natural soothing and hypnotic effects. This makes it a promising natural remedy for helping babies and children sleep.
There are many ways in which you can use essential oils to improve your baby or child’s sleep. You can add a few drops of your chosen oil to a diffuser for the aroma to be inhaled, or you can create a sleep-inducing aromatherapy bath for your child. If you decide to add essential oils to your child’s bath, you’ll need to first dilute the oil with a carrier oil to prevent skin irritation.
