Essential Oils Safety with Kids.

We continue our 3-part series of essential oils use. If you didn’t read the first one please go back HERE and read about what makes an essential oil safe to use.

Check out our Ebook on Essential oils and Children at the end of this blog, as well!


Are essential oils safe for kids?

This is the 1st question on every parent’s mind, naturally.

Our answer to that is, YES.

Essential oils are great for kids. Not only are they safe to give to our kids in comparison to some medications’ side effects, but they are also great for household cleaning purposes as well, replacing the toxic cleaning chemicals in common usage around your home. They’re so safe to mix, you can make your OWN. Beyond cleaners, you can also replace certain personal care products like hand sanitizers and facial masks, or mix up solutions for deodorizing room sprays and paint stripper.

You name it, and there is probably a recipe available for it. Believe it or not, it is possible to get rid of all the chemicals in your house and replace them with non-toxic essential oil-based alternatives.

Best choice for our kids

If you are like me (and I am sure you are), you want to be the best parent possible. While at the same time, you want to let the kids get dirty to their heart’s delight, you also want to keep them healthy. You want to keep the house clean and pathogen-free. You want to make sure those children are clean too!

But here is the thing: those priorities do not have to be at odds with each other! You do not have to use harsh chemicals to clean the house, nor the kids.

Our little people are in their early development and the chemicals we use around them and on them will impact them for the rest of their lives.

Studies have shown that bleach and other strong cleaners can cause respiratory issues for the rest of their lives. Fragrances, like those on dryer sheets, while they smell so good, are actually quite bad for you and your children. How? They block estrogen and are one of the leading causes of cancer.

I don’t want to scare you! Truly. I am simply suggesting that it IS possible to stop using all of the items things that require a Mr. Yuck sticker! Where there is a will, there is a way.

We all want to give our family the best life possible, and natural solutions exist!

Ok…getting off of my soapbox now. Let’s get to the basics of what you need to know.

How safe with my kids?

When it comes to dosing it really depends on the child, their age, and their weight.

For example, our kids, who have grown up in a house full of essential oils, can handle many oils at once. The general rule of thumb is to start out low and slow, keeping the number of oils used low, placed low on the body, and applied slowly.

How slowly? Slowly enough that, should he/she have an adverse reaction of some kind, it is easy to know which oil caused it. That said, in general, we now use around three drops for our kids who are seven and under. Our older two girls receive adult doses of around 3-5 drops.

Keep in mind!

But, always, let’s keep in mind that the oils are supplements, not medications. We are giving their little bodies tools, supplemental supports, to assist the body’s own defense and healing mechanisms to fight off the nasties. Parents who use oils are not fighting the nasties directly which is the practice of medicine. Both have their places, but we always turn to supporting their bodies first.

The chart below can be used as a guide for application and dosage, keeping in mind this is designed for the long term use of oils. When working to support the body through times of sickness or ailment, you could increase use in a 24 hour period.

essential oils drop chart

Dilution is always another great idea. It gives your body, and especially little bodies, more time to absorb the oils and make use of them. With kids, it is best practice to always dilute.

My favorite all-around resources are pre-made oil blends. Since they are already diluted in a carrier oil, it’s a great way to have oils that the kids can use without added worry, hassle and mess.

We feel comfortable allowing our three-year-old to use his own set of pre-diluted oils. Even at three years old he knows that sometimes he just needs to grab an oil and calm down or help his body ease a stomach ache. (He also knows to not get them in his eyes – LOL). You know your child best, and can be the judge in that regard.

essential oils for the kids
This is the kids collection our little guy has.

How you can stop all of those germs?

Ok, let’s face the truth: our little ones are germ factories.

School, after-school, the playgrounds are all big, giant germ factories. But it is ok. I promise! Everyone’s kids get sick! However, a huge difference we have noticed, is how quickly our kids get better, and how much less severe their symptoms are.

Proactive ideas with essential oils

First and foremost we do our best to make sure our kids are getting great nutrition.

No, we do not take the time to make daily green smoothies. Just a couple of days ago we grabbed a Taco Bell 12 pack. (Gotta keep it real!) But, that being said, knowing that less than ideal nutrition is part of all of our lives, we make sure our kids take a high-quality food-based supplement to help fill in any gaps, nutritionally speaking.

Then, we make sure they are taking fish oil to get their omegas. These help in fighting off free radicals, they help a ton in immune support, in gut health, in joint development, and even in brain development! (But I’ll save that for another post for another day.)

Getting essential oils on our children’s skin (their largest organ) is another potent way to combat the germs they come in contact with before they get put to their noses or their mouths. Personally, we use a hand spray called “On Guard”. It is a blend of essential oils designed to boost their immune system. Studies have even found it to be more effective than bleach at killing and keeping germs away!

Diffuse them!

Diffusing oils is an excellent way to expose our little people to oils. What’s even better is it can be done without them even knowing it, similar to pureeing veggies into soups without their knowledge. The oils assist in purifying the air from germs but as far as they can tell it just smells nice.

I also love to diffuse oils to help improve moods.

Improving their health is not only about germs and pathology, but an endeavor toward mental health as well.

Let’s be honest, by the end of the day (especially if someone skips nap time!) we can all become pretty grumpy. When we get to that point in the day, I like to put some oils into the diffuser to help improve the mood of EVERYONE in the house.

As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes even I need to change my mood! Individual oils like lavender, wild orange, and vetiver, or blends like “Balance” help shift moods around our house.

When I am on my A-game, which happens about once a week I will put citrus oils in the diffuser first thing the morning to help everyone wake up and have a great day.

a kid applying essential oils

And, talk about improved mental health!

Did I mention that this magic can happen?

Where they learn how to help others?!


My kids are sick now what?

For sick kids, we have some amazing protocols that we use on our kids. The protocols are called, “Symphony of the Cells.”

A man who knows a ton about massage, body chemistry, nutrition, and aromatherapy came up with these. Protocols have been devised for everything from infectious disease, sensory issues, hormonal issues, and inflammation. You name it, and again, there exists a protocol for it.

essential oils back rub for kids
Applying Infectious Disease Protocol.

This specific protocol entails applying around 10-12 oils on the back and feet of a person. For our older kids, we just do 1-3 drops of each oil. For our little three-year-old we use only 1 drop of each oil.

That’s it!

By doing certain oils in a certain order, though, we have seen huge results. I am talking about fevers going away overnight and major colds lasting a day where their friends have the same cold for a week, or two.

An added bonus about oils few people talk about is that they are quick. It takes less than 5 minutes to apply all the oils to our older children.

AND…I have trained my kids on how to do the protocols on each other. That’s a parenting win worth celebrating!

Feel free to send us a message if you would like more information on the protocols. (If enough people reach out, we could take the time to post more of them in the future!)


I give you permission!

I’ll dare say it: “Your kids need essential oils.”

A family’s wellness plan is simply not complete without essential oils. It is possible to learn about them enough to use them, and then teach your children how and when to use them. An unexpected bonus you may find is the lesson you are teaching them about how NOT to fear the unknown, but face it and overcome the discomfort of trying new things.

You are teaching them to learn more, grow in knowledge, become better, do better, and be better. Therapeutic-grade essential oils are not to be feared, but respected. They are powerful and effective.

BUT… try to trust that your body knows how to handle these natural oils.

After all, as we teach our children: your body was created by nature and knows how to handle these oils. I encourage you to start down this path and learn all you can. You won’t regret it.


Want more science on essential oil safety?
Check out this whole section on Safety and Application


Make sure to grab our Ebook on using oils with kids for even more info!

essential oils owner

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