Essential oils can hold a plethora of benefits for adults, but what about children? While older children may be able to reap the rewards of essential oils, young children and infants should wait a little while before being introduced into the world of essential oils. While essential oils are natural, they are strong and highly concentrated, which may potentially trigger allergic reactions, cause discomfort and or irritation to young children and their developing bodies.
Ideally, essential oils should not be introduced to children until they reach at least 3 years of age, and at this time they should be introduced one at a time cautiously starting with the more common balanced scents. Essential oils like peppermint, lemon, bergamot, or chamomile are good starting points for using aromatherapy around children once they get a little older. Once a child reaches around 6 years of age, you can then begin introducing a wider range of diffused oils into your home around your children, as their respiratory systems have developed to a point where the oils aren’t likely to harm or irritate them.
After your child has left the infant stage, crossed through the baby stage, and is emerging on the other side of toddlerhood, you can start introducing some gentle and mild essential oils diffused into your home. Using your nebulizing diffuser, a few oils you may want to begin introducing first are:
While these are just a few of the safe oils you may begin introducing around your child after age 3, they are some of the most popular amongst users of essential oils. When children are sick, nervous, or sleepless, they can help give you and your child just the boost you both need to start feeling better in no time at all.
Just because you’ve had children doesn’t mean you necessarily have to stop using essential oils, altogether. While your favorite oils may not be used around your infant or young child, some gentler oils may be diffused in rooms or areas of the home away from where the child is present. For instance, if you’ve been feeling under the weather, you can have a bath with peppermint oil to receive the benefits if your child is safely away with another parent or guardian in another part of the home.
As your child gets older, and you’re ready to introduce essential oils back into your home, it’s important to remember to start out slowly at first. Not only should you stick to gentle oils, but you should limit your use of essential oils until you see how your child reacts to them. To do this, you should begin by introducing gentle oils for 3 to 5 minutes at a time, and to use them in large open spaces of the home so the scent is not too overpowering for the child. Even with gentle oils, allergies and irritation can still exist in people of all ages. Click here for more info on essential oil safety.
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Liz A
May 27, 2019
This was really helpful! I didn’t realize 3 was the age you could start introduction.