Green Parenting: Using Essential Oils On Children

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Last year, my daughter’s school was hit with a case of head lice. The schools sent out a memo and I was panicked. While it is apparently not an uncommon occurrence in schools these days, it was a huge shock that sent me searching on the internet for ways to keep my girls’ heads lice free.

What I ended up seeing over and over again was the use of essential oils for a natural remedy as well as deterrent to head lice. Not one to use essential oils, I ran to my local Whole Foods and picked up a tea tree oil and diluted it in an old spray bottle with water. Every day before they left for school, I sprayed them down. Eventually, I found a leave-in conditioner that had it as a main ingredient and we haven’t stopped using it since. I’m happy to report that we haven’t had the unfortunate little bugs creep into my house yet!

After the first time I used essential oils, I began to see them crop up more and more when it came to finding natural remedies for my girls and what was ailing them: cough, upset stomach, bath care and beauty products. What slowly started as a preventative purchase, has now morphed into a daily care practice. We use essential oils a variety of ways and have found them to be the best non-toxic and easy to use all-purpose products in our home.

I was browsing on Pinterest (you know – the best time-suck on the internet) and saw this great poster of the 10 Must-Have Essentials Oils for Children from Easy Homesteading. While I already use several of these, I am interested in learning more about rose otto oil, sandalwood oil and chamomile oil.

essential oil chart

As always, it is super important for you to research these products and the manufacturers before purchasing them. There is a difference between essential oils for external use and food-grade oils meant for consumption. Be sure you know what you are buying.

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The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the blog contributor’s. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Writers may have conflicts of interest, and their opinions are their own.

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