Aromatherapy and Children
Over the years that I have been studying aromatherapy I have flip flopped on many things regarding the aromatherapy world and it’s practices. Before I was trained, I had always thought essential oils were a natural solution and much safer to use on children and even babies. I applauded companies for coming out with specific kid lines and felt that they were doing some real good. I shifted those thoughts however when I began to learn, and when I learned that some oils are’t kid safe. Over the years I have developed my line of thinking in regards to aromatherapy in children and have come to a solid conclusion on it’s place in the world. I have learned through my own trial and error as well as watching and monitoring others; in the products that they make or buy for their little ones and how safe they really are when they are being looked at objectively. To be quite honest, my view point has shifted slightly to be even more cautious in this area, while in other aspects of aromatherapy I feel I have become more relaxed. When it comes to the use of essential oils on children, especially babies, I feel that some care and caution is a healthy thing to have.
When I first started out, before being trained or learning anything about essential oils I used them all the time around my first born. I don’t recall if I used them ON her but if I am being honest I probably did. By the time I was pregnant with my second I was already a certified aromatherapist and I realized that some of the things I did with my first weren’t necessarily all that safe. I took a little more caution with my second, but I still used essential oils at a very young age with her and if I am being honest it didn’t help.
Now I am pregnant with my third and my plans for using essential oils with my third child vary quite a bit from the last two. I won’t be using essential oils topically until at LEAST 6 months, however I will probably wait a little longer and opt for 15 months to 2 years old. The things I do use essential oils for, I can opt for herbs instead. Instead of using essential oils in my diaper ointment I will be using herbal infused oils. Instead of essential oils aromatically I will be using hydrosols. I have found over the years that the need for essential oils in children under the age of 2 just isn’t there and using them on someone under the age of 1 should be a last resort. They are potent, and the dilution rate is so low it can be tricky to gauge how to appropriately use them.
Now this isn’t to say that I won’t use essential oils at all, because that is just something I can’t do. As an aromatherapist and aromatherapy student I need to be able to use them. I just won’t intentionally use them for my newborn. I do spend the first 3 months not diffusing for myself and not using essential oils topically for myself as much as possible however, and if I do use them topically I keep dilutions low. I do this so that I have time to bond and I don’t overwhelm my newborn.
Now I don’t share all of this to try and get people to also stop using essential oils on their children. Personally I think it can be done safely, although my recommendation will always be to find other methods first. I do believe they are an amazing tool, and when used correctly it they can be very beneficial. However we live in a word obsessed with smell, and I am learning that smell is not always a good thing. Every baby product is fragranced, even the natural ones contain essential oils. If you were going to choose, I would rather you use the natural ones with essential oils. But, we have another option. Fragrance free, and I think collectively people should start opting for fragrance free things for babies more. Babies do not need a lot of products in the first few months, and they certainly don’t need to be smelling of fresh citrus and lavender. I have started to view essential oils in the same way, there isn’t a need, especially when there is another new baby product promising to be all natural and safe yet contains several essential oils (sometimes even unsafe ones) making the claims that THIS product is the best because it is the most natural.
Natural does not always mean safe, and when it comes to babies not every natural item is safe or beneficial.
At the end of the day, it’s a parents choice to decide if they want to use aromatherapy. I only encourage anyone who wants to use essential oils under the age of 1 to be well versed in the safety of using them and to know how to do so with young children. Look at both the pros and cons and make this decision based off of the facts, not fancy marketing promising empty promises at the hope of making money off of you.
It might seem a surprise that someone who uses essential oils so often, who loves them and has made an entire lifestyle and business out of them recommends not using them especially on newborns/infants but looking at what the world offers for aromatherapy with children has taught me I can’t truly trust anything for my children and I am better off introducing them slowly to the world of aromatherapy.
Do you use aromatherapy with your children or do you prefer to wait like me?
