No matter how hard you work to keep your children healthy, they’re going to experience sickness from time to time.

It’s no fun and it can be discouraging when it happens, but it’s going to happen. How you react and what you do during that time can make all the difference.

As mom, you’re in charge of your children’s health. That means feeding them healthy foods, limiting their exposure to toxins, and yes, what you do to help them get better when they are sick.

You don’t have to be a doctor. You don’t have to be a nurse. All you need to be is willing to learn and do it.

Today I want to share 10 of the best essential oils that you can use for your little one’s to help them feel better or get better when they are sick or have some sort of illness even if it’s a scrap or a burn. I’m also going to share how to use essential oils as well as a few recipes that you can use when you need them!

Essential Oils Safe For Children

1. Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil is an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial essential oil. You can use it for cuts, scraps, burns, bug bites, and as a bug repellent.

2. Lavender Oil

Lavender oil has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. Use it to sooth and calm as well as for first aid, sunburn, and to boost immunity.

3. Chamomile Oil

Chamomile oil is a digestive aid and is good for babies with colic or constipation. It, like lavender, is known for its calming properties. It’s also an anti-inflammatory and is good for ear infections. This one can cost a pretty penny though so use it wisely!

4. Peppermint Oil

Peppermint oil is also a digestive aid and can be used to help with colic. It’s know to help cool fevers and act as a decongestant with colds. (Make sure to dilute this oil well… it’s strong!)

5. Eucalyptus Oil

Eucalyptus oil is most well-known for it’s use as a decongestant for respiratory disorders. It also works to cool fevers and has anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.

6. Rose Otto Oil

Rose Otto oil is known for it’s ability to treat hay fever and asthma. So if your little one suffers from seasonal allergies, this is a great oil to have on hand, but it, like chamomile oil, is costly. Have you ever though about how many roses it takes to make an ounce of oil? A lot!

7. Citrus Oils (orange, grapefruit, mandarin, tangerine)

Citrus oils are mood-enhancing oils, and they smell wonderful! An interesting tid-bit is that they’re know to calm overstimulated children so really they’re a mood-balancing oil!

8. Frankincense

Frankincense… yes, the same thing that the wise men brought as a gift to Jesus… is good for infections because of its anti-bacterial properties and is often used with respiratory congestion.

9. Sandalwood

Sandalwood essential oil is a great oil for sore throats and use as a sedative.

10. St. John’s Wort

St. John’s Wort {the entire herb} is primarily known for it’s mood-enhancing and hormone properties, but when it comes to St. John’s Wort essential oil, it can be used to treat ear infections which can be very common in children.

How To Use Essential Oils

Essential oils are fairly simple to use. First of all let me say that essential oils are concentrated and should NEVER be used undiluted on your skin, especially not your children’s skin.

So really all you need are two things.

1. an essential oil of your choice
2. a carrier oil of your choice

A carrier oil is basically what you will dilute your essential oil in. You can use any oil that is suitable for your skin and absorbs well.

Some common carrier oils are jajoba oil, sweet almond oil, sunflower oil, and even olive oil {although it can be a little greasy}.

Most combinations are 1% – 5% concentrations depending upon what you’re using it for. For household purposes, a 5% would be suitable. For illness a 2.5% would suffice, and for small children or combinations used on the face or sensitive skin, 1% would be best.

To achieve the correct combination, use the following chart.

5 Simple Children’s Remedies Using Essential Oils

1. Congestion Steam

10 drops of Euchalyptus essential oil in one quart of hot water. Hold face over bowl {close enough for comfort} with towel draped over bowl and head. Inhale steam deeply for 5 – 10 minutes. Be careful of hot water and burns!

2. Nighttime Massage Oil

12 drops of Lavender essential oil in one ounce of sweet almond oil. Massage into skin before bed to promote a restful night’s sleep.

3. Cuts & Scraps Healing Salve

7 drops Tea Tree essential oil and 6 drops of Lavender essential oil mixed with one ounce of melted coconut oil. Allow to harden and apply as needed.

4. Earache Oil

6 drops of Sandalwood essential oil and 6 drops of Chamomile oil to one ounce of jajoba oil. Place 2-3 drops in painful ear 2-3 times a day as needed.

5. Energy Bath

Place 6 drops of Citrus essential oil in baby bath tub or 30 drops for full-sized tub. Mix well and bath as normal.

So that’s it! Which of these essential oils are you going to try first? Share with me in the comments below!

Meagan Visser is the owner of Growing Up Herbal, a home-based business that specializes in herbal skin care and medicinal products for the whole family. She’s passionate about teaching others how to take charge of their health and how to use herbs to prevent and heal themselves from sickness. She lives in the Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee with her wonderful husband and three amazing boys.