Important Essential Oil Options
“Essential oils are one of the great untapped resources of the world.”
Valerie Ann Worwood – The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy
If you are a parent, I am sure that you can relate when I say that when one of your children is sick, it affects you almost viscerally. It doesn’t matter if it is a respiratory issue, a stomach bug, or something larger (like my 9-year-old’s kidney stones) my heart always speeds up, my stress levels rise, and I feel almost a sense of fight or flight. It is not a welcome feeling. (Nor is it helpful when trying to figure out how to treat or deal with a sick kid).
Enter essential oils.
I sort of fell into a small handful of oils when my youngest daughter was born. She was an ear infection kid. I thought I got away unscathed when my oldest daughter never had an ear infection, but alas, the youngest one came along to prove me wrong. I should have known since my husband and most of his brothers (he has 4) had tubes in their ears when they were young.
We were on the verge of tubes for my daughter, and I knew I just really couldn’t do it if I didn’t have to. I mean, I can’t handle them coughing all night long, never mind having a minor surgery for tubes (enter horror face, here). Someone in passing mentioned using basil oil behind her ears when it seemed like an ear infection was brewing. Confused, I thought she literally meant to run to the grocery store, and find the spice in an oil format. Oy, I had so much to learn.
Getting the basil, was life changing. From that point on, we have used it faithfully and she has not had a single ear infection since. Not one. It has been life changing enough, that my daughter actually prompted me to write this blog post tonight – it was bed time, and I hear her yell out from her room, “Mom! I need basil! My ears hurt when I yawn!”. Imagine how cute it was to hear that being yelled by a 4-year-old.
Since the basil, we have amassed a decent showing of essential oils. I have organized them by brand (I am not married to one company, as long as they are 100% pure, therapeutic-grade) and will list them below. I will also include a quick snippet of what I use the oil for (some I use more than others).
*Just for transparency – I do not belong to any of these companies, I do not sell any of these products, nor do I receive a commission off of products sold. I simply “endorse” them because I believe in them.
Plant Therapy
I love this brand – can you tell? I use so many of the Plant Therapy products because they have a kid’s safe line. While many of the oils are safe when used correctly, there are some that truly aren’t when used on a child. The kid’s line through Plant Therapy takes out the guess work for you.
The first oil there, Joyful Creation, was sent to me as part of my order one time, and it was like an “optional gift”. Therefore, I have never used it – although, I should. The roll on is a synergy and it is supposed to increase creativity and enthusiasm, and simply give life to ideas and relationships (or so the website says). After thinking this information back over, I am curious as to why I haven’t tried this oil.
Most of the rest of the oils are self-explanatory, but I will walk you through them, briefly, anyway.
Immune boom does just that – booms your immune (ha! Oy – can you tell it is late here?!). No, Immune Boom simply helps to support your immune system, and gives your body one more line of defense that a cold would need to break through. I don’t use it hugely often, because I have a few other oils like this one that I typically grab first.
Germ Destroyer – why is it that I always think of Buzz Lightyear, when I say this product’s name, blasting aliens with his ray gun?! I love knowing that I have something in my arsenal when my child is harboring some bad bugs.
A+ Attention is something I ordered and aspired to use on my oldest, every day for school .. it hasn’t really happened. However, the blend of oils included in this roll-on – with bergamot and lavender – sharpens attention and focus. As my alter ego happens to be a teacher, I can tell you that it is needed for much of the students within the classroom.
We use Tummy All Better, a lot. Whenever one of the kids has a belly ache, they ask for their oil and we rub it, clockwise, around their belly button. I like to think that also by doing this, it becomes somewhat like a placebo for them – making them think things are better, even if for some reason they are not. This oil is actually important enough that one night it tragically rolled off my counter in the kitchen and hit my ceramic tile, shattering everywhere, and that night, I had another one on order (after I dried my tears).
Happy Place is yet another mood improver that I have tried with my oldest (do you see a trend here?!).
Sniffle Stopper really helps when the girls can’t breathe through their nose at night, or when they simply have a bad head cold with sneezing and runny noses.
And the two body creams – Calming the Child and Nighty Night – do what they say they do, but I will admit, we don’t use them often. The smell of the body creams are so strong, that it either bothers the girls after a while, or I am afraid we will go somewhere and it will bother someone else. While this is sort of like a “duh!” thought, I never actually considered how different the scent would be between a few drops of oil, and a full on body cream.
Glendarragh
When I started collecting oils, I knew that I needed lavender. It is a staple. This lavender product is quite special, because it is made in the state that I am from (nothing like supporting local/small business). Lavender has soooo many positive properties, but the reasons why I use it most, are to help boost my 9-year-old’s mood (I need all the help that I can get!), and to soothe and calm at bedtime. My daughter actually has a bracelet that I will add a few drops of this oil to, and she will wear it throughout the day.
Young Living
So, basil, as stated before, is used in our house, simply to ward off ear infections.
R.C. is my go-to life saver, as well. Along with past ear infections, when my youngest gets sick, it is 99% of the time, a chest cold. She ends up with a horrific cough, and it carries her through the night for many nights (it kills me). R.C. helps her breathe better when I diffuse it by her bed, along with a humidifier.
Right now, my eucalyptus has only been used to diffuse and give my air that incredible smell. I remember, I used to work with a woman who would add sprigs of eucalyptus to her classroom every time she went by a specific shop that sold it, and I would walk in her room, simply to smell her air. I don’t need to worry about going out to constantly by eucalyptus, because I simply use my oil and obtain the same result.
And rounding out the Young Living brand, is Thieves. It is a must have. Thieves will clean your air and really make you feel “at home” when it is diffused.
dōTERRA
So, peppermint was basically a selfish purchase for me, simply because I love the smell of it. I really had no idea how peppermint was beneficial, I just knew I wanted to sniff it (ha!). Since then, I have learned that peppermint calms and soothes the belly, peps up your mood, and is a great anti-inflammatory (I have used it for all three of those purposes).
These oils are the epitome of what this blog really represents – health and happiness. Using oils can be for proactive purposes, health improvement, or simply to deodorize your home. I know that for me, the items in the list above, brings me happiness: making sure my kids are as healthy as possible and have support to ward off illnesses, makes me feel more secure; having tools such as lavender to improve mood, calms even me when I know my child is wearing it; and let’s face it – any scent that makes my home smell better and more “homey” is a win to me! Do yourself a favor and run out to grab yourself, and your family, some oils.
**The two other resources shown in all of the pictures are: unrefined coconut oil, which you need as a carrier oil for any oil that is not a roll-on (any brand works, and you may rather have the liquid version), and a copy of my textual reference, The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood. There are hundreds of support texts that you could access, but this one is quite comprehensive and has incredible ratings.
