Episode 115: Utilizing Essential Oils with Children Featuring Kari Richey

doTERRA: The power of essential oils can make such a great difference in your life, but they're not just for adults. Essential oils can also be a wonderful benefit for your children. Today, we'll talk about how you can empower your children with essential oils.

Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA, the podcast where you'll hear exciting, useful, and simple everyday uses for essential oils from experts in the field. If you like what you hear today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. We always appreciate hearing from you.

Today, we're excited to talk to Kari Richey about how to use essential oils with your children. Kari, thank you so much for sitting down with us today.

Kari Richey: Oh, you're so welcome. I'm so excited to be here!

doTERRA: So this is a topic that I think a lot of people have a lot of uncertainty about. So my first question is, are essential oils safe for children?

Kari: Yes, they are. So as a mom, I wanted to make sure what I purchased for my family was the highest quality and was absolutely safe for my kids. I feel like that's a concern I hear a lot. So here are a few things that gave me peace.

So first was doTERRA’s strict testing, both within the company and through third parties.

Second, research and science. I don't know if you noticed, but doTERRA even has a science blog. So for someone that is nerdy and likes to know all the science behind it, guess what. You can find it.

Third for me also with sourcing. So I don't have enough time to talk about it. But do yourself a favor and look into the Co-Impact Sourcing initiative that doTERRA has. I love this so much, and I love that when I'm serving my family, I'm also empowering other families globally.

And finally, the fourth is just options. We have everything from detoxing our home to supporting our little ones and to supporting ourselves. And I love that the company is diverse like that.

doTERRA: Absolutely. So now that we've kind of discussed why it's safe to use with children, is there anything specifically that I need to know to use oil safely with my kids?

Kari: Yes, absolutely. So there's a couple of things. I like to say when in doubt, as a mom, we dilute for kids. I love that doTERRA even has a Kids Collection. And, of course, it's diluted. So when you’re looking online, the doTERRA Blog recommends using about one drop at a time.

You can also add this one drop to a carrier oil. So I want to highlight that, because when we think carrier oil, a lot of people don't even know what that means. You don't typically use something like an olive oil because that can be very heavy. I love doTERRA’s coconut oil because it's light, it absorbs quickly, and it doesn't leave your kids greasy, right? Because we don't want our kids slipping and sliding all over the place.

I would like to note that some essential oils are considered “hot.” So one tip that makes it easier for me to remember which ones to kind of use more caution with is if it's intense in the kitchen, it's going to be intense in the bottle. So a few quick examples of these are oils like Oregano or Cinnamon, Thyme, things that you think that might add heat or intense flavor to my dish it will do the same for your kids.

doTERRA: So essential oils are all about empowerment and, like you mentioned earlier, having the options to reach for in a daily life. What is the best way to teach my kids to use essential oils?

Kari: Okay, so this is by far my favorite topic because I feel like if you can empower your kids to use the oils, you've created lifelong learning, right?

So the best thing that you can do is just teach your kids how to use them. So this is going to keep them empowered. And I like to stick to three things when I'm empowering my kids or when you go to empower your own children, right?

Location

So the first thing is location. And I know when we hear other things, we always hear location, location, location, like buying a house or something else. But this is true for your oils as well. So put them where you're going to use them. So, for example, oils may go on your nightstand or in the bedroom. And I also want to make a note. You guys, don't be afraid to have more than one bottle of the same oil, because sometimes it's just nice to have a Lavender in every kid's room. So you're not hunting down the one Lavender, right?

Consistency

Second is consistency. The more you use them, the more it's routine. And we know great habits and great routines are all we need in our life. So if you tell your kids to get their diffuser ready every night, it's something that they eventually do without you asking. So it's teaching great consistency with the oils. And that goes as far as sitting down and figuring out what oils are best in the morning, what oils are best in the afternoon. And you guys don't be afraid to include things like the vitamins or even a smoothie, if that's something that you guys do in your home, right? You can always incorporate Trim Shakes or things like that into your day, but I think the better you are at creating routines, the more consistent it will be for your kids.

Choice

And then the last one is probably one that took me a minute to kind of really fully adapt into. But it's choice. Allow your kids to choose and navigate the oils they like. Now with your younger kids, obviously, you're going to need to guide this a little bit more. So when my youngest was really little, like two to three, I would create like a selection for them. So if we were talking about bedtime, for example, I may give him the choice of Peace, Lavender, or Serenity. And then he could pick what when he wanted that night, right?

If they're older, they kind of know what they like. And I know sometimes we doubt that. But really, we shouldn't. They are very good at navigating things that they enjoy or would maybe turn them away. Like, I may love Serenity, but my son hates Lavender, so he's never going to pick that. He'll pick Cedarwood, right? But you can allow them the choice, and I think it's okay to have little selections available to them.

doTERRA: I love all of those tips. I think those are great ways to help empower our children to make those essential oil choices for themselves. Kari, my final question for you is what are your favorite essential oils to use with your children?

Kari: I feel like that's the hardest question. How do you pick? So I get this question a lot, especially when I'm teaching classes to a group of moms. They want to know, like, what do they need, right? What do you use? And there's no right or wrong answer. I'm going to tell you that I use different oils in different seasons, right?

So we typically have the Kids Collection. We happen to live in a two-story home. So we have a Kids Collection upstairs and downstairs, just so we're not, again, running around or misplacing them. But I love this, you guys, because my kids, I have confidence that they can grab it and use it as they need because they're prediluted, they're in roller bottles for easy application, and they're color coded. So if your kids can't read or they're not sure they can remember that they absolutely love that purple one at nighttime, right? So I’d say the Kids Collection always, always, always.

The other top hitter in our family right now, my oldest turned twelve today, actually, and we love Adaptiv. We're entering the middle school generation of our lives. So Adaptiv is like our right-hand tool, right?

And then I would say just, you know, the Lavender, the Frankincense, you know, DigestZen comes up often. and then I feel like, I call them my doTERRA staples, but Breathe and On Guard. Those are ones we always—I don't ever travel without them. Like, they're in roller bottles around for our kids. They know how to use them. And I love that.

So there's a million, right? I feel like we can use so many oils, but if you just start with a need or with a comfort, and that for me with the Kids Collection. And then of course, we kind of fine-tuned it for each kid. And that's the best part, you guys. You can fine tune it for each kid, right? It's like every kid learns differently. So they're going to use oil a little differently too.

doTERRA: And I think that's so amazing. That's one of the greatest blessings of having these essential oils is finding what works for each person in your home, whether it be an adult or a child. And I think that's so powerful.

Kari: I absolutely agree. And I think that trial and error—never be afraid of that trial and error because you, like, I may tell you “Oh, my gosh, my 12-year-old loves Adaptiv.” And you may go get that for your 12-year-old, and be like, “They hated it,” you know?

And not that they will, because I think everybody loves Adaptiv. But, you know, it's just the fun that you get to kind of navigate it based on your needs and your likes, your dislikes, you know, things like that. And I love that they're safe. You can grab them. You can have that conversation with your kids.

doTERRA: Kari, thank you so much for coming on, for sharing your stories, your tips, your tricks, and helping us feel a little more comfortable empowering our children to use essential oils.

Kari: Absolutely! I hope that you guys go and grab an oil and use it with your kids today.

doTERRA: Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you liked what you heard today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. Also, if you want to try any of the products you learned about, go to doterra.com or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today.