Episode 218: Empowering Your Kids with Oils and the History of Clove

doTERRA: Essential oils are a powerful tool to have in your life but, they're not just for adults. Essential oils can be wonderful for children as well and 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. Today’s episode is brought to you by the MetaPWR System. Designed to help you live your most powerful life, this three-step system will be a game-changer in your daily routine as you embark on your journey to supporting a healthy metabolism.

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Today we're excited to talk to Samantha Lewis, a member of the doTERRA product marketing team, about how you can empower your children with essential oils. Plus, we'll take a look at the incredible history of Clove.

Samantha, thank you so much for joining us today.

Samantha Lewis: Thanks so much for having me.

Are essential oils safe for children?

doTERRA: We are so excited to talk about this topic. So, let's just jump right in with a question that I think a lot of people have. Are essential oils safe to use with children?

Samantha Lewis: Yeah. I mean, there's a lot to talk about with this topic and with this question, if they're safe to use with the children. The short answer that honestly leads into a longer conversation is generally yes. But to be truthful, it depends on some factors. Something to keep in mind when talking about essential oil use of children as we know, kids are generally much smaller than adults, right?

doTERRA: Mm hmm.

Samantha Lewis: And their bodies are still growing, but they require less to get great benefits, which means dosage is super important. And we'll get more into this later. But the general answers is yes, just kind of depends.

doTERRA: Absolutely. And I guess kind of a preface to this whole conversation is, why is it important to use natural products with our children?

Samantha Lewis: I think this is such a great question and such an important topic to talk about when we're getting into essential oils and and even like reducing your toxic load in your home. Essential oils and other natural products are a really valuable tool for caregivers who want to teach children around them the value of what can be found in nature and how we can reduce our toxic load. Right?

I think using natural products creates a very unique opportunity for the empowerment of you and the child in your care while reducing the overall toxic load in the home. As interest in more natural options grow among caregivers so does education and the desire to really devour that education for more effective, safe use of natural products for children.

And there's so much content out there now, I know that we have a lot on our own blog and social media, so I definitely recommend learning a little bit more about the ingredients in the products that we have been normally using and we've grown up around and why it's important to switch to something a little bit more natural for our kids especially.

doTERRA: I think that is so right. And like you said, just kind of paying attention to some of the products that you have just been using your whole life without a second thought and just really examining what you're putting in your body, what you're bringing into your home, all of those things.

Samantha Lewis: Exactly.

Precautions with Children

doTERRA: So, you mentioned that there are some kind of precautions and steps you want to take when using oils with your children. What do I need to know so that I can use essential oils safely with my kids?

Samantha Lewis: Yeah, definitely. There's a bit to get into. And I think, like I said, the key one is dosage. It's really a key component when using essential oils safely with kids. I truly believe that with essential oils, less is more.

So, think of essential oils as concentrates. I mean, they literally are distilled down plant extracts in some cases 10 plus pounds of plant material per five or 15 mL bottle, depending on the yield of that oil. This also means that high amounts of essential oils could potentially pose safety concerns both in adults and children, just depending on existing health conditions, other factors and the exact dosage that you're using.

So, use your intuition when adjusting dosage and starting essential oil use with children. Now, aromatic and topical use are great places to start. These methods help you understand the child's tolerance for essential oils, and oftentimes internal use might not even be necessary because the brilliant way a child's body can effectively use what's given to it.

So, while testing out the aromatic and topical application methods, dose can vary from child to child. But I think a general rule of thumb is to start with one drop and go from there depending on tolerance application method, and that one drop should be diluted in something when using such oils topically, no matter what it is, even if it's considered a hot oil like an original or a more soothing oil and gentle on the skin like lavender, it's always a good idea to start with a dilution method.

Industry standard suggests starting with nine drops carrier oil to one drop essential oils that you can start to increase that to about 5 to 10 drops of essential oil for older children. Of course, adjust this as you the caregiver, see fit.

doTERRA: All of that is such incredible information. And like you said, it's going to depend child to child. So, make sure and just err on the side of caution when you start and make sure you know what is going to work for your child.

Samantha Lewis: Absolutely. And it's going to be a learning curve a little bit, right? Even with the foods that we give our children as they're you know, as they're growing up and you start giving them solid foods, what they like and don't like what works for them and their bodies, their digestive systems. So, use some of that intuition and kind of keep tabs on how they're reacting to things that you're giving them.

doTERRA: Absolutely. Now, one of my favorite things about essential oils is that they are very simple to use and very easy. So, what, in your opinion, is the best way to teach my children to use essential oils to have that empowerment in their own lives?

Samantha Lewis: So, getting into like the best way to teach them, I think safe use can honestly create such a positive experience from the start, and it can be really empowering for children. Unsafe use that causes reactions could create potential for the child to just avoid essential oils in the future and we don't want that. We want them to be excited and feel empowered using essential oils. And I cannot emphasize safe use enough. Teach them to apply oils on safe areas like the bottoms of the feet, arms and legs while avoiding known sensitive areas like eyes, ears, face, nose, and mouth.

And I love the kids blends as a starting point. So, we have an incredible set of seven kids blends. They're a really great place to not only educate on safe use, but also empower a child to use oils in efficacious manner.

doTERRA: And I absolutely love the kids blend as well, and not just for kids. I use it on myself sometimes because it's all the same powerful, amazing, essential oils that I use day to day, and it's conveniently packaged.

Samantha Lewis: Totally agree. I think the kids kit, it's for big kids too, it's for adults, it's for grown-ups and they're so easy to use. That's what's beautiful about them. And I love that they you know, we can really easily educate everyone about how to use such oils using that kit, especially children.

Routines with Children

doTERRA: Yes. Samantha, it has been so great to talk to you. Before we end, I want to hear about maybe some of your favorite essential oil routines to use with the kids in your life.

Samantha Lewis: Yeah, I love diving into this topic. So outside of key use cases like skin health that we all know. I love taking the opportunity with kids to play around with what they enjoy. So a quick little story on this that actually happened recently. So, great timing.

I was babysitting my niece, who's about three and a half, so she's at a very curious creative stage as a toddler. She's grown up around essential oils and has been really interested in playing around with some of the oils our family has used with her. I took the chance to dive into her curiosity by laying out some different touch blends and the kids blends, letting her pick them up, smell them, roll them on in safe spaces, and talked her through what each one was for as she experienced them.

Although she smelled like so many different oils by the end of this, it was really fun to expose her to some new essential oils while helping her very basically learn how to safely apply them and what some of them are used for.

I was able to send her home with a kid's kit and her parents have been using the Rons regularly with her since. She's so curious and is just loving it. It was great to see her excited, empowered and curious about natural products while still learning how to use them in a safe way. I'm sure she doesn't fully understand things yet, but I can't wait to watch her grow up with that foundational knowledge and see where it takes her.

I don't know, maybe a future doTERRA leader or doTERRA product developer, we'll see. But it's been really fun to kind of be part of that empowerment cycle with the kid at such a young age and and teach them safe ways, safe methods of use.

doTERRA: I love that story. I think that's so incredible. And to see that curiosity and that creativity at such a young age and find a way to bolster that and encourage that I think is incredible.

Samantha Lewis: Yeah, it's been a really good experience.

doTERRA: Samantha, thank you so much for talking with us today for teaching us more about how to use these powerful, incredible, essential oils safely with our children.

Samantha Lewis: Thanks so much for having me.

Clove

doTERRA: The scent of clove evokes the warm feeling of gathering together and comforting holiday foods. It's symbolic of dignity and the ability to withstand troubles. It's a spice that has found its way into the tradition of many cultures around the world.

Today, we're going to talk about some internal historical uses for these plants. Any internal benefits discussed are not applicable to aromatic or topical use. Also, various plant parts such as the leaves, bark, flower, stem, fruit peel, bud resin, etc. were often used for many different practices and benefits. These historical uses are mentioned here to offer insight as we explore the history of oils and plants. As such, these ancient uses are solely for informational purposes and are not being advocated or recommended by doTERRA. Proceed at your own risk with such uses.

The source and place of origin of cloves were shrouded in mystery until the Portuguese discovered the Maluku Islands in the 16th century. Originally cloves were grown or rather grew wild on the famous Maluku Islands in Indonesia, which became known as the spice.

Vast forests of clove trees flourished on these islands and were encouraged in their abundance by a native custom of planting a clove tree whenever a child was born, believing that if the tree flourished, then so would the child. There's a Zanzibar saying that goes, "clove trees will not grow except within the site of the mountains and within the smell of the sea." And the clove tree does flourish in the warm, humid climates of places such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brazil and Tanzania.

In fact, Tanzania alone produces nearly 80% of the world's cloves. The clove harvest traditionally consists of a few busy days when the more nimble members of the community head to the treetops, beating the cloves from branches with sticks. As the cloves showered down, they are gathered in nets and spread out to dry, hardening and blackening in the tropical sun and taking on the characteristic nail like appearance that gives the spice its name from the Latin class or male.

Some of the Earliest Records of Clove

Now, the first record we have of cloves actually comes from a handful of cloves found in a charred ceramic vessel beneath the Syrian desert in this ancient small town on the banks of the Euphrates River, an individual by the name of Puzurum lost his house to a devastating fire in the perspective of overall history. This was an extremely minor event. A new house was built over the ruins of the old and then another and many others after that.

Life went on and on and on. Thousands of years later, a team of archaeologists came to the dusty village that now stands atop the ruins. As they dug through the packed and burned earth that had once been Puzurum's home. They extracted not only the vessel containing the cloves, but also an archive of inscribed clay tablets. By happy accident, the blaze that destroyed newsrooms house had fired the fragile clay tablets as hard as though they had been baked in a kiln, thereby ensuring their survival over thousands of years.

A second fluke was a reference on one of the tablets to a local ruler known from other sources as King Yadihk-Abu. His name dates the blaze, and the cloves, to within a few years of 1721 B.C..

To find the earliest written mention of cloves, however, we have to look to the Han Dynasty and China in 207 B.C.. The writings tell how officers of the court were made to hold cloves in their mouth when talking to the king, apparently to ensure the sweetness and acceptability of their breath. Europeans, however, did not experience cloves until about the fourth century, when the spice arrived on the continent via traders as a luxury item.

Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, is said to have presented Saint Silvester, the Bishop of Rome, with gold and silver vessels filled with incense and spices, including 150 pounds of cloves. Cloves were such a luxury item that in Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries, they were worth at least their weight in gold. Despite its high price, it became extremely popular. Of course, it wouldn't be found in any common kitchen, but it would be found in just about every kitchen of the wealthy.

Uses Throughout History

Clove has been used in a wide variety of ways throughout history, from cooking to traditional wellness practices. For instance, clove can be used to make a fragrant pomander when combined with an orange. A pomander is a ball made for perfumes, and traditionally it was often carried with the owner. When given as a gift in Victorian England such a pomander indicated a warmth of feeling toward that person. Clove is known to possess many properties that make it useful in oral health and is used in various dental creams, toothpastes, mouthwashes and throat sprays.

Clove was also one of the spices that played a prominent role in the ninth century texts written by the famous Arab physician Isaac ibn Amran. His works, written in Arabic and translated into Hebrew, Latin and Spanish, became the foundation of teachings in medieval Europe. Clove has been used traditionally in many health traditions, including Ayurveda, traditional Chinese wellness practices and Western herbalism. Whatever way you choose to use clove, we know it will bring some joy into your home.

Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you want to try any of the products you learned about, click on the link in the episode description or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today. And remember, if you like what you heard today, rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.