Episode 264: Back to School with doTERRA

Back to school can be a chaotic time for both you and your kids. But doTERRA^® is here to make it a little bit easier.

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.

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Today, we're excited to talk to Erica Lucas all about Back to School with doTERRA.

doTERRA: Erica, thank you so much for being here today.

Erica Lucas: Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor.

doTERRA: I am really excited to talk about Back to School because it's the time of year and I feel like it's something a lot of us are right in the middle of.

So, to begin, can you answer the question: how can you use doTERRA products to help your kids feel the most prepared to go back to school?

Erica: Yeah, so I have been with doTERRA for almost ten years now and I have a two-year-old so don't have children in school. However, I've been working with a lot of families that do, over the years, and so I can speak to that and also what I use for my daughter when she's hanging out with her little friends and we get together for playdates and stuff.

And so I would say first and foremost, getting the gut in a great place before school begins. And working on that all throughout school is such a fantastic idea. Of course, we'll talk through some of the oils that are really helpful in preparing our kids for back to school and oils while at school.

But yes, working on our nutrition and our gut health and getting into a good bedtime routine before school begins is also a great idea. So, we have oils and tools to help with that. So first and foremost, I would say one of the most foundational products would be our PB Assist+ Jr ^®--our probiotics. And that double encapsulated technology that's in our probiotics for adults is also for children. And the tiny little granules of probiotic are double encapsulated and so they get to where they need to go and they neutralize the stomach acid. And the delivery system is impeccable. And so they're getting all of that goodness, all those great strains of healthy bacteria to help their gut microbiome.

And we know that there's a huge connection between gut health and the health of our brain as well. And so, it's important to strengthen that and it helps to sort of strengthen everything. So that would be a great place for people to start if they don't have that in their toolbox--their wellness toolbox for their family.

As well, there are vitamins that we have. There's kids, vitamins. They're watermelon flavored, and they actually give you minerals and support the body nutritionally. But also, it says right on our product information page that they're known to help with cognitive function, too. They're going to support that. So that's another fantastic tool to use.

And then of course, the omegas, the IQ Omega^® drops. And a lot of families over the years have just been obsessed with those for their kids, and the kids enjoy the flavor. It's Wild Orange flavored. And if they don't like the flavor, for some reason, most families just pop a drop into smoothies or something like that, or juice, and it helps them as well.

So, I would say getting those habits in place, you know, now or leading up to school. I know some people, depending on where you live, are already back to school, so they can work on that. Now, you know, it's not too late to start working on gut health ever. So those would be the first few things I would say.

And then also for bedtime routine and getting into restful night's sleep, there are loads of oils that we have, you know, pick which one works the best for you. There's so many that help with restful night's sleep and just supporting us in creating a calming environment. So, you know, oils like Lavender and doTERRA Serenity^® and doTERRA Balance^®, our grounding blend, diffusing some of those as part of our bedtime routine.

And you know, there's like said, many other oils. Vetiver is another fantastic oil that does really help support that calming atmosphere, especially for children. We've seen a lot of success with that for families.

doTERRA: I think all of those are amazing. And like you said, those foundational habits are so important as we go into especially some schedule changes with the children and different things like that, making sure that they have that foundation set up. I love it.

Now, specifically, what are maybe some of your must-have essential oils and other doTERRA products to have on-hand at home for back to school season?

Erica: Yeah, I would recommend for sure the Kids Oil Collection. If people are out there and they don't have that yet, it's wonderful. There's four oils in each bottle and then it's heavily diluted with fractionated coconut oil. It's made for children, which I love.

But the great thing is adults can use it too. But the Stronger^™ blend, which is sort of like the children's equivalent to doTERRA On Guard^® in its benefits, that one is a must have. It's that convenient roller bottle. It's fantastic for being able to roll on the bottoms of your kids’ feet or up and down the spine. And I would also say doTERRA On Guard--having that diffusing all the time. It's known as the protective blend. It's a wonderful oil to have.

Also Rose Touch is another one that is really fantastic for supporting our body's natural defenses. I would also recommend having respiratory support oils on hand like Easy Air^® as it's known as, in some parts of the world and then doTERRA Breathe^® is the other name for it.

So, I'm, just for context, I'm a Canadian Wellness Advocate with doTERRA. I'm living in Florida, so I go by the multiple names: the Easy Air or the doTERRA Breathe. So, an oil like that would be fantastic to have.

And again, oils that are good for sleep and that sort of thing. Even oils that are soothing for skin or, you know, skin irritations or things that come up. Kids can be a little bit accident prone at times, so having oils like that on hand to be able to kind of help them fight some of those challenges that come up.

And in saying that we also have products like Correct-X^®, which is a fantastic kind of lotion or cream, if you will, that you can put on when there are those situations that arise where you would need a little something. Pop that on with a Band-Aid and you're good to go.

So yeah, I would say in terms of other must haves for my family, again, my daughter is only two—she just turned two a couple of months ago—and she's around a lot of kids, though. We have playdates. Today, for example, I took her to something called "Sunflower Hour" and it was this two-hour outdoor pool thing. And it's a cute little water park area. And she's always around other kids.

You know, kids kind of are always eating from each other's--like they're two, right? So they're going for the same watermelon in the bowl and they're getting their germs all over there rubbing their noses and all of that. So, I always use Stronger on my daughter every day before especially—you do it every day. But especially before going out to be around other children, I will roll some oils in the bottoms of her feet and up her spine just to kind of again, help her body's natural defenses, so she's equipped.

doTERRA: I think that is a fantastic idea. Now, like you mentioned, your daughter's a little bit younger, but you've helped a lot of other families as they support their kids with oils. What products do you like to recommend sending to school with the children?

Erica: That's such a great question because I have a funny story. A friend of mine, she's a vice principal of a school, and she told me one day--she called me after school and said, "Hey, it was the first week back and I have to tell you something funny."

She said, "I was going into the kindergarten class today—I was doing some"--she was working in there for the day with the kids and helping the teachers and stuff. And she said, "I knew which kids' parents knew you because they smelt like essential oils."

She said, "They were a bunch of little diffusers running around. And she said, "I could smell doTERRA On Guard and I could smell InTune^® the focus blend." She's like, "I knew those kids, their parents must know Erica." And sure enough, that was true.

And so those are some of my favorite ones right there doTERRA On Guard, on the bottoms of the feet. Or now we have Stronger. (This was years ago, before Stronger existed.) So having those ones to be able to roll on them and send them to school. And, I mean she could smell the InTune because that one was likely rolled on pulse points or, back of the neck or that sort of thing.

But the nice thing is, if some schools have rules about aromas and scents, what people can do is put doTERRA On Guard, on the bottoms of the feet, Stronger on the bottoms of the feet or other oils that might be helpful like Thinker^® or InTune. Roll them on the bottoms of the feet, put socks and shoes on and off they go. And then it won't be such an invasive aroma.

And the truth is, we know this, the oils don't linger forever, so it shouldn't really be a problem at school. But if that is an issue, just socks and shoes are a great tip to get the oils on your kids. And if they are allowed to have, at school, their oils which most schools are okay with that, those kids oils are wonderful because they have the little clip on the top and you can hook them on to their backpack.

It has a beautiful case that you can fit all of the oils in, and it even has this like adorable little flashcard keychain sort of thing on a ring—I don't know what you call it, I'm sorry—but you can flip through. It's a tiny little booklet and you can flip through and see what each oil does. And it's simple enough for a child to read and understand, and they can feel empowered to go, "Okay, what oil am needing right now?" And they can have their little oil bag with them. And they're heavily diluted so if they happen to get, you know, them in their eye or something like that, it's not going to be an issue in the same way we'd have to be careful with other oils.

These ones are made for kids and for kids to use. Of course, you'd have to ensure that your child is of the age where they could be independent enough to use oils. But yeah, you could send them to school with your kids if that's allowed. And that is such an empowering thing for them, especially with oils like Brave^® and Steady^® for them to actually be able to support themselves in an atmosphere where they might need a little bit of something to just maybe take the edge off or make them feel empowered or emboldened or something like that.

doTERRA: That leads me into my final question, which is what are some of the tips or recommendations that you have for helping children of varying ages safely use doTERRA products at home or at school?

Erica: I would definitely say ensuring that we're following the usage guide for these oils. Now, there's lots of information that we have access to that will inform us how to use them safely and effectively. For example, right on the bottle, it'll tell you if an oil is meant to be used aromatically, topically, or internally. There's also different guides and tools that we have books and apps and little booklets and things like that.

But my biggest advice would be if you are somebody who's listening, who is connected through a Wellness Advocate that holds classes or would take time to chat with you one-on-one. If you have questions about how you can implement your oils safely and effectively, that would be my top piece of advice, is to connect with someone who can guide you--a Wellness Advocate who knows this stuff and can support you.

As for different ages, I just want to mention going back to and I'm often thinking of young kids. I have a lot of friends that have children between the age of birth and 10 or 12 years old. But, you know, we're also talking back to school for teens, too.

And I just want to point out that there's a product line called the Adaptiv^® System that is such a fantastic tool that's been so helpful for a lot of our teens and our adults. But the Adaptiv supplement has been life changing for so many people. And the oil that comes in the 15 mL bottle and also the roller 10 mL--taking that to school and using that supplement, as long as it's appropriate for the child's age.

And again, just making sure that you're following the instructions that doTERRA has issued about each product. But that would be an amazing support for young—I was going to say young adults—for teenagers.

doTERRA: Yes. And I think that continues into young adulthood and adulthood. It's definitely still one of my favorites.

Erica: Mine, too. My husband and I both love Adaptiv.

doTERRA: Erica, thank you so much for sitting down with us today, for discussing a lot of different ways that we can make sure and help support our children and our families with these doTERRA products. Thank you for being here.

Erica: Thank you so much for having me.

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.

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*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.