As they learn about life, children are confronted with many emotions which, little by little, will help them to build their own personality. All these experiences are sometimes a source of disturbance. However, thanks to the world of volatile aromatic fragrances, we can help and guide them to better manage their emotions.
As a parent, beyond the material needs, listening to your child’s emotions seems to be the key to accompany him in a global and harmonious way. And because emotions are above all energies that circulate, it is important to help your child to welcome and express them. Moreover, naturally, a child can go from laughter to tears in the space of an instant, because he or she expresses his or her feelings without restraint or taboos. Rather than trying to stifle anger, stop tears of sadness, or put limits on a joy that never ends… we should try to accompany them. Nowadays, the sense of smell, this archaic and forgotten sense, has the capacity to convey information in spite of ourselves, deep inside. Certain smells, because they act on the nerve centers, help children’s daily lives. Moreover, this way of administration is particularly practical, it can be done by simple breathing or by atmospheric diffusion.
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Nerve balance
There are many sources of stress for infants and children. Intuitively, they often feel the emotional tensions of their parents. They also suffer from anxieties related to the different stages of construction of their identity, and are of course also subjected to possible emotional aggressions in their daily life. From a physiological point of view, the child can somatize his anxieties in different ways. Stomach aches, nightmares, night wakings, nausea, constipation, “bedwetting” accidents, lack of appetite, skin problems (eczema) or respiratory problems (asthma) or simply a drop in immunity leading to chronic ENT problems.
The essential oil of marjoram is an adaptogen essential oil, useful when one is confronted with a stress, whatever it is. It will know how to fluidify the emotions, to restore the balance in the zone in suffering. On the other hand, it is important to support the vital energy, often in loss of speed when there are emotional tensions, and to recharge the nervous system. The essential oil of ravintsara has this faculty, while bringing calm and a better sleep. Ideal during emotionally destabilizing periods, to help the body not to devitalize and to settle down. The essential oil of hyssop is frequently used in early childhood for its remarkable antiviral, antiasthmatic and expectorant properties. In the subtle register, it has in addition properties to treat the depressions and the anxieties. Its very soft and pleasant fragrance has, on the other hand, the capacity to develop the intuition and the capacities of listening and feeling. These qualities give it a holistic dimension, and help the child to develop the listening of his body in a state of mind of openness, even of spiritual connection. The only drawback is its high price…
Smell and touch, original sensations
If there are two senses that are forgotten in our “audio-gusto-visual” society, it is indeed those of touch and smell. The incessant search for pleasures to compensate for the gloom of daily life, as well as the means of communication focused on images and sound, divert the attention, from a very young age, from the two senses considered as the most primitive: smell and touch. Synthetic perfumes, chemical flavors, everything is there to cut us off from the primitive pleasure of natural and authentic odors. When a child is born, he lives in symbiosis with his mother, who is for him only an extension of himself; the skin and the smell of his mother are two fundamental reference points for him.
This is perhaps why massages associated with essential oils are so beneficial for the baby and facilitate a harmonious physiological, psychological and emotional maturation. From the earliest age, we notice an effect on the nervous balance as well as the immune system: babies are calmer, sleep better, are more awake and less prone to ENT infections.
The link to the mother
The maternal reference point is fundamental during the first months of life, and as an adult it is always comforting to rediscover the forgotten sensations of a cuddle in the arms of one’s mother, or even a moment of shared complicity with her. The world of olfactory vibrations offers us real treasures in this respect. Because they allow us to restore confidence, to blow away fears and anxieties of abandonment, separation or death, to reassure and warm from within… We can thus offer this feeling of comfort and confidence to our children, by simply breathing natural fragrances. The one of vanilla and the one of fine lavender are particularly indicated. These two aromatic compounds have stimulating properties of the parasympathetic nervous system, the one that puts the body at rest.
They will thus make it possible to calm any state of crisis. And, on the other hand, both act on the subtle register but in different ways. Vanilla absolute – provided it is natural and not synthetic – is an aromatic, sweet and warm vibration, perceived in the first seconds of earthly life. Indeed, breast milk is rich in a molecule very close to vanillin, which is found mainly in vanilla absolute (which is not strictly speaking an EO because it is extracted with organic solvents). Fine lavender also has this capacity to link to the mother. Its properties on stress are no longer to be demonstrated and, on an emotional register, it brings a deep comfort, of the order of the emotional, material and even spiritual safety. We speak of a “Mother Teresa effect“! Applied on the cardiac plexus, at each breath of anxiety, even pure, or in the evening at bedtime, it brings calm and serenity. This essential oil is devoid of toxic risk, it can be used in infants from 6 months. A gesture that can be part of the evening ritual, becoming a reassuring reference point for the child.
Our formula to support the emotional child
Indication : formula with aim balancing the nervous system and anti-anguish
- Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia): 5 drops
- Fine lavender (Lavandula vera): 30 drops
- Ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora): 30 drops
- Marjoram (Origanum majorant): 20 drops
- Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis var. decumbens): 5 drops
- Apricot kernel oil: 15 ml
Preparation: pour the essential oils according to the indicated quantities into a 15 ml tinted glass bottle equipped with a dropper. Complete the bottle with the vegetable oil, close it and shake.
Indications: nervousness, stress, sadness and anguish of the child, night awakenings, fall of immunity bound to a stress. This mixture can be used in the child and the infant from 6 months. For a greater effectiveness, to associate the two ways of administration.
Olfactory way: to deposit 2 drops inside the wrists of the child so that it proceeds to at least 3 consecutive deep inspirations. For the smallest, be satisfied with the cutaneous way. To be done morning and evening.
Cutaneous way : 1 to 3 drops on any blocked plexus, and/or on the arch of the foot, morning and evening. In addition, in the evening at bedtime, massage the back, on each side of the spine, from top to bottom, with 4 drops (for the youngest) to 8 drops (from 6 years).
Caution: do not confuse the essential oil of hyssop with that of hyssop officinalis (Hyssopus officinalis var. officinalis), rich in neurotoxic and abortive ketone.
Atmospheric diffusion: the joy of citrus
Few children do not like citrus scents. Lemon, sweet orange, grapefruit, bergamot, are all fragrances that are pleasant to diffuse in the house or even in the office. These are the scents of childhood that bring a light, cheerful atmosphere, conducive to games and relaxation. When the atmosphere is tense, bad mood or anger, the diffusion of a citrus scent will dissipate the uneasiness in a delicate and effective way.
Somatization: linalool basil relaxes
Children somatize in an almost instantaneous way their annoyances or their worries. When the child has difficulty in expressing himself, and we to comfort him verbally, the odors can help to look after his states of mind. In the event of crisis, that of Basil Linalool Essential Oil is very effective. It will be able to relax the belly, to untie a blocked plexus and its soft smell will bring appeasement and comfort to the child.
To do : put 2 drops (before 30 months) or 4 to 6 drops (after 30 months) in the same quantity, at least, of apricot kernel vegetable oil, and massage all the blocked plexuses, as well as the arch of the foot. Have the child breathe in the fragrance, getting him to focus on his inhalations and exhalations. To be used occasionally, or daily for the nervous and anxious.
Enuresis: solve the problem with Cypress of Provence
Accidents of “bedwetting” can persist beyond the age of 5, when physiological maturity normally allows the control of the sphincters. This problem, called enuresis, is often a reflection of the child’s anxiety and lack of authority over himself. It can be useful to help him to find the conviction that he will manage to control his body, and become an autumn, by bringing him confidence and will. First of all, we will try to make him responsible on the subject: keeping a calendar in which we will note in a symbolic way the accidents can bring an improvement. In aromatherapy, there is a fragrance that symbolizes this authority, it is the essential oil of cypress. This huge coniferous tree provides a foundation and anchorage and helps the child to find the conviction that he or she will succeed in controlling and dominating him or herself.
To do: massage the lower abdomen in the evening at bedtime with 3 to 4 drops of EO of cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) diluted in as much vegetable oil of apricot kernel. Make the child breathe deeply the fragrance at the time of the application. Continue for 3 or 4 weeks.