# Lavender essential oil for helping child relax and sleep? - cross posted



## colsxjack (Dec 9, 2009)

Cross posted in natural body care

Hello.

We have a 3 yr old DD that has a hard time relaxing and sleeping.

She also gets VERY revved up from a bath. And so we are finding that we cannot bath her before bed and get her to sleep at a good time.

This means that we either have to forgo a bath or forgo sleep.

We end up only bathing her on the weekend and once during the week and spot cleaning her other times.

We would like a couple of things.

1) to bathe her more often as she is 3 and active and gets dirty

2) help her relax and sleep

So we were thinking that lavender oil in a bath may help her relax.

Is this safe for a 3 yr old?

Do I just add two drops to her bath water?

We are pretty sure she has seasonal allergies, as she is stuffy and sneezy with itchy eyes in the late summer and autumn, will lavender oil make this worst?

Thanks you.


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## zebra15 (Oct 2, 2009)

Have you tried a bath earlier in the day? Like right when you get home from work/school? Or first thing in the morning?

Instead of lavender (which DS and I are allergic to) how about Eucalyptus? That works for us and its good for our allergies as well.

How about a new evening routine? Dinner, bath, brush teeth, dim lights, read stories - quietly, lights off, short verbal very quiet story or fable then sleep? keep in a mind a new routine takes a couple weeks to fully work and it's difficult at first.

Just a couple thoughts.


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## colsxjack (Dec 9, 2009)

We have been trying to find a new bath routine. But nothing works well with our schedule.

She goes to daycare full time and we work full time.

Mornings are difficult enough without having to add a bath. And the only time it does work is right after we get home, before dinner. But it is hard as she is cranky at that time and life is busy getting dinner ready and spending quality time with her. But it still does rev her up and then we sometimes get to the point where she is over tired and then unable to get comfortable to lay down and sleep.

We cannot do the bath after dinner, as it really does rev her up. It is unbelievable how much energy a bath gives her. She literally runs around full tilt laughing and screaming and carrying on for at least an hour after bath, but it doesn't wear her out!

Right now our night time routine is:

play for a bit after work while other parent is making dinner

eat dinner

cuddle on couch for a bit reading with Mama

brush teeth and floss

wash hands and face and sponge bath butt and feet

jammies

family reading in her bed, sometimes with a bit of light chatting before hand

lay down with lights out and relax and sleep....sometimes with a little whispered story or singing if needed. (this part takes 15 minutes if there is not any bath involved)

Her bedtime routine really works....as long as there isn't any bath involved. If she has a bath she loses about 1.5 hours of sleep.

If she is dirty, or has been sweaty, we will do a bigger sponge bath of the whole body.

We will try to get some Eucalyptus oil too. We may try the lavender a bit without actually putting any on her to see if she reacts to it.


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## zebra15 (Oct 2, 2009)

Would a shower work better than a bath?


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## anjsmama (Apr 6, 2011)

I've never used it in the bath because my 4 y/o and 18 m/o take a bath at the same time (lazy mom...), but I do rub lavender essential oil on my 4 y/o's legs (diluted with coconut oil) before bed time, as recommended by his pediatrician, and it really helps him settle down! He can't go without his bath... he is covered with mud and food and crayon and whatnot by bedtime!


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## loveandgarbage (Feb 5, 2008)

I started adding lavender oil to my kids bath when the youngest was about 2. I think it helped to calm them. If they were really riled up, I would dilute some in a massage oil and lather their bodies with it before putting on pajamas. I've actually found eucalyptus to be stimulating at night time, so I only use it if they have colds.


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