Lugging around diapers, wipes, snacks a sling and a change of clothes for your little one is more than enough to remember, but as your children start to get older you also need to prepare for bumps and bruises, scrapes and stings. Lavender Essential Oil, Lavendula augustifolia, is known to be analgesic, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, antiseptic, as an insecticide, and the list goes on and on. Best of all lavender has no known side effects. So, lighten your load by throwing out the Tylenol, ibuprofen, Neosporin, burn gel, rubbing alcohol and whatever else, because Lavender Essential Oil can do it all!

When used properly, Lavender Essential Oil can literally be a lifesaver. Essential oils are powerful and must be respected as such. It is important to use all essential oils with the same caution you would give to over-the-counter medications. That being said, doesn't it just feel good knowing you're using an all-natural and pure, botanical product to ease your little one's aches and pains.

Never use an essential oil with a child without diluting it first in either water or a high-quality vegetable oil (generally referred to as a carrier oil). Valerie Ann Worwood has a wonderful, easy-to-follow chart in her book, Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child, she recommends one to four drops of essential oil per one ounce of carrier oil for infants six to twelve months, and five to eight drops of essential oil per ounce of carrier oil for toddlers one to four years. In my practice I always use the minimum amount of essential oil possible to achieve the desired effect. Remember that the oils not only have chemical makeup which gives them their therapeutic properties, they also contain subtle vibrational energies from the parent plant itself which allow them to heal on another level. In aromatherapy less is always more.

Next time you treat a scrape, clean and disinfect the wound with four drops of Lavender Essential Oil added to one cup of warm water. Allow the scrape to heal exposed if it is possible to keep it clean and dry. This will help the wound dry up and scab over, so that it can heal itself.

When you need to dilute the essential oil you can use a high-quality vegetable oil straight from your cupboard, olive or sweet almond oil are good choices, and of course always choose organic and cold-pressed when available. Use Lavender Essential Oil diluted in a carrier oil directly on the affected area to ease the itching of mosquito and spider bites, bee stings and any type of rash. Remember to also check with your pediatrician if you think your child may be having an allergic reaction.

Lavender Essential Oil is also extremely effective in helping to heal burns. Use your dilution for either sunburns or heat burns to relieve pain, prevent peeling and promote healing. Both olive oil and sweet almond oil also have inherent sunscreen abilities. While they are not enough to protect your toddler's skin from the sun by themselves, it is an added benefit when you use them for other purposes.

You can use this same dilution to help ease sore jaw and headaches caused by teething pain. Use the diluted oil to softly massage around the jaw, behind the ears and the nape of the neck. This is a wonderful remedy to use in the evening to help ease the transition toward bedtime, but can be used anytime throughout the day.

Add a couple of drops of Lavender Essential Oil to a lukwarm bath to help cool a fever or diffuse with a therapeutic diffuser or by placing a few drops in a bowl of hot water in the child's room to relieve nausea. Diffusing Lavender in the child's room is also an effective solution when helping the child learn to sleep through the night.

Learning a few guidelines for using essential oils can greatly improve your day-to-day life with your toddler. Lavender Essential Oil is simple to use, with no known contraindications, and is easy to carry with you. Some more uses for Lavender Essential Oil include, anxiety, nervousness, depression, sleeplessness, headache, migraine, indigestion, stomach-ache, restlessness, cuts, and if nothing else, Lavender Essential Oil will always help to calm an upset child. Try reaching for Lavender next time you visit your medicine cabinet or first aid kit.

For more information about using essential oils with children see Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child, and The Complete Book of Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood. For more information about the general use of essential oils see Aromatherapy for Dummies, by Kathi Keville.