While Grae and I both seem to be extremely good at avoiding the terrible sicknesses that circle through our groups of friends, today she woke up with a runny, but congested nose. Since we prefer to do things the natural way in our house, the first inkling of a cold means a day filled with non-stop fruits and veggies, and extra powerful green smoothie, and a garlic-filled dinner. …Plus some sick kid sensory soup as of today – hah!
This was a totally spur of the moment idea {hence the really awful iPhone pics}, but oh my goodness – it was a great one! Basically, time was ticking and I really needed to throw together a quick dinner before leaving the house for tutoring, while Grae was going through a particularly congested / ‘I cant breathe’ / ‘I want to play with you, Mama’ stage of the day. Not the optimal situation. I offered her our normal solution for congestion – to relax in a hot tub of water infused with our favourite essential oils – but she only wanted to be in the same room as I was in, of course.
Thinking quickly, I scooted down to the bathroom and retrieved 3 of our favourite oils – peppermint, rosemary, and tea tree – plus the empty bin off of our DIY sensory table and a big towel.
I filled the bin up with hot water {though obviously not hot enough to burn her}, added several drops of each essential oil plus a few drops of green food colouring just for fun, and topped it off with a sprinkling of lavender flowers. Before I’d even left the sink, I could smell the oils wafting out of the bin and filling the air! I set Miss G up in a corner of our tiny kitchen with some bowls, cups, a spatula, a turkey baster, and a ladle, and the scent hit her immediately.
In between making me bowls of peppermint soup and tea tree tea, I watched her take in several long deep breaths of the steamy aroma and her congestion truly seemed to be easing up as she played. I left her to it, and without a word of a lie, by the time I was popping our Mexican quinoa bake into the oven, she turned to me with big eyes and an enthusiastic voice and said, ‘Mama, I can breathe again!!’ Seriously! Congestion relief through play… How much better can it get?!
With dinner in the oven, we dumped everything into the bathtub, topped it up with warm water, and continued the congestion relief with a soothing essential oil-infused bath. ☺
Interested in seeing the other ways we use essential oils in our house? See our 15 Everyday Ways to Use Essential Oils post over at Moments in Mommyland.
Also, if you like the idea of ‘sensory soups’, but don’t have a sick kiddo, try this polka dot soup from Fun at Home With Kids… It’s one of the first ’soups’ I ever saw and looks like a ton of fun while being super simple to put together!
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Wow! What a great idea! I much prefer the natural way of encouraging the body to heal itself!
What a great idea for a classroom when winter hits and parents still send their children to school when they are unwell!
I am going to store this idea away in my winter section of resources
Mind you compared to other countries Perth is relatively mild but we do get some chilly days.
Do you have the Mexican quinoa bake on your blog somewhere? I will go and look!
Thanks for sharing
Sue
Yes, I’d like the Quinoa recipe too. :0) 35º here (Perth) today Sue!
Fantastic!!! Funnily enough, yesterday was THAT day for me too. I’ll remember that one for next time. You are so full of good ideas! I stuck her in the laundry trough/tub but failed to add the essences …
A reminder for readers: if you do put them in the bath with it, don’t use too much as some of the essences can cause a hot/burny sensation on the skin. Too much for a child. I did that once when she was younger. Oops! Too much peppermint in her bath water … I took her out very quickly. AND, if you get it on your hands, remember to clean it off before picking them up from the bath. Another mistake I made. It was straight back into the shower to rinse off the “burny” sensation. So much for relaxing her in the bath … She wasn’t a happy camper after that.