This second half of the series will discuss two essential components to keeping your kids and family healthy all year long – exercise and immune support. Though they might not seem to go together, they are part of the four pillars that will create a solid foundation for your family – sleep, nutrition, exercise, and immune support. Find tips and recipes throughout this blog to support your family throughout the year, through the ups and downs and countless exposure to bugs and yuck that attack at will. Get them moving and keep them supported, mamas!
EXERCISE
THE BASICS
In general, kids are NOT getting enough exercise these days. Screen time and video games play favorite to simple, old-fashioned movement, and obesity continues to take hold of our nation. There is a surge in popularity for motivating kids to get up and go, including things like the UNICEF Kid Power Band, a pedometer that enables kids to go on missions in order to earn food packets for malnourished children around the world. There are also tons of options for getting your kiddos to move, including family exercise time, online videos like Cosmic Yoga or KidsHealth.org, as well as signing them up for local sports teams and activities. Or simply take them to the playground or the ball field and get active with them. They follow good examples, and making it a priority in your life will place value on exercise as a necessary component for healthy living.
Whatever you do, be sure that they are getting the three elements of fitness: endurance, strength, and flexibility. Endurance refers to aerobic activity, so shoot some hoops, swim some laps, play tag, ride bikes, and get moving! Strength simply means getting those muscles a workout, so climbing, monkeying around the bars, pushing up, or wrestling all boost this area. Finally, flexibility training enables those muscles to reach their maximum potential, so yoga, simple stretching, and even reaching and stretching for toys can help to hone their skills.
THE NEXT STEP
Diffusing certain essential oils, like citrus oils with peppermint or dōTERRA’s Motivate® Encouraging Blend, can help to motivate you to get up and go. You can also make it a point to diffuse these in the morning to get those littles and bigs out of bed in the morning and on their way towards an active day. It will help the whole family wake up and support your body in the process. Another great tips for kids who love smoothies is to try adding a drop of Lemon, Wild Orange, or Tangerine Essential oil to the mix before you blend it up. Not only will it enhance the flavor of the fruits and yogurt, but will also help to support a healthy metabolism and immune system while keeping the body free of toxins and free radicals. Try spicing up their granola bars or power bites with these oils, too!
Try this recipe for a morning kick:
GREEN BERRY CITRUS SMOOTHIE
Ingredients:
1 cup yogurt (vanilla or berry-flavored)
1 cup almond or coconut milk (or any milk)
1 cup frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.)
1 handful greens (spinach/baby kale/mixture)
1 Tbsp. healthy fat (coconut oil/flax oil/chia seeds/nut butter) – optional
1 drop dōTERRA Lemon or Wild Orange Essential Oil
Directions:
Place all ingredients into a high-powered blender or food processor. Pulse for 5-6 times to break up the berries, and the blend until smooth, usually 1 minute. You want to be sure to blend well to break up the spinach. Serve immediately with a wide straw!
IMMUNE SUPPORT
THE BASICS
No matter how hard we try to keep our family safe from environmental and seasonal threats, they still lurk around at certain times of the year. The best defense against the yuck is a strong offense – and that’s precisely where essential oils come in to play. Not only do they help to support your immune system and keep your body functioning properly, in combination with the other elements mentioned in this article, they can help your body to fight against any threats or toxins to which it is exposed. Kids can’t live in a bubble, no matter how much we may want it sometimes just to avoid the latest bug going around. Offensively protecting your kids with a strong game plan of nutrition, exercise, sleep, and support can keep them on their A-game all year long.
THE NEXT STEP
Let me start with one of my favorite blends for kiddos – the Immune Support blend. You can choose to apply this on a daily basis to the bottoms of their feet or up and down their spine, or you can wait for those seasons where threats are particularly high. When the first sniffle appears, double or triple the consistency of the application and be diligent! Essential oils support the body in supporting itself, so make it a part of your daily routine. Apply it once before school and once before bedtime when the alerts of illness are high in your area.
IMMUNE SUPPORT ROLLERBALL BLEND
Ingredients:
FOR 1 TO 5 YEARS OLD (2% DILUTION)
2 drops Lemon Essential Oil
1 drop Melaleuca Essential Oil
1 drop Clove Essential Oil
Fractionated Coconut Oil (or carrier oil of choice)
FOR 6 TO 11 YEARS OLD (5% DILUTION)
3 drops Lemon Essential Oil
3 drops Melaleuca Essential Oil
2 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil
2 drops Clove Essential Oil
Fractionated Coconut Oil (or carrier oil of choice)
FOR 12 TO 17 YEARS OLD (10% DILUTION)
6 drops Lemon Essential Oil
6 drops Melaleuca Essential Oil
4 drops Eucalyptus Essential Oil
4 drops Clove Essential Oil
Fractionated Coconut Oil (or carrier oil of choice)
Directions:
Add essential oils to rollerball bottle and top off with fractionated coconut oil or a carrier oil of your choice. Apply to bottoms of feet to prevent environmental threats. You can also use this blend in the diffuser to purify the air, or make a spray out of the essential oils to clean doorknobs and other items that are touched throughout the day.
Once again, dōTERRA has an answer to this problem with their On Guard® Protective Blend. Not only can you simply add some to a rollerball bottle and top it off with FCO to create an easy protective rollerball for your kiddos, but you can also diffuse it daily to clean the air in your home and protect your family. You can also add it to your homemade cleaning solution and make a spray with 2 oz. water and a few drops of On Guard® to spritz your furniture or take it on-the-go for shopping cart handles and toilet seats. In addition, dōTERRA also offers an entire line of On Guard® products specially formulated and tested to keep your home and family in tip-top condition. From foaming hand soap to laundry detergent and cleaner concentrate to throat drops, from OG® beadlets as a daily supplement to On Guard®+ Softgels for extra support, the On Guard line is an amazing product line for every family. And in case you’re wary, know that hospitals all across the United States are using On Guard® in their ventilation systems to support patients, staff, and visitors to their healthcare systems.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Restful and balanced sleep, sustained and supported nutrition, proper and well-rounded exercise, and consistent and persistent essential oil usage establish a firm foundation for keeping your kids and family as a whole healthy all year long. Essential oils bridge the gap from sort-of healthy to supported and strengthened by helping the body to sustain itself. But do know that essential oils cannot magically solve any problems or keep your family safe if you aren’t training them to be healthy in the areas of sleep and stress, exercise, and nutrition. The rollercoaster of life is unpredictable, so strap yourself in with a proactive plan for your health and brace yourself with offensive use of essential oils. You won’t be sorry!
Ready to order some essential oils to support your family’s health all year long? Click HERE to learn more about ordering and about joining my Terra Tribe for more support and education throughout the year!
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