Erika Bragdon is a Certified Essential Oil Coach from the Essential Oil Institute.
Kids can have a hard time focusing at school and that’s normal. Sometimes school is just long and can be boring. Or maybe it’s over their head. It’s also possible your child may have ADD, ADHD, or even autism which adds another challenge.
Regardless, there are some great essential oils that can help kids focus and pay more attention.
Today I’ll show you how to make a simple DIY “Think and Focus” essential oil blend that’s perfect for kids. Adults can use this easy-to-make blend too. I use it myself when I’m feeling distracted.
This “Focus” essential oil blend may help improve learning retention along with concentration and focus along and decrease anxious feelings and irritability.
I’ve found these essential oils to work really well for my children as they’ve started back to school this fall. My 6-year-old especially is prone to interrupting in class and not listening to his teacher. He always reports that he’s had a good day and hasn’t gotten in trouble on the days I put this focus essential oil blend on him compared to the days when I forget and he tends to come home telling me he’s gotten “in trouble.”
This blend has also been wonderful for my 14-year-old son who has autism. He says he feels calmer and less stressed with it.
DIY Focus Essential Oil Blend
Please read my Essential Oil Common Sense Safety page before using this essential oil recipe.
I am not a medical professional and the information presented here is merely for educational purposes and not intended to replace medical advice. It is your responsibility to do your own research, consult with your doctor, and make safe decisions for yourself and your family.
I use 3 common essential oils for this “think and focus” blend:
Lavender may help with stress and anxiety and is calming.
Cedarwood may help improve focus and concentration while calming and reducing anxiety. It can also help improve one’s “connection” to others.
Vetiver may help improve focus and concentration and increase learning retention while decreasing irritability and “rooting” one.
You can also add Frankincense if you have it for even more benefits, though this blend works well without it in my experience.
Frankincense may help improve focus and reduce feeling “down.” I have personally found Frankincense to be extremely calming for my son who has autism and my other kids as well. Read more about my “DIY Calm and Collected” blend here.
To make the blend, you’ll need a 10ml glass roller bottle (you can find them here), a carrier oil (I use Fractionated Coconut Oil – you can find it here), along with the essential oils listed above.
Where to Buy Essential Oils
Rocky Mountain Oils is one of my favorite essential oil brands – you can buy directly from the company at great prices and their oils are therapeutic grade with third-party testing. I’ve had great results with RMO and I feel confident that their quality is excellent and safe to use with my whole family.
I also recommend Eden’s Garden as another therapeutic grade quality oil company. You can purchase their oils from Amazon or directly from their website.
- Lavender essential oil – buy it from Rocky Mountain Oils | Amazon
- Cedarwood essential oil – buy it from Rocky Mountain Oils | Amazon
- Vetiver essential oil – buy it from Rocky Mountain Oils | Amazon
- Frankincense essential oil -buy it from Rocky Mountain Oils | Amazon
How to Make this DIY Focus Essential Oil Blend
For younger children, you’ll want to use less essential oils so the blend is more diluted.
I recommend starting with…
1 drop Cedarwood essential oil
2 drops Lavender essential oil
1 drop Vetiver essential oil
(optional) 1-2 drops Frankincense
You can increase the number of drops a slowly if you feel it’s needed. (Your child isn’t getting the results you had hoped for, etc.)
I use this amount for my children:
2 drops Cedarwood essential oil
3 drops Lavender essential oil
2 drops Vetiver essential oil
2 drops Frankincense essential oil
Add the desired amount of essential oils to your roller bottle and fill with your carrier oil. Place the cap on. Don’t forget to label! I use my label maker, but I also sometimes use the pretty essential oil dots. You can find them on Etsy or Amazon here.
How to use this DIY Focus Essential Oil Blend
One of my favorite ways to use this blend is simply swiping it on the back of my children’s necks with the roller bottle. You can also swipe on the bottom of your child’s feet or apply to the inside of their wrists.
You can apply this every 2-4 hours depending on behavior. If you use it regularly with your child, you will probably notice that it will last longer as time goes on and you’ll need to use it less frequently.
Of course, when your child heads off to school you can’t drop in and apply more of this focus essential oil blend every 2-4 hours. And most teachers/nurses aren’t quite sure about it to do it themselves. (Wouldn’t it be awesome though if teachers would diffuse some of these oils in their classrooms? How amazing and calming would that be?!)
One solution to this problem is to get an essential oil necklace. These handy necklaces come in different forms. Some are lockets that contain felt pads that hold the oils and naturally diffuse throughout the day.
My daughter loves it when I put Lavender and Vetiver in her special necklace to help her stay calm and focus.
My boys didn’t want lockets – they said it was too girly and I don’t blame them – so I checked out Etsy and found these cute clay necklaces. We haven’t tried them yet (I JUST ordered them) but I’ll update this post later to let you know what I think.
Luckily there are many great options available!
One more way I like to use these oils with my kids is to add one drop to the palm of their hands and let them inhale it. Or simply inhale straight from the bottle.
Lavender, Cedarwood, and Vetiver are not “hot” oils meaning it’s generally okay to use them not diluted. This is something I am fine with doing with my children, but not everyone agrees with this and that’s okay. You can do your own research and decide if you want to put a drop of undiluted vetiver in your child’s hand or not.
I hope this DIY Focus essential oil blend works as well for your children as it does for mine.
linda brodie says
Another good option for school is an inhaler tube.
Iliana says
Thank you for your post. I’ll try this blend for my son. I dont think the school teacher or nurse will let him have a focus roller in school but is worth the try.
Julia says
I am a teacher and I LOVE essential oils. A lot of us do! However, our schools will not let us diffuse them throughout the classroom because some kids can have adverse reactions to certain oils. But I do allow my students to have their own personal roller bottle and use it when they need it as long as they do not allow other students to use it. My sons’ school also does the same, but they have to keep it in the office and go there to use it. It doesn’t hurt to ask if kids are allowed to use their own blends in school. I think more and more people are becoming aware of how awesome oils are! Thanks for the “recipes” and info!
Erika says
That’s wonderful, Julia. Your students are lucky to have you. And I’m glad these recipes are helpful for you and your kids! 🙂
Marissa says
Hi there! Just bought all three oils suggested from Eden Gardens. I also bought the carrier oil coconut one. You mention the blend recipe, but without the carrier oil. How much do I put of the carrier oil in the blend? Thank you! Struggling mama of a 8 year old who has ADHD.
Erika says
Hi Marissa, you would add the essential oils to the roller bottle first, then fill the rest of the bottle with a carrier oil. You don’t need to measure it out. Good luck!