Make moon dough for your children using essential oil. It's relaxed play!

Making moondough costs very little money is easy and above all good fun for young children. Add some essential oil and you can help your children relax whilst playing. I used mandarin (citrus reticulata) essential oil as it's safe for children, has an odour that they love and induces a state of calm. It's therapeutic play! My 4 year old played with his for a good hour today and said it smelled of yummy cakes. My son also enjoyed the texture of the moon dough as it's soft and fluffy like his favourite teddy bear. I wouldn't recommend this for a child who still likes to put everything in their mouth. No harm would come to them but nobody likes a mouth full of flour.

Here's the recipe

• Plain white flour 
• Sweet almond oil (any oil could work but I like using oil that's meant for the skin) 
• Mandarin essential oil (optional) 
• Glitter (optional)

Add 2-3 drops mandarin essential oil to your oil base and mix well.
Mix the flour and oil together at a ratio of 8 parts flour to 1 part oil until well blended.
Add glitter.
You should end up with a mixture that is a little like soft sand but can be squashed together to form a dough. This dough then breaks up into sand again.

Safety Citrus oils are phototoxic (can cause burns if placed in direct sunlight when neat on the skin) Please keep essential oils stored safely out of the reach of children. Please wash hands after use.