One of the most common themes that comes up when people ask me about learning herbalism is how to get their children involved. How to get them to take herbs? How to help them learn herbalism? How to create and pass down a legacy of resilience and personal autonomy to your children while you’re learning, yourself?
The answer: Get them involved (and make it sensory)!
Give Them a Taste - and Train Their Intuition
Bringing the knowledge and skills of herbalism back into the fabric of everyday family life is a big part of what guides us as a herbal medicine school, so I love seeing when students’ children want to get involved. Because we spend our spring/summer term getting to know our twelve herbs for the year through the gateway of taste, it’s a very easy way for children to get stuck in. Mums will often make a bit of extra tea with our herb for the week so there’s enough to share, and children will enjoy sipping along in the background. It’s fascinating to hear in the group chat later which herbs the children take to and really like - sometimes their preferences will surprise you! And then it opens a great line of conversation with them - What does it taste like? Where can you feel it going in your body? Is it making you feel warmer or colder as it settles into your body? These are all aspects we discuss as adults, but because they are so based in our bodies, children pick up on them really easily. It’s also a great way for children to learn to listen to their bodies, turn up the volume on their inner voice and listen to their intuition. All from a cup of tea that will be supporting their overall health at the same time.
Practice Formulating and Making Remedies Together
Once our first-years have their summer gatherings when we roll up our sleeves and get stuck into all sorts of remedy making, children can absolutely get involved at home when you’re experimenting and practicing. Depending on their ages, you can make a salve, for example, and discuss with them what you’d like it to do - something to soothe and heal ‘ouchies’ - and then make it together. Let them smell the herbs as they infuse in oil so you learn together when it smells ‘just right’ and is ready. Ask them to do the maths of figuring out how much beeswax you’ll need to melt into the herbal oils to make your salve. Perhaps they can write the label. If they’ve been involved in all that, they’ll definitely remind you to use it next time they get a scratch. Not only does this reinforce your own learning, but it builds their confidence, involvement and responsibility in their own health from a very early age. You don’t have to wait until you’ve learned it all yourself before you can start passing these skills and this mindset onto your children. And if something goes gloopy or mouldy or doesn’t quite do what you hoped, great! Then you’ve both learned something and can have a think about how to do it differently next time together.
If You’re a Student with Us - Let Them Join In
This is something many of our students start doing instinctively as soon as their journeys begin in the spring. Children are naturally curious, so when our students with young children start attending our live biweekly Zoom sessions, their kids want to know! What is mummy doing? What is that lady talking about? What is this new thing mummy is drinking? (Which, all of us as mums know, means it is obviously then fair game to be asked to have a taste of yours - so plan to make extra!)
We are a family-run herbalism school, rather than a formal academic setting, so there is never a problem if little ones want to sit in on our Zoom sessions and listen or if an infant needs to be brought to our gatherings in the yurt to stay close to mum and breastfeed. (We’ve got an extra special comfy chair for just this occasion, which we fittingly call the ‘Queen of the Universe’ chair.) Children are part of our families and part of our lives, so if they’re homeschooled or home for half-term, if there’s a childcare mix up, etc., it’s completely ok. Families usually just pop themselves on mute while we’re live so we can all hear clearly, and all sessions are recorded so if your child pulls you away mid-session, you can catch what you missed later.
Beyond that, use your creativity and encourage them to use theirs! Do they want to start making their own scrapbook of recipes and press herbs they gather in between the pages? Do they want to make their own blends of the herbs you're learning for teas and balms? Do they want to create a special family apothecary shelf or cupboard to store your experiments? Do they want to be in charge of decorating the labels? Or start growing a little herb garden with you? Whatever aspects of herbalism excite them, nurture it! But start by tasting the herbs with them, tuning into your bodies together, practice remedy-making and let them join in our live Zoom sessions if you’re a student with us and that works for you.
If you’re not a student with us yet, but are here in the UK and keen to have support learning herbalism yourself so you can share it with your children and cultivate that family legacy, you’re very welcome to join us on our intensive herbalism course - Awaken Herbal Wisdom - which spans all four seasons. With up to three years of development available, our course gets herbalism both deep into your bones and your daily life, without either having to do a clinical degree or a traditional full-time apprenticeship. Although it is intense, it’s suitable for a wide range of herbalists, including beginners and aspiring family herbalists! You can learn more about our herbal medicine course here.
Be sure to join our mailing list to hear more about what the current cohorts are up to, learn some of the golden nuggets that emerge from our sessions and receive other school updates. Enrolment opens after dates are announced each spring for the following year, and places are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. If you’re ready to join us on the journey, you can request an application to join an upcoming cohort soon.
Whatever the next step is sharing herbalism with your children, I hope you enjoy the journey!
At Rhodes Roots & Remedies School of Herbal Medicine, our practice of herbalism is rooted in the belief that we must remember, reclaim and relearn our knowledge of our bodies, our autonomy and how to work with plant medicine in order to bring control of our own health back into our families and homes for a sustainable future for ourselves and the planet. Through our intensive herbalism course, we facilitate the development of confident, empowered herbalists, attuned to the messages of their bodies and the natural world. Living the deep wisdom of herbal medicine within themselves, their homes and their communities, they uplift themselves and others, creating a stronger society organically. We do hope you'll join us on your journey!
