Whether your kids have been eagerly anticipating this week or dreading it, back to school brings a big shift for the whole family.
Because we’re home herbalists, we’re naturally going to be thinking of herbs we can work with to ease the transition and it’s a good idea to have a back-to-school herbal toolkit on hand!
Stress, and worry
It’s totally normal to be stressed about back to school – new teacher, new timetable, maybe shifting friendships after the summer break – there is a lot going on!
Luckily for us, there are tonnes of herbs to help ease the worries and relax the nervous system, that are super safe and gentle for kids. The main nervines you could turn to are:
- Lemon balm (melissa officinalis) leaf
- chamomile (matricaria recutita) flower
- catnip (nepeta cataria) leaf
- lavender (lavendula angustifolia) flower
These herbs make a beautiful tea when on their own, or you can blend 2 or all of them together.
Aim for roughly 2 teaspoons herb/ cup, steeped for 3 to 10 minutes covered.
ie. 2 teaspoons chamomile, OR 1 teaspoon chamomile + 1 teaspoon lemon balm, OR 1 teaspoon lemon balm and 1 teaspoon catnip OR 1 teaspoon each chamomile, lemon balm and catnip, OR 1/2 teaspoon each 4 herbs.
They’re all good options! If you want to more detail on how to choose – get all my tea-making tips in my easily-digestible course: Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day)
I recommend starting with what you’ve got, or get a small amount of all of them and do a fun experiment with your kids to try to find their favourite blend. Keep in mind lavender and chamomile can get bitter if steeped longer than 3 minutes.
Anxiety
If your kid really falls on the more anxious end and has looping, ruminating thoughts, passionflower (passiflora incarnata) is a kid-safe herb to work with. I recommend combining passionflower with one or a few of the herbs mentioned in Stress and Worry section.
1/2 teaspoon each Chamomile, passionflower and lemon balm makes a lovely blend. If your kid finds the passionflower too ‘grassy-tasting’ you could use less of that herb (ie 1/2 teaspoon passionflower to 1 teaspoon each chamomile and passionflower), or sweeten with honey. Steep tea covered for 3 – 10 minutes.
Passionflower can make some kids sleepy (it’s also a great herb for insomnia due to ruminating mind), so either use it in a bedtime mix, or, if using it during day, just check your kids individual response to it.
Holistic viewpoint:
Like many things in the body, anxiety can have various causes. Whilst herbs can help, if they’re anxious because they’re magnesium deficiency then a cup of chamomile isn’t going to solve the problem. If you’re working with herbs, and things are continuing or getting worse, work with a practitioner or experiment with some other strategies to find what helps your child on a holistic level. There are other lifestyle strategies such as getting enough sleep, movement and learning some breathwork techniques that can also help with anxiety.
Irritability and frustration
Kids (and adults, let’s keep it real!) can lash out with irritability and frustration when they’re experiencing other emotions like fear, nervousness, stress or overwhelm. If that’s your kid, chamomile can be a really good herb to turn to. You can use it alone or in combo with some of the others herbs in this article.
2 teaspoons chamomile, steeped 3 – 10 minutes (the longer the steep, the more bitter the brew)
Navigating Big feelings
Sometimes our kids are nervous going back to school because they’re actually processing some really big feelings, maybe separation anxiety, bullying, friendship issues etc etc,
Rose (rosa sp) is such a gorgeous herb to hold the heart safe while they process their emotions.
One tea blend could be 1 teaspoon each lemon balm, chamomile and rose, OR 1 teaspoon lemon balm, 1/2 teaspoon rose and lavender. Steeped 3 – 10 minutes covered.
Whilst I love rose in tea, I think she really shines as a glycetract and this is one of my favourite ways to work with her. Rose syrup also tastes like liquid turkish delight (depending which sweetener you use, so a very good option!) Check out rose info and some recipes, including the glycetract recipe
Focus
Sometimes, kids are emotionally ready for school but simply find the back-to-school transition hard cause they’re going from summer playing to having to focus and concentrate.
Along with a good daily dose of movement, a tea made with 1 teaspoon each: lemon balm, peppermint (mentha x piperita) and gotu kola (centella asiatica) can all help kids focus and pay attention at school.
Other areas
Other remedies you might like in your back-to-school herbal toolkit could be remedies for:
- the immune system (for my fav immunity remedies, check out the DIY Immunity Kit or grab my FREE Ebook – Top 3 remedies for every home)
- herbal first aid – such as a cuts and scrape salve (make your own with the DIY Herbal Starter Kit, or grab my FREE Ebook – top 3 remedies for Every Home)
How to use these herbs
These herbs are all delicious as syrups, glycetracts and tea. You can have them individually or make a blend of 2 – 4.
(I give recipes and teach you how to think through tea-blending in my self-paced course Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day)
Make home herbalism your own
Whilst I’ve mentioned a few herbs here, to support you, please never think you need them all, or that there’s “one right herb”. That approach can really stress you out. Whilst over time you might find you and your children have favourite recipes or herbs that match your particular patterns really well, but in the beginning know that all these herbs are an effective part of a back-to-school herbal toolkit.
I hope you enjoy creating your back-to-school herbal toolkit and that these herbs support you and your family in this transition!
Get support making your own remedies
Want our hand in yours, guiding you to make your own remedies!? Grab the Herbal Starter Kit. Make a chamomile syrup, and soothing chamomile, lavender moon mylk. Learn to make a glycetract in the DIY Immunity Kit (although it’s a glycetract to support immunity
