Starting Back at School With Bach Flower Remedies

Can you still remember the mixture of excitement and nerves as you prepared to start back at school after the long summer holidays? Someone took you for new shoes and school clothes and maybe a haircut so that you were smart and ready to go. You got new stationary and a new bag and the sense of anticipation built. Everyone asked you about school, which class you would be in, who your teachers would be and you began to feel the importance of what was to come.

The first day back and breakfast was a little difficult to eat due to the butterflies in your stomach. You arrived at school and the first thing that hit you was the smell – newly polished floors, newly mixed powder paint and disinfectant! Then there was the noise – echoey halls, doors slamming, teachers’ shoes clicking on wooden floors, excited voices and a teacher shouting to be heard above the din! You lined up and went into your new classroom. Your teacher told you where to sit, you weighed up the teacher and the person sitting next to you – liked or didn’t like – and then your new school year began!

You either loved it or your stomach sank to your boots as you remembered what it was like.

It is exactly the same for your kids. In the rush to get all the preparations for school in place it is easy to overlook how they may be feeling. Making sure your child is emotionally ready for school is every bit as important as making sure that their shoes fit.

Talking helps, obviously, but if your child is truly scared or lacking in confidence then what can you do? You feel helpless and frustrated that they are having a tough time and you can’t do anything about it. That is where Bach Flower Remedies come in.

Bach Flower Remedies are amazing in the way that they help your child to cope with emotional ups and downs. They are safe, free from side-effects and chemicals and, best of all, they work very quickly! Children enjoy taking remedies and often make up their own names for them – ‘my magic drops’, ‘my confidence drops,’ or ‘my Simba drops’ are some examples.

For best results, they need to start taking remedies about a month before school starts back so that the remedies get to work in good time. Put 2 drops of each flower remedy into a drink of juice or water and do this 4 times a day. To help you remember, it’s good to give the drops around mealtimes or routine times. E.g. breakfast, lunch, evening meal and bedtime. If your child is taking the drops to school put them in a drink bottle with their regular juice.

Here are some Bach Flower Remedies that will help your child settle into school and learn well:

Mimulus – for any fear or anxiety that they can name about school. E.g. fear of: going back to school, changing class, certain teachers, kids who are bullies, eating in the large hall where it’s noisy, not knowing what to do, not knowing where to go, not knowing where the toilets are, speaking out in class, getting things wrong, being laughed at, kids not wanting to be friends with them, getting into trouble and so on. If your child can put a name to a fear then they need to take Mimulus. It is also the remedy for shyness, blushing and stammering.

Mimulus will help them to be fearless. This is different to being courageous – courage implies that you have to be brave because you are still scared. Mimulus takes away the fear so that you are in a state of calm neutrality.

Larch – for lack of confidence. If your child has low self-esteem or lacks confidence in their abilities; if they quickly give up on things; if they say” I can’t do… maths, spelling, Spanish etc”; if they give up on a subject when they get low test scores; if they always need you around; if they won’t do things for themselves and want you to do it for them e.g. phone a friend; if they won’t try because they feel they will fail; if they always compare themselves to their friends; if they are a second born child and feel inferior to the older child; if they struggle in social situations or in new experiences.

Larch will give them self-belief without worrying about failure and will help them to develop their talents. It will help them gain social skills, make friends and not need you around all the time. When they meet obstacles or get ‘stuck’ in certain subjects at school they will try again and not give up. Larch opens up the world because “I can’t” is no longer part of their mindset.

Chestnut Bud – to help them learn from their mistakes. This is a great remedy for children with learning difficulties or blocks with certain subjects. I used to with my son to help him with his spelling and it is a great help to children with dyslexia.

Combine this with the TFT exercise of tapping the PR spot for brilliant results. Get your child to tap the karate chop part of one hand with the fingers of the other – like one hand is clapping on the side of the other hand. This releases energy blocks which make learning difficult. E.g: it helps if you get left and right mixed up or if you say the opposite of what you mean; it helps you to visualise a word for spelling; it helps if you can’t remember something; it helps if you type or write words in the ‘worng ordre!’

Chestnut Bud helps if your child is careless or clumsy; if they keep repeating the same mistakes; if they don’t listen in class; if they learn slowly; if their mind is always two steps ahead; if they have habits they need to break.

The remedy will help them to be mentally alert, listen carefully, pay attention and enjoy learning.

Chicory – if your child is clingy, possessive or makes emotionally unreasonable demands. Some children find it hard to break ties with Mum and Dad when they start school – and some parents find it hard to let go! When I was teaching, I have seen children prised from a parents arms as they both clung tearfully to each other. If you feel like this then BOTH you and your child need to take this remedy!

If your child needs Chicory they may be possessive with their friends and become sulky or hurt if their friends play with someone else. They may be opinionated and argumentative and use a bit of emotional blackmail. “I’ll be friends with you if… ” I will love you if… ” If Chicory is needed, relationships tend to be very conditional.

Chicory will help your child to love unconditionally and be selfless and independent.

Walnut – for coping with change. Walnut is there to help with all the changes that come with a new school year. It will help your child to adjust to a new class, a new teacher, a new set of subjects, a move to a new school or new neighbourhood. It will help to break ties with the past e.g. ” But I loved my old teacher, I want to stay back with her!” or “I want to go to my old school!” Walnut helps them to move on and adapt to change.

This remedy is also useful if your child is easily influenced by other people or is ‘under the spell’ of a stronger personality. It helps them to be true to themselves and stick to what they know is right.

White Chestnut – for worry about school that stops them sleeping. If your child gets in bed at night and struggles to get to to sleep or wakes in the night because they are worried about something, then White Chestnut will give them a peaceful mind. Couple it with Rescue Remedy for a good nights sleep.

White Chestnut is for those uncontrollable worries that go round and round your head like a stuck record. The remedy gives you excellent concentration, a calm mind and worry is replaced with positive thinking.

Bach Flower remedies will give your child the best possible start in their new school year by taking away all their concerns and giving them the confidence to go for it!

Lynne Rourke (BFRP) is a Bach Foundation Registered Practitioner with many years experience of working with families with young children. She was an Early Years Teacher for 29 years and brings her expertise in the area of child development to her therapy work.