Bach flower remedies for children & teens

Is your child struggling emotionally? In the midst of a hard day or tough situation it can be hard to know how to best support them. Bach flower remedies can help parents concerned about their child's emotional health and help them adjust to new experiences or stages of development.

Parents usually know when their child is out of sorts or not quite themselves; as an example overactivity such as fidgeting with intense energy levels, disturbed sleeping patterns such as insomnia or excessive crying without any apparent reason. They may be having difficulty coping emotionally due both internal feelings about themselves (e.g., low self-esteem) or external factors such being overwhelmed by life events outside one’s own control like starting school or parental divorce.

Children respond well and quickly to flower remedies as their behaviours are generally not as entrenched as adults who may require more effort to support their change and transformation within themselves. Flower essences can be used to prevent the formation of habits and ingrained patterns. Why wait until a child's behaviour becomes problematic? It’s much better to nip it in the bud when an imbalance first arises.

If you have ever had a child, then you know how quickly they grow, learn and change. As your child goes through different stages of their life it is important to have the right flower remedies that are appropriate for their mood and emotions at each life stage. Walnut is the flower essence that is helpful during times of change to help adapt to a new situation positively and help them settle into a new environment. However, there are many more flower remedies that could be helpful depending on the child’s personality, their emotions and stage in life. Here we explore some potential remedies that may be supportive at each stage of a child’s life.

You may be wondering, are flower remedies safe for my child? Bach flower remedies are natural remedies that are gentle and safe to use with children of all ages, even babies. They do contain a small amount of alcohol to preserve the remedy, but the amount given at each dose is miniscule. If you would like your remedy made without alcohol or would like to discuss, please get in touch.

Bach flower remedies for newborn babies

Star of Bethlehem may be helpful for newborns to get over birth trauma – also a helpful flower remedy for mothers after birth.

Walnut would also be helpful for babies to adapt to the change in their environment – it’s a big change for little bubs coming into the big open world!

If your baby is irritated, restless and angry it may be useful to try Impatiens or Vervain.

Bach flower remedies for toddlers and young children

Temper tantrums can be a big issue with toddlers as they struggle to manage their emotions and get irritated by being unable to do everything they want. Cherry Plum would be the main flower essence to try for having lost control or the 5 essence emergency remedy. It is also useful to understand the root cause of the tantrum, in which case one of the following may also be helpful: Holly – for outburst of anger, temper and spite (particularly if biting, hitting or hair pulling); Beech – for intolerance “my way or the high way”; Impatiens – for impatience and irritation (perhaps whilst learning to move or talk); Vervain – for tension and frustration; Vine if bossy.

If you’re looking for a natural sleep remedy for children, there are a few Bach flower remedies that could help depending on the sleep issue. For nightmares and night terrors it would be worth trying Rock Rose which can help with terror, panic and nightmares, plus Aspen if then anxious afterwards. If your child is hyperactive and won’t go to sleep it would be worth trying Impatiens which helps those with active minds and bodies and Vervain for those who are always on, enthusiastic and fanatical. If your child is afraid of the dark or fears monsters under the bed, try Mimulus.

Holly may be useful for sibling jealousy, sibling rivalry or anger at the younger child. Also if a child has a tendency to pinch or bite in anger at another child.

Walnut may be helpful in times of change such as starting nursery or potty training.

Chestnut Bud would also be a good flower remedy for potty training and bed wetting as it helps with learning from mistakes and experiences. Larch may also be helpful for confidence during potty training.

Vervain may be helpful as a flower remedy for hyperactive children who are overenthusiastic.

Impatiens for the child who is excitable, restless, fidgety, quick-minded and possibly bad tempered and irritable at times.

Mimulus if a child is shy and fearful of people, situations or things.

There are several others you can view in more detail on the Flower Remedies for Children page.

Bach flower remedies for starting school

Walnut is again helpful to adjust to the change in circumstances and move forward positively to the next stage in life.

Larch may be a positive addition to help with self-confidence if feeling inferior to others in the class.

Mimulus if they’re worried or fearful about something specific e.g. being made fun of, not knowing what to do, not making friends etc. Also, if they’re shy.

Rock rose if the child is very upset and terrified about going to school, clinging to their parent at the school gates crying. Chicory for mums in this instance who are struggling to let go and are overly protective.

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Bach flower remedies for teenagers

Crab apple can be useful during teenage years as this is the cleansing remedy so can help them feel more positive about their appearance when their bodies are changing (getting their period, spots, changing physical shape) and their appearance is becoming more important to them.

The negative Beech state is often seen in teenagers who are overly critical and judgemental of others and find other people’s actions “stupid.” This remedy will help them to be more understanding of others and less critical.

Vervain is often helpful as many teenagers for those that are righteous, strong-minded and incensed by injustice.

Sometimes Pine may be helpful if a teen is feeling guilty about something – for example if they’ve left behind an old friend for not being cool enough or been badly behaved in school and feel guilty about the stress on their parents.

Wild Oat is very helpful to teens who are starting to decide what direction in life they want to take and are struggling in choosing a path.

During period of exams and revision, there are several helpful remedies. Hornbeam is helpful to a teenager who is feeling overwhelmed by the thought of the task ahead and struggling to get started. Chestnut Bud for helping with learning and taking information in. Rock Rose for terror or panic during an exam situation or Mimulus for fear of bad grades. If a child is excessively worrying about exams, perhaps keeping them up all night, we would suggest trying White Chestnut. Gentian for if they’ve suffered a setback and are now feeling despondent and reluctant to try again. If your teenager is suffering from depression you might like to read our blog about teenage depression. There are a few remedies to try if your child is suffering from teenager anxiety. 

There are a few others you can view on our Flower Remedies for Teenagers page.

Taking your flower remedy

As with adults, children should take a minimum of 4 drops, 4 times a day under the tongue, especially first thing in the morning and last thing at night. You can put in their drink if easier or add to a water bottle take to school. A good suggestion is to put 4 drops in their morning drink, 8 drops in their water bottle for the day and 4 drops in their evening drink before bed. This dosage is the minimum dosage so try to get at least this in and you can always give more – you cannot overdose on flower remedies.

For babies, if bottle feeding, the drops can be added to the bottle. If breastfeeding, you can give the drops directly in the mouth. You may wish to dilute the dose in a little boiled water as the brandy can taste unpleasant to a newborn. You may wish for your remedy to be made without brandy – in which case see our FAQs and please contact us so we can ensure your remedy is made without the alcohol preservant. You can also apply topically to pulse points. For breastfed babies the flower remedies would also pass through to the baby from the mother if breastfeeding. For an additional dose you could also add to bath water.

For children with acute symptoms such as fear of starting school or the arrival of a new sibling, the situation may be resolved in a little as a few days. If your child no longer feels or displays the negative emotion, you can stop taking the remedy – the bottle can be stopped at any time with no negative side effects. In some instances, the emotions may be more chronic in which case continue to take the remedy until the bottle is finished and you may wish to continue with more than one bottle. You may wish to book a consultation with a professional Bach practitioner to receive some more personal advice.

Bach Flower remedies are used to help emotional imbalances. They are a natural remedy to support emotional concerns such as anxiety, depression or sleep issues in children and adults. They can be complementary to existing medication or therapy but should not take their place. Please consult your GP if you have any questions.