Getting on my Soapbox: Holistic Kids

I've got babies on the brain, that's for sure. Since becoming pregnant, all I have eyes for are babies and toddlers. At 17.5 weeks, I have suddenly started thinking about how, exactly, I want to raise my kid, and what I want to show him/her about the world. Especially about the world of plants and herbs, and nature's wonderful medicine chest.

This train of thought brings me to a little digression...during my Herbalism studies, I had a classmate, Amy V., who owned an herb store in Florida. One day Amy was keeping shop, standing on the sidewalk outside her storefront when an older woman stopped, gazed at her sign and then at her, and asked pointedly, "Do you really think these plants can heal us?" Amy said, "Absolutely!" The woman shook her head and said, "No, you're wrong. Only God can heal us." Whereupon Amy gently remonstrated, "And whom do you think put these plants here?" Haha! I LOVE that story. Touche, Amy.

Back to my stream of consciousness. A babbling brook, really. I want to basically immerse my son or daughter in the world of healing herbs and plants immediately, and I started putting down remedies about how I was going to deal with everyday mishaps. Like, how I'll poultice bee stings with crushed plaintain leaf, or apply lavender oil to first degree burns, or rub calendula ointment into chapped fingers. For colds, I'll give the kid an infusion of sage, elderflower, ginger, yarrow, and thyme, and for coughs, I'll make the kid a syrupy candy from horehound and peppermint. For cuts and scrapes, I'll apply calendula - unless there's an infection, in which case I'll use Hypercal (St. John's Wort and Calendula). Instead of spraying the kitchen with RAID to get rid of ants, I'll sprinkle peppermint oil in the corners. Instead of spraying the kid with OFF, I'll slather him/her in natural insect repellents, like a mixture of catnip, lavender, and peppermint. Intestinal worms? No problem, kid, eat some pumpkin seeds. Diaper rash? Massage the kid in apricot kernel oil plus ointment of marshmallow. Colicky? No issues, I'll just Aromatherapy the room with some dill and chamomile in a candle diffuser. (Yes, I really did just use "Aromatherapy" as a verb.)

This is going to be one holistic baby. Probably even slightly disgustingly so, but it's important to me that my child learns what an abundantly fragrant pharmacy we were given, and how joyful it can be to use remedies from our own little green planet, and how sometimes, the most useful things in life are also the most common. A great lesson, wouldn't you agree?