ashtoreth Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 🙏Namaste My daughter has always been very very interested in all that I do. She has had a deck of her own (Happy Tarot) since she was at preschool. Now at 7 she's asking to learn how to use them! Incidentally I've taught a little girl before (she was 11 at the time) with supervision, but this was over a decade ago. This brings me so much joy but I'm also apprehensive on how to get started! I've started with the Fool's journey and just asking her to describe each card in detail for now, but thought I'd seek advice from the lovely Tarot & Tea hive mind ❤️ If you have taught children before please share your wisdom, insight, and experiences Bright blessings 🌟 Ashtoreth
gregory Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 (edited) I have a friend who didn't need to teach her child. When the little girl was 3, she got hold of her mother's cards and told her mother all about the meanings in there (using stories she made up on the hoof !) - which pretty much matched the meanings we all know and love. I bought her a deck when she was 4 - I think - and she loved them and knew exactly what to do with them. Is teaching always necessary ? Not to diss it, but I think it isn't something to agonise about. Describing the cards may easily be all it takes. Have fun. Edited June 30, 2021 by gregory
vulprix Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 I am with gregory that teaching may not be necessary, but foregoing the teaching would mean losing out on a cool bonding experience! 🙂 So I think that your Fool’s Journey lesson is a really good start! Maybe coaching her on your favorite methods of reading are a good next step? Astrology, numerology, different spreads... these are some teachable elements that could increase your daughter’s fluency with the cards. Also, the Happy Tarot is AWESOME. Good luck!! 😄
katrinka Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 I'm with the Buddha on this one: if they ask, teach. Answer their questions. If they don't seem interested, let it go. Not everyone is cut out to be a reader, just like not everyone is cut out to be a songwriter or an artist. And that's as it should be. As the old people used to say, "It takes all kinds to make a world."
gregory Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 The OP's daughter actually asked. That does make a difference; I just shared the experience I had with a friend's daughter !
katrinka Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 Yeah. I just put that out there because of a general tendency I'm seeing to try convert everybody. I'm not pointing the finger at anybody ITT. It's more in the kind of articles I see popping up: "Tarot is for anyone who wants to use it for inspiration and problem solving! Learn in one hour!" Ack.
ashtoreth Posted July 1, 2021 Author Posted July 1, 2021 Thank you all for your inputs. She's always seen me "practice" and I've let her play around with her cards herself and never felt the need to teach her. Just in case my post wasn't very clear, I am teaching because she has explicitly asked. Yes, while I agree that everyone is innately intuitive and can know the tarot, but I am of the school of thought that we all need a catalyst to speed us along our way or at least nudge us in the right direction. I have many skills to pass on to my daughter but the time isn't always right/she may not choose to learn from me, so I am incredibly grateful I got this opportunity 🙂 I am teaching through play; through asking questions; and teaching her to connect with the cards. ❤️ I'll post my progress here (or some other part of the forum that's more relevant to this sort of thing!) Love, Ashtoreth
gregory Posted July 1, 2021 Posted July 1, 2021 As I think we all said - she asked; that says it ! What is horrid is when ones sees people who say "How can I get my child (or worse, partner...) to learn tarot". If they don't want to - they don't hafta ! Nor do others have to accept our belief in it as true, just as we don't have to accept their belief in a god we don't believe in. Tarotvangelists are a pain in the butt, just as self-righteous evangelists are.. Do you like my new word ? And here would be the obvious place to tell us how it goes - it's tarot talk, isn't it
DanielJUK Posted July 1, 2021 Posted July 1, 2021 I am glad you shared with us what you are doing with your 7 year old @ashtoreth it's so sweet 🥰 I think you are handling it perfectly, no pressure, just enjoying the cards and looking over them and making stories with the Fool's Journey and the cards. Some people study tarot by taking multiple cards and making stories about the images and / or the changes between the card combination, so it's a good method. If she loses interest later, at least you have done a fun creative and intuitive exercise with her, nothing to lose here. You are welcome to update how it's going in this thread, it might help other parents with their children in future here 🙂
katrinka Posted July 1, 2021 Posted July 1, 2021 3 hours ago, gregory said: As I think we all said - she asked; that says it ! What is horrid is when ones sees people who say "How can I get my child (or worse, partner...) to learn tarot". If they don't want to - they don't hafta ! Nor do others have to accept our belief in it as true, just as we don't have to accept their belief in a god we don't believe in. Tarotvangelists are a pain in the butt, just as self-righteous evangelists are.. Do you like my new word ? It gave me a mental image of people at the door asking if I have a few minutes to talk about Tarot and shoving tracts at me when I say "No." 🤣
ashtoreth Posted July 2, 2021 Author Posted July 2, 2021 18 hours ago, gregory said: Tarotvangelists That's hilarious!!! I had the same mental image as @katrinka did! made me chuckle Me and my partner both wish to be parents who do not live vicariously through our children, making them pursue our unfulfilled hobbies--at least we try, so I hope we're doing ok in that regard! It went pretty well so far, and shes' asked to do it again. I now have a nightly "tarot time" with my daughter! 🙏 Thank you all once again. I'm doing just as @DanielJUK said. I shall treat this as a fun experiment and report back on how this goes!
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