Opinion: best deck for kids?

0_seeker

My niece just turned 11, so I looked through my decks for one I could safely and appropriately give her -- no nudity, etc., for her first deck, especially with the extended family around. Ultimately I chose the Moon Garden. When I gave it to her, I spoke carefully; I emphasized self-knowledge, cards as a way of exploring how she feels about situations. I said the cards' meanings for her will change as she goes through life. Later -- after much Dance Dance Revolution -- she called me over to talk about the deck, and when I had to leave she still wanted to know more. Good start.

Have you given a deck to a child? Which did you choose, and how did you present it?
 

Shaymus

Hi,

The Hanson-Roberts is a nice deck, both for beginners and also, I believe for young people.

Shaymus
 

Sulis

I reckon that Moon Garden is a lovely deck to give to a child.

My daughter who's 8 now has Hanson Roberts, The Fey and just recently I gave her my Vanessa Tarot as she loves it.

She uses the cards for making up stories so she likes decks with lots of pretty girls as most of her stories involve princesses.
 

Papageno

hmmmm I don't have children but I was thinking the Gilded might be very suitable........Ciro was very careful to omit nudity and scenes of overt violence and sexuality.
Visually it's very rich in detail and you and your child can play games like finding all the cute animals that are sprinkled throughout the deck.
 

Aulruna

My little goddaughter (5) now loves the Alba Dorata and the Victorian Romantic. Like 0_seeker says, it's a story-telling device for her.

However, her first love was the International Icon - she did quite astonishing "readings" with it.

Her little sister (3) favours the Mystic Faerie. She is less active with the cards than her sister used to be though, so usually it's me who ends up telling the Faerie stories!
 

firefrost

0_seeker - does she have any particular interests? My daughter has adored cats all her life and when she was twelve she bought herself Tarot of the Cat People. The deck has been put away quite some time ago in favour of a social life but she'd never part with it.

I think to present it, there has to be something in the deck to capture her interest.

That aside, I'd go along with what the others are saying.
 

HearthCricket

My parents gave me my first deck when I was 12, but sadly back then there wasn't much to chose from! Still, tarot stuck!

If I were 12 now, I would love the following decks:

Hanson Roberts (perfect beginner's deck with tradtitional RWS meanings, etc.)

Halloween Tarot (fun, clean and cute, and a blast to around Halloween)

Sacred Rose (beautiful, other worldly, gorgeous colours)

Mystic Faerie (faeries, clean, easy to follow book, fun)

Fey (modern faeries in almost a sci-fi setting, brightly coloured)

Whimsical (based on familiar fairytales and stories, very pretty and fun)

Morgan Greer (gorgeous deep colours, traditional meanings and pics, lovely)

I would love to hear what you end up giving her and how she reacts to it! This is always a fun time for discovering tarot!
 

Grizabella

Something to think about with Tarot of a Moon Garden is that the book that goes with it has a heavy agenda of witchcraft. If you or the parents of the child you want to get the deck for aren't into that or are averse to it, you might want to choose another deck or don't get the book that goes with it. :)
 

LixiPixi

Papageno said:
hmmmm I don't have children but I was thinking the Gilded might be very suitable........Ciro was very careful to omit nudity and scenes of overt violence and sexuality.
Click to expand...

I'd have to disagree on this one. Don't forget The Star's nudity, and The Lovers are pretty intimate. Those are two that just popped in my head. Depending on the age, some may consider it inappropriate.

I'd vote for the Whimsical Tarot, Mythic Tarot, or the African Tarot. The African Tarot is even a great size for little hands. It's not a mini, but right about the size of a regular deck of playing cards.

LP~
 
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