Set Your Kids Up to Thrive

Can you believe we’re already a month into the new school year? This week, I had a six-year-old come to see me and even he was commenting about how fast this year is going!

I remember when we were kids and it felt like a school day lasted forever, and a year was an eternity. Our kids are definitely feeling the pace of life a lot more these days. But there are so many ways you can help them thrive in this kind of environment (even if it is a bit different from what we experienced as kids).

It’s now common to see kids dealing with anxiety, allergies, intolerances, tummy pain, trouble sleeping and experiencing behavioural challenges. The good news is, these are all conditions that a Naturopath can help with.

I want to share with you the most common conditions I see in children, what to look out for in your child and what you can do to help them thrive, naturally.

Anxiety and behavioural challenges

Does your child:

• Ask the same question over and over?

• Have trouble concentrating?

• Seem easily overwhelmed?

• Experience extreme emotions when a change occurs?

• Have difficulty sleeping?

If your child shows some or all of these signs, they could be experiencing anxiety or a behavioural problem. A Naturopath can help to identify the underlying causes or triggers of these behaviours, and even look at some of the nutritional deficiencies that may be contributing to their symptoms.

Getting a food intolerance test is a great place to start to determine if food is one of their triggers. We offer in-house food intolerance testing (IgG), so you can book in by giving us a call. It’s also a good idea to reduce sugar and processed food, particularly additives and preservatives.

Every child is unique and there is always a mixture of underlying causes affecting their health. However, some of my favourite nutrients for anxiety and behavioural challenges are magnesium, zinc, as well as herbs like chamomile and kava.

Allergies and intolerances

Does your child:

• Suffer from eczema, or itchy, dry and red skin?

• Experience asthma?

Again, the first step is to identify any underlying food intolerance through a simple pinprick test. Food allergies or intolerances are often triggers for these extremely common conditions. Your child doesn’t have to suffer or rely on steroid creams or medications to feel normal — often by cutting out these foods, you can see a huge difference in their health.

For any food intolerance or allergy, Naturopaths focus on the gut. I always recommend an immune-balancing probiotic to calm an over-active immune system. I also recommend Vitamin C, which acts as a natural anti-histamine, zinc and herbs for the lymphatics and skin

Upset tummy

Does your child:

• Often complain of tummy pain?

• Often feel sick or nauseous?

• Experience either diarrhoea or constipation?

• Have a bloated belly at the end of the day?

A lot of kids that I see complain about tummy pains or feeling sick after eating. As parents, we often think that it’s normal for kids to feel this way, but these are actually symptoms of an upset digestive system.

If your child sounds like I’ve described, they could be suffering from food intolerances which are causing them pain and discomfort. As a Naturopath, our goal is not just to avoid the offending foods, but to heal your child’s gut so that they can develop better tolerance to these foods.

I may sound like a broken record, but food intolerance testing is the quickest way to get to the source of your child’s health issues. In fact, it’s not just gut health, but their general health which can benefit from repairing and restoring the gut.

General tips to help your kids thrive

While Naturopaths can help your child with a range of conditions, we can also support your child to live a healthy, natural life. Over the years, we’ve helped hundreds of parents navigate all of the mixed messages and set their kids up to thrive. Here are a few of our best tips:

• Enjoy as much natural, organic food as possible — check out our kids’ meal ideas for inspiration.

• Cut out additives and preservatives and see the difference!

• Limit screen time — read our blog on how much screen time is enough. A good starting place is no screen time after 7pm, no Playstation during the week and going on ‘tech-free’ family adventures like camping, bushwalking or the beach.

• Take control of the pace of life — limit after-school activities to give kids (and yourself) enough time to decompress after a full day of school.

• Another great tip to reduce the pace of life is to have just one family social event per weekend. Filling up all space with social outings can mean stressed, busy weekends with no quality time to enjoy each other’s company.

There are so many ways we can help our kids to grow up strong, healthy and happy. If you think your child could benefit from seeing a Naturopath, you can book a free 15-minute phone consult with one of our friendly practitioners to learn more. Call (02) 4961 4075 to learn more.