A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally (9 page)

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Authors: Sue Frederick

Tags: #Health & Fitness, #Women's Health, #test

BOOK: A Mother's Guide to Raising Healthy Children--Naturally
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also try not to use words as weapons, and don't yell and shout or say mean things to her. Sometimes you need to raise your voice in urgency, such as "Don't run into the road!" But most problems can be talked about with a calm voice.
3.  
Talk with your child about kindness, generosity, compassion, love, and sharing.
Young children are so eager to learn. I make a point of talking often about values that are important to us. We talk about the things we see happen around us, like people arguing at a store or a mom slapping her child out of frustration. We explain that we don't think this is a good way to treat people, but try to teach compassion for the difficulty in people's lives. We emphasize "live and let live" or tolerance, rather than judging people. Hindu philosophy maintains that all souls will attain liberation but are at different levels of evolution.
4.  
Visit spiritual places and people: lamas, saints, and ashrams.
We have many saints and holy people visit us at Shoshoni, so Tara has had the blessings of many holy people. Returning from a recent visit to a saint's ashram, Tara was so inspired that she said, "Mommy, I want you to take me to the temple one hour every day!" Living at the ashram, she goes to daily
arati
for about thirty minutes and then ten minutes of meditation. In the evening, we sit together in our family shrine room. She practices for about an hour over the course of the dayat five years old! Each person and each child is different. The amount of time is not the most important thing. I think the time spent in devotion should be fun and enjoyable, but there are days when it is an exercise in self-discipline, when she is less than enthusiastic. I try not to force or push too hard. I don't want her to reject spirituality someday like so many people who are forced to do it when they are children.
5.  
I have the idea of awakening the spirituality within her rather than giving her something.
Recently she was playing intently as I sang devotional songs in our Ma shrine. Then she began rocking the rocking chair vigorously, observing how far the pillow would slap back and forth. After a while, I shot her a stern glance and suggested she practice mantra. She sat down, groaning with resistance, and fiddled with her fingers. Later that day I brought up her behavior. She felt she shouldn't have gotten
 
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in trouble because she was being happy in the shrine. I agreed that it is wonderful to be happy, but that I thought maybe she was doing science experiments in the shrinetesting how far forward the pillow will slapinstead of practicing her mantra and meditating. At this, we both laughed. I told her that while I think science experiments are great, in the shrine we practice loving the gods. Then I told her that when I was pregnant with her, I often felt she was talking to me. I felt her instructing me on how to be her mom. She made me promise to her that I would help her remember who she really was, that she was the inner self. She seemed to be telling me that this was why she was coming to me, why I would be her mom, because I would help her remember. In Shavite philosophy, our true nature is consciousness, being, and bliss. We simply need to awaken to our true nature. I concluded, "When I tell you to meditate and repeat mantra, I am just following your instructions. You made me promise to help you remember your true nature. You see, really you are the boss. I am just doing what you told me to do." Again we both laughed. It seems to me that of all the things we can do in this world, we have the ability to make the most difference in the children. Loving them and helping them wake up to the radiant self in their own being is the great joy of being a parent.
Dr. Jay Gordon, author of
Good Food Today, Great Kids Tomorrow.
Our daughter, Simone, is thirteen. When she was younger and more compliant with my desire to hike nearly every day, we'd celebrate holidays at the midpoint of a hike through the hills in Southern California. We'd look long and peacefully at the marvels of nature within easy view: mountains and valleys and the ocean and occasionally a wild animal or two. We'd talk about how everything came into existence and the likelihood of a Supreme Being in charge of the universe. Later, during her early years in school, my wife and I talked about variations on the Golden Rule and having a sense of treating people with kindness and respect. We celebrate some religious holidays with a congregation and some at home or with friends.
 
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Brigitte Mars, herbalist, author of numerous books, including
Elder,
and the CD-ROM
Herbal Pharmacy,
and mother of two daughters, now grown. One of the best times to fill your children with spirit is when observing some grand beauty of the worldlike taking them outside to see the moonrise or a beautiful sunset and telling them about our Creator and that we are loved. Also, pray with your children before bed, and give thanks often. Let them know that you can talk to God as a friend, and that praying does not have to be anything memorized.
 
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PART 2
THE NATURAL APPROACH TO COMMON CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES
 
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Chapter 6
A Stay-Healthy Plan for the Cold and Flu Season
When my daughter started preschool, it was the first time she was exposed to large groups of children (and they can carry viruses) every day. After talking to numerous natural medicine experts, it became clear that protecting her from the onslaught of viruses should have begun before she started school, and I needed to become more vigilant about her diet.
Antibiotics, Diet, and the Immune System
Every parent must understand how the body's immune system works and why the immune system isn't fully developed in young children. When the body is exposed to a virus, the immune system kicks into action with its multilayered defense team. First, white blood cells rush to the endangered area to attack the invading microorganisms. Next, the lymphatic system moves debris and microorganisms to the lymph nodes, where lymphocytes, the more concentrated white blood cells, are waiting to produce antibodies to the invading microorganisms. Here also are large cells called macrophages, the immune system's garbage collectors, which eat up the offending microorganisms and debris.
The two main types of lymphocytes are B cells and T cells. B cells mature in the bone marrow and produce antibodies to bind to specific antigens.
 
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Once this happens, a B memory cell is produced that stimulates immunity in the future against the same particular microorganisms. An infant's immune system is immature; however, a newborn has an acquired immunity from the mother, which lasts for the first three months of life. Breast-feeding provides the infant with additional maternal antibodies and immune-enhancing factors to build immunity.
A baby's lymphocytes aren't capable of producing all the antibodies necessary to fight disease. The baby acquires this ability over the first few years of life as she is exposed to viruses and bacteria. These offending microorganisms cause the child's lymphocytes to make antibodies and memory cells so that when she comes into contact with those microorganisms again, the body will mount an immune response more quickly.
Understanding this process makes it clear why young children get sick so often. There are ways to reduce the duration and frequency of your child's illnesses, however. Kim Kelly, N.D., L.M., a practitioner in Seattle, Washington, treats hundreds of sick children during cold and flu season. "If your children are healthy, they may get sick when first exposed to viruses, especially at day care or preschool, but they'll get over it quickly and won't get sick again for a long time," she explains. "By strengthening your child with natural remedies and diet, and by helping them get well without antibiotics, they'll be stronger afterward."
Though antibiotics may help momentarily, they weaken the immune system in the long run, and the child may pick up another virus more quickly. Kelly suggests giving one dose of glycerin-based liquid echinacea and 500 milligrams of vitamin Cwhich plays an important role in immune response to infection-daily for three days prior to starting school or getting an immunization. When an infection strikes, special cells in the immune system release large amounts of oxidizing materials that can be toxic to other cells. Researchers have found that activation of these toxin-releasing cells promotes the consumption of vitamin C in the body, suggesting that high concentrations of the vitamin may protect against the toxins' harmful effects. Other studies have shown that vitamin C enhances the production ofinterferon, a protein excreted by cells when exposed to a virus. Interferon is believed to work in the early stages of viral exposure by preventing the multiplication of the virus until other facets of the immune system take over.

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