![Child Homeopathy, Tania Rodriguez-Arias, photograph by Juliet Lofaro](https://bestselfmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/TaniaRodriquez-Arias-AI.jpg)
An effective alternative to prescription drugs, homeopathic remedies promote natural healing, without chemicals
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Why do we blanketly accept that antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and/or anti-depressant drugs are okay for our children? How did naturopathy and homeopathy practices come to be considered alternative, rather than standard ways to heal our children? Have you ever considered the notion that perhaps we have this backwards?
The following oath is taken by any physician or practitioner as they graduate from medical school, or become certified in any alternative healing modality: Prima non nocere (first do no harm). The best way to do no harm to our children is to help them feel their best by means of the simplest and most natural way possible.
Optimum health is attained when we provide the body with the tools to do what it does best — care for itself, organically.
As a schoolteacher and pediatric naturopathic physician, I see the mind-body-soul interaction on a daily basis, both in the classroom and in private one-on-one consultations. I regularly witness what is becoming a widely accepted thought — when the gut isn’t happy, nothing is. Whenever the gut is not clean and with all its microbioma cooperating nicely with one another (bacteria, enzimes, virus, fungus), a direct correlation takes place in children’s behavior. I’ve witnessed the results: Restlessness, brain fog, irritability, allergies ensue and a child may show difficulty interacting with others. A peaceful and content gut enables the brain to operate from a peaceful and happy space of whole health, creating a level playing field.
The first step in this integrative healing process is to assess the root cause of any given ailment by supporting the immune system with cleansing and balancing the body. Resist the temptation to rely on aggressive and symptom-suppressing drugs for temporal relief. Instead, first turn to nutrition, supplements, plants, essential oils, flower essences, and homeopathic medicines — a back-to-basics approach. These natural remedies can, in most cases, do a beautiful job of healing without harming the lining of the gut or pouring toxins into the blood stream.
Natural healthcare can also be yummy. How delicious and nutritious are homemade soups, juices and stews when we are feeling a little under the weather? How comforting is sipping organic cocoa with almond milk while snuggling under a soft blanket when the body needs some rest? We respond to real health care.
Usually we go ‘down’ for a reason — don’t rush the process.
If your child is not feeling well, use this time to reconnect. Read a story or watch a nice movie together. Play some soothing music and use your imagination to create an inspirational guided visualization. Or create vision boards and dream catchers. The point is to make the journey back to optimal health an enjoyable and nourishing experience — and one in accordance with the flow of the body’s natural timing.
If you wish to be particularly hands on, cultivate medicinal plants that produce healing essential oils. Medicinal plants that are especially suitable for kids because of their safety and gentleness include: calendula, echinacea, mallow, lavender, rose, chamomile, rosemary and thyme. Make teas, tinctures or simmer them in a big pot of fresh boiled water and even add it to the bathtub. They smell great and have a lovely taste — and they empower your children to understand the connections to healing themselves with nature.
Naturopathic tools can be used for common childhood ailments such as colds and flus, diarrhea, and chickenpox, as well as emotional or psychological disorders.
Studies have shown that kids diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder) or CD (Conduct Disorder) can improve with homeopathic treatment to the extent that prescription drugs are no longer necessary. Such remedies have provided children on drugs such as Ritalin, with the means to gradually come off them. In doing so, their true personality, nature and temperament become restored. Their relationships to family and friends become notably improved. Most importantly, s/he can experience again his or her own inner self without the imbalance that previously required diagnosis.
The safety and effectiveness of homeopathic remedies are well proven in clinical research studies and are becoming better known among an increasingly informed and aware population. Numerous case studies can be found in Homeo-Kids by Patricia Le Roux, Rage-Free Kids by Robert Ullman, providing examples of how homeopathy helps to make a dramatic difference in the behavior of children. Those of us who work in the service of children feel humbled and blessed to make such contributions to their wellbeing. It is the light at the end of our work, study and research tunnel.
Employed properly, naturopathy and homeopathy have the potential of helping your child restore a sense of balance and wellbeing so that they can enjoy health and happiness. What more could we want for our children?
Everything has a time, place and circumstance. Western medicine may be where we turn in a time of crisis, but in the meantime, before crisis, we must honor the innate wisdom of our own bodies. This can be best achieved by connecting to our body’s ability to heal and reset. We can empower our children to go forth in their lives, fortified by the knowledge that when properly maintained, their bodies can heal themselves.
This is the face of the new medicine — a return to original healing, to natural self-care.
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