Kids Back To School

Kids Back To School

It is important for parents to consider that as the Summer winds down, and the Labor Day parties hit, believe it or not, you have the opportunity to help the health of your children though out the Fall.  This becomes imperative so the normal colds, flus and other maladies don't infect your child or home this Fall or Winter.  In order to appreciate the basis for this, consider the following.  With the body's dominant energies passing through the Spleen/Pancreas Meridians associated with the Earth Element, based on the 5000 year old Chinese Philosophy, it then becomes vital for the parents to consider the relationship between the intake of dietary sugar and how this will influence the Immune System for the Fall and Winter Seasons. 

Back To School Season is both a growing and stressful time for the whole family.  As the kids begin the next year in their formal educational process, getting organized to a new schedule and how to orient family meal times becomes a concern.  And more time then not, the "quick meal on the run" from any of the fast food restaurants, to grabbing quick energy foods and drinks, leads to stressing the body's Immune System and setting the body up for infection.  Add to that the learning of new material, while adapting to the new schedules, both the parents and the children can have difficulty.  When the body gets stressed like this, it is natural for any one to feel the emotions of worry (can I do this), nervousness (how do I handle this situation), low self-esteem (I don't know if I can handle this), lack of control over events (I have to do this or else), or hopelessness (I don't think I can do all of this).  This trouble adapting will stress out the part of the body called the Spleen. 

Associated with the Spleen is its twin sibling, the Pancreas.  Both parts of the body hold these emotions.  Children who are learning to fit in with their peer group will often feel these emotions on a regular basis.  A natural body reaction to this kind of stress is to look for a calming type stimulus to help alleviate these emotions.  The chief sense organ associated with the Earth Element is the sense of taste.  Therefore, the person will reach for the feel good foods that taste good.  Given the opportunity to reach for any of the 5 tastes (salty, bitter, sour, pungent or sweet), most will reach for something sweet, as this is a feel good sensation.  Since they are emotionally stressing the organ associated with sugar metabolism (the pancreas), it only seems natural that a person would reach for any food that is high in sugar.  The stimulus of the sugar calms the body by stimulating the organ.  The calm associated with these comfort foods is short lived though, and results in a state of hyperactivity.  These bouts of hyperactivity create a need within the classroom setting to have the child or children controlled.  This leads to furthering the emotion of lacking control over events.  After all, who wants to give up total control?  But in an effort to orient children into society, they are then told to "sit still, pay attention and do as you are told."  And it is because of this that children loose their creativity.  Often times this can create a child who will resist these rules.  As a result, many schools are having the children labeled with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 

What should a parent do?

Simple changes in the diet from refined processed foods to more natural ones that include more vegetables would help to lessen the release of Insulin, and the child can have a body that has a more ideal blood sugar level and a balanced brain chemistry as well.  Less highs and lows in a child's body will take the stress off the Immune System and allow the Spleen to recycle the blood in a more balanced way.  This is important as it allows the Immune System to be ready for dealing with viruses and bacteria. 

Adults aren't too different from the children.  Those who deal with the kids, usually the mothers more so then the fathers, find they too are in need of something to alleviate their emotions of over concern (for their child's success and growth) lacking control over events (the children are away from home and not under their direct control), low self-esteem (from their own reminder of school times and if they are doing it right for their child) and a sense of hopelessness over the continued pressure to keep up with the fast paced schedule.  The typical comfort foods associated with these stressful events tend to be the sugary, quick foods, like the chips, pretzels, donuts, bagels, pizzas and pasta.  Like the child, this stresses the organ associated with utilization of sugar, the Pancreas.  Maintaining the quick pace of this new life-style will result in a parent who feels exhausted and drained.  Simply getting out of bed on a daily basis can be a drain itself.  The enormity of it all can get overwhelming.  And if both parents work, trying to have the normal semblance of a family who shares dinner time is next to impossible.  This too is another reason for quick and fast food eating that has become too commonplace today.  And likewise, the parents suffer with highs and lows in blood sugar, stress their Immune System only to develop colds and flu like symptoms as a result of what the kids bring home from school.

With all of this stress, what are some recommendations? 

I recommend the following:

1)  Take the time to organize a meal schedule.  This includes one that allows for proper meal times with more healthy type foods.  These meals should include more fruits and vegetables and whole foods, while limiting or eliminating all refined, processed and convenient foods.  Avoiding fast foods will help to keep the Immune System stronger, while limiting other health issues that result from obesity concerns associated with the fast food. 

2) Take time to listen to your child/children.  Allowing and encouraging each of them to express their feelings is important for normal development and the sense of feeling/being heard.  Sharing what is occurring in the parents life is equally as important.  This encourages communication from your child because they feel you are sharing your life with them.  This can be a good release for the parent as well.  Dinner time is the best time for this if there is a lot going on in a family and if time is limited.

3) Take time to organize an activity schedule.  Put the events on a large dry erase wall calandar.  This allows the parent to see all the times and dates of their children's activities.  This schedule should also allow for proper family time where all the members of the family spend at least an hour together, without the television.  This is important for family continuity.  Communication within a family is important for the health and well-being of the family.  Finding out what is going on in your child's/children's life is vitally important.  Their lives change so quickly as they grow, and a parent should be aware of these changes as they occur.

4) Limit the amount of activities you schedule for your children.  Getting them involved in sports and other extra curricular activities is one thing, but having a child or children that do not have any down time is not healthy.  This also allows the parents to not be running all the time.  There is no rule that says your child's time must be filled from the time they rise, to the time they go to bed.  Allow them to have free time where they get to develop the habit of figuring out for themselves how to occupy their time.  Family activities are important for every member of the family too.  Schedule time where every member of the family is free at least once a week for a family activity.

5) Get to know your children's friends and parents.  By establishing a community of friends, this can take much of the stress off the parent(s) because there is the understanding that other adults you can trust are involved.  If you know what kind of friends your children have, what kind of parents they come from, and the value systems involved, it can go a long way toward taking the stress off the parent of needing to do all of it for themselves.

One of the things my family did while I was growing up was to go out for dinner to a family style restaurant every Friday night.  It was for family only, and allowed each member of the family to have the opportunity to discuss anything they felt they needed to discuss.  It was an important part of my upbringing, and one I notice occurs in many of the more healthy and balanced families I treat.  For those families that don't have the resources to do that, sitting down for a healthy family style meal that is made a little different and special, will allow for the strengthening of the family unit.  And a strong, healthy family is always made of strong healthy family members.

By scheduling these times to spend together as a family, it allows for every one to win.  Parents get to stay in contact with their children, and the kids get to develop and feel a sense of family.  This sense of family is required more and more today with all the different schedules each member has.  Making the commitment and developing a schedule that each member of the family can appreciate and adhere to will allow for less stress and more health within the family unit.  And it can allow for a much more successful school year for all the kids.

A FREE Seminar on Strengthening Your Child's Immune System will be held at Advanced Alternative Medicine Center on Tuesday, September 15th and 22nd at 6:30 pm.  Reservations are required, as seating is limited to the first 15 people who register per class.  If interested, call (845) 561-2225 and tell Jean to put you on the list.

Dr. Huntoon has a single mission:

To support as many people as possible in their quest for health and enable them to improve and maintain their health to the highest level possible, while educating them about the benefits of Chiropractic, Natural Healthcare and Holistic Living, so they in turn can teach others to support us having a healthy community.

Your Choice

• Continue doing the same thing and nothing changes or it may get worse

OR

• Try something different and get a different result that makes you happier and healthier.