Keeping kids healthy in an unhealthy world

Published June 1, 2002 in the North Island Weekender

As May is Child Care Month I wanted to give you parents out there a few health tips to keep your child healthy in this very unhealthy world!
Remedies for your naturopathic first aid kit at home have been discussed in my articles Feb 23, Mar 9 and Mar 23 2002.
The health of your child starts in the health of the egg and the sperm of the parents! I encourage parents to become as healthy as possible before getting pregnant. This includes taking adequate folic acid, vitamin C, and vitamin A. During the pregnancy optimal nutrition is obtained by making sure mom gets enough calcium, iron and essential fats. Our best prenatal vitamin is Optinatal. It was developed over 16 years ago by naturopathic physicians and when taken at 6 tablets per day makes healthy moms and babies! I encourage it even more so during breast-feeding to keep mom going as breast-feeding is more draining for her than the pregnancy. Not all breast milk is created equal. Mom needs to ingest the proper nutrition so that breast milk has adequate essential fats and nutrients. Past articles on this subject see April 8 and June 17 2000. (Call the office for copies).
The first question that parents need to answer after the baby is born is to immunize and if so when and what immunizations are the most important? This is a very controversial issue so I won’t go into it here but recommend that you read “A Shot in the Dark” by Coulter and Fisher. I recommend that breast-feeding is the best immunization you can give children so try and stick with it for at least one year.
Children need routine and stability in their environment. In the book “Ritalin Free Kids” by Reichenberg-Ullman and Ullman they state that the environment that kids find themselves in is too hectic. The lights are fluorescent; they are glued to the TV for hours and to their computer monitors. Kids need outside time, quiet time and they need the dark. Obesity amongst children is rising at an alarming rate as their diets and exercise go down hill. Fast foods are everywhere including at the schools and I have given some healthy food ideas in the above articles. Exercise needs to be worked at as school programs discontinue sports programs. Exposure to natural light and oxygen are two of the main principles of naturopathic medicine. As children age and get used to playing indoors all the time they get lazy! Encourage your children to play outside as much as possible and go with them whenever possible. It is good for you too! Encourage them to help in the garden and take on interests that you have that take you outside.
Kids also need down time in this over stimulated world. A time where there is no music, TV, computer or unnecessary noise to distract them. They need time to be alone and be quiet reading or playing by him or herself. If you find your child irritable try this once you know their blood sugar is taken care of! For younger children this means a nap at the same time every day. For older children it needs to be scheduled in. Some kids will do this on their own, however some may not so structure down time into their daily life.
Time spent on the computer needs to be monitored in children. As a teen they may develop Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD is not an official diagnosis yet), which is linked to depression, isolation, emotional immaturity and increased suicide risk. I think TV is just as bad! A lot of our youths’ high expectations of themselves come from unrealistic images learned from TV.
As we become urbanized we are not exposed to the dark as much as in previous generations. To help the pituitary gland function properly it needs complete dark during the sleep cycle. On the other hand wearing sunglasses all the time prevents adequate light stimulation of the pituitary gland as well.
Read to your children. They learn a lot from this and will become good readers themselves one day which helps them keep a balance in this over computerized society we live in. Take regular trips to the library with them so they can pick out their own books.
If you provide these things to your children in a routine way they will come to expect it in their daily life and learn to enjoy it. Some experts believe parents have until the child turns six to lay down a good foundation such as this. After that the child draws on that foundation to respond to the world around them. Good luck!

Dr. Pincott has been practicing naturopathic medicine since 1985 and is currently practicing in Campbell River. She can be reached at (250) 286-3655 or www.DrPincott.com