What moves you out of balance?

Physical, Emotional, and Chemical stressors can all move a child's body out of balance... 

Problem...

1. Physical Stress (trauma)

I recently watched a video a man's personal childhood story.  At the age of 7, when entrusted to play 'nicely' with his four year old sister (he suggested playing 'combat'), his sister fell off the top bunk bed and plummeted to the floor on all fours.  As the shock set in on his sister's face and the tears welled up, the man remembered running over to his little sister to save the day and said, "Amy, Amy wait don't cry! Did you see how you landed?  No human lands on all fours like that! Amy...I think this means you're a unicorn."

This story is a reminder of just how common knocks and falls are in childhood.  It is estimated that at the age of 3, a child will have had 3 major falls and by the age of 5 will have fallen over 5,000 times per year.  The 'bounce-back' resilience exhibited by children typically hides subtle damage that leads to poor posture and neurological function across time.  Each seemingly insignificant slip and fall adds up.  "As a branch bends, so grows the tree..."

Physical stressors can impact the body even before birth.  The vertebrae of a fetus's tiny spine can be misaligned (known as a subluxation) due to restricted positioning in the womb.  Movement within the womb is vitally important as it stimulates the development of the brain and nervous system, while research suggests lack of mobility may be one contributing factor for developmental delays. 

Spine and nerve distress due to birth process itself are exceedingly common.  Contributing factors include false labor, a long or very short labor, failure of the woman's cervix to dilate, the use of drugs to increase contraction intensity, the use of vacuum extraction or forceps, caesarean section delivery, and the cord wrapped around baby's neck.  Even straightforward vaginal births can create subluxations. 

This is why chiropractors recommend parents to take their babies to have their spine checked post-birth.  When the nervous system is not functioning well it has the potential to affect communication channels between the brain and the body and can impact all aspects of ones health - including neurological delays, sleep disturbances, constant crying, chronic ear infections and illness, as well as digestive issues.

Another modern hazard to health for your child's health is posture.  It is estimated that 32% of young people (2-7) and 65% of older children (8-18) have a television in their bedroom and the average child spends approximately 6.5 hours watching medial every day. Repetitive or prolonged postures while watching television and playing computer games can certainly impact the developing spine.

Action Step(s)...

1. Find a wellness Chiropractor.  Chiropractors can assess how your child's spine and nervous system is adapting to the lifestyle stressors placed upon it, and regular chiropractic adjustments help to support optimal growth and nerve function.

Problem...

2. Chemical Stress (toxins)

Over the last few decades we have come a long way in learning how health is taxed by environmental chemicals.  We now know that unborn babies and breastfed children are exposed to toxins that a mother inhales or ingests, or that passes through her skin.  It was once believe that the placenta shields the fetus from these harmful toxins but new research shows that it can act as a steady stream of industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides that cross the placenta just as readily as residues from cigarettes and alcohol.

It is estimated that 60% of our immune cells exist in our intestines so eating can affect our immune function.  Poor dietary habits, antibiotics, lack of water and environmental toxins destroy important flora (good bacteria) of the bowel, affecting digestion and impacting our immune system.  Chemical stress may result from chlorine and fluoride found in water and many toxins in food, including pesticides, herbicides, preservatives, colorings, additives, hormones, damaged fats and high levels of sugar.  Sadly millions of children suffer from eczema, asthma, allergies, sleep problems, and behavior difficulties.

Action Step(s)...

1. Eat Well. Buy high quality organic fruits and veggies and try to eat a 51% raw diet.

2. Drink Well. Consume 66% of your body weight in ounces of water per day.  Dehydration can lead to hunger and over eating.  So keep hydrated.

3. Use pro and prebiotics.  Make sure to use high quality.  I personally use Shaklee products because of their high rate of absorption and backing by clinical research.  visit www.yourchoice.myshaklee.com  and order any of the products you'd like including the pre and probiotics (optiflora).

 4. Visit your wellness Chiropractor.  Chiropractors remove subluxations that cause nerve interference and help restore balance to the body, hence increasing its function (including digestive and immune system function)

Problem...

3. Emotional Stress (thoughts)

It's important to realize that children are not immune to stress.  Epigenetics and other areas of research have shown that emotional stress affects human beings at all stages of life, including in utero, creating changes at a cellular level that can be detrimental to a child's future health.

One of the causes of emotional stress is a hostile home or school life.  If a child feels their safety or the safety of their parent(s) is threatened, physiological responses arise which can result in anxiety, personality issues or health complaints.  Chronic emotional stress in turn creates digestive stress, altering the body's acid/alkaline balance.  This can ultimately alter digestive and immune system health.

Action Step(s)...

1. Limit late nights.  With social, school and family activities, bedtimes can gradually become later and later for older children; however, sleep requirements remain just as vital for teenagers as when they are young.

2. Set a routine.  Having a set routine for dinner and bedtime makes life easier for everyone, as it gives the body and mind cues to slow down, relax and prepare for sleep.

3. Encourage exercise.  Children sometimes resist sleep because they are not doing enough physical exercise during the day.  Encourage them to be active frequently.  Families should create regular rituals that include some type of physical fun!

4. Spend time together.  Limit TV and electronic time and spend more time together as a family, relaxing and connecting.

Thank you for reading! - Your