Children’s health is at the top of the list when it comes to a parent’s desire to ensuring their little one is healthy and thriving. There’s a plethora of medical advisors, centers & options to choose from to ensure your child can live a healthy, stress-free life.
If you’re reading this, chances are you hope to find a better way to help your child thrive and find alternatives to standard pediatric care. You’re probably wondering what we mean by a “holistic approach” to medication. The truth is most medication is designed only to help alleviate physical symptoms of ailments, not the ailment itself.
Holistic medicine aims to do the same thing. However, the approach focused on more than physical symptoms, considering medication and environmental factors affecting your child’s health.
Where Do We Start?
Considering all the triggers that could impact children’s health, it makes sense to start with the building blocks of life. The food we eat is a fundamental part of our body’s development. Some key aspects a diet can impact:
- Physical Growth & Development
- Brain development & Cognitive functions.
- Energy & Metabolism
- Immune system support.
- Emotional Well-Being
- Learning and academic performance.
It only makes sense that an unhealthy diet significantly impacts a healthy lifestyle. Studies prove that children lacking proper nutrition struggle at school and home.
Life is as busy as a bee, and we often try to fit everything into the time available. Many now use meal subscription services for quicker, healthier meals. Unfortunately, there are better solutions for children’s health.
Meal services are generally designed for the target market. Often meaning with an adult’s needs & pallet in mind, it’s a poor fit for your child’s dietary needs.
Now may be the best time to cancel that meal subscription plan. While it’s easy to think of the time & money saved, we have approaches that may work for you. This will give you far more control over your little one’s nutrition.
Try Gardening
Growing your food, even in a small container garden, has many benefits. Early exposure to things like dirt and the germs it carries is a great way to strengthen a child’s immune system.
It also provides an opportunity for multiple generations to interact, providing social stimulation. It’s proven to produce the release of serotonin. The feel-good hormone we all need to be happy. It also teached kids to eat healthier.
Think back to childhood. Do you remember being able to go out to the garden and pick fresh berries or the first ripe tomato on the vine? Many kids visit neighborhood fruit trees and gardens to pick the fresh treasures they have.
Put a salad plate before most young kids; they will likely refuse it. Yet, watch that same child pick a tomato off the vine he helped plant and tend to, and he’ll bite right into it. It just tastes better.
Sunlight exposure, fresh food, family time, and health gains are all great reasons to start gardening with your tot.
Other Ways to Integrate a Holistic Lifestyle
They say it takes a village to raise a child properly. Part of that village is finding a trusted healthcare provider who understands holistic treatments for your child. A Functional Medicine provider will see your child as the whole being they are while still focusing on their health. It is much easier to prevent disorder from occurring than it is to fix it when it happens.
The village ideology also thrives on focusing on more than just education and finding an academic setting where your child can thrive but also mature physically & mentally. Ideally, it would be a setting where the individual child is honored for individuality.
Final Thoughts
Our children, indeed, are our future. We want to do all we can to ensure they grow strong in all aspects and need to lead in a manner that shows respect for all lives. The foundation for this type of leader starts in the earliest of years, with a foundation that allows the child to be healthy, happy, and respected. A stable foundation leads to a sturdy structure. Ensuring stability from the beginning can help your child thrive on this wonderous journey called life.
