Health Tips for Young Children

As our babies make the huge step into becoming toddlers, their needs, and possible mishaps, change. This is the time of the ‘Terrible Twos’ — a new independence for the child as she moves on from being breastfed, begins to walk, and explore the world. For the parents it is often a chance to develop more patience (!) as well as learning to set boundaries. Our children at this age are still very receptive and will often unconsciously pick up on and act out our stress. So finding the time to nurture yourself is important for your whole family’s health.

As it is spring time moving into summer, this is a good time to reduce the warm, heavy, nourishing, high protein winter foods, for both children and adults, and to increase the lighter, cooler foods such as salads and juices.

The respiratory system is more sensitive at this time according to Ayurvedic understanding, so conditions like hay-fever,  asthma and congestion can flare up. Generally cut down on possibly allergic foods such as dairy (especially homogenised as it is harder for the body to cope with) and wheat. Doing some variation of a spring cleanse for both parent and child is also a good idea now. Even if it’s as simple as cutting out refined sugar from the diet, reducing wheat and dairy and drinking more water and fresh juices. Also sipping hot water two or three times a day helps liquefy the toxins and by products built up from winter, and helps the body to eliminate them. I was amazed how much my kids loved this too.

Other general conditions young children are affected by are:

Bumps and Bruises
For which often the best medicine is a hug and some Rescue Remedy and/or Arnica. If it is a bad knock and has swollen up then the application of a raw potato poultice will draw out the inflammation. Simply grate a raw potato (organic if possible) into mush and apply directly to the area. Hold it there with Glad Wrap and/or a bandage of some sort, and leave on for an hour or so.

Potato poultices can be used for strains, bruises, infections, boils, burns (but cool the area first with cold water or ice), also arthritic inflammations and sores.

I have found the good ol’ potato one of the most essential items in my first aid kit and have had wonderful results with it for years. The potato neutralises the acid condition of the tissues and cools by drawing off the excess heat. At the same time it absorbs the excess fluids in the tissues.

Cuts
Washing with some diluted Calendula tincture to soothe and disinfect and begin healing is good. Or Hypericum tincture or Dragons Blood are also wonderful. Of course if it is very big or deep go to your health professional, in case a stitch or two is needed.

Splinters
Can be drawn out with a little external application of slippery elm powder.
Mix it with water and a little hypericum until it’s a thick paste, and dab it onto the area. Leave for an hour or so (or overnight). It can be held there with Glad Wrap or similar. Then wash it off and the splinter washes off too. Another option is to try Silicea Homoeopathic internally.

Ticks
Give a dose of ixodes or ledum homoeopathic. Then dab on some tea-tree oil or methylated spirits to kill the tick, then pull it out. Repeat the homoeopathics until any reaction, like swelling, has gone OR apply a barrier over the tick like paw-paw cream or lanolin so it suffocates and drops out on its own. (These tick homoeopathics are also great for the family pets.)

Eye Infections
Can also benefit from potato. After grating the raw potato squeeze out the juice. Dip some cotton wool or soft cloth in the juice and place over the eye. Or you can try cooled Chamomile tea in the same way or Eyebright tincture diluted with water.

All in all don’t forget that love is the best medicine and will usually soothe back into balance most small complaints and lessen the pain of severe conditions as well.