Nontraditional child care practices

by Brooke Wagenheim

    Therapies for our kids are beginning to expand, as families, health care practitioners and caregivers are using a combination of traditional and complementary healing techniques to care for children’s illnesses. There are many practices that can be integrated into a child’s life to maintain health and create mindfulness in acknowledging alternatives.
    “Children have historically been overlooked in efforts to find complementary treatments for common, yet chronic conditions,” said Dr. Greg Plotnikoff, medical director of the Center for Spirituality and Healing. “But in recent years, we’ve turned a corner and have re-discovered many successful ways to treat the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of childhood illness.”
    In celebration of this, a second annual Pediatric Integrative Medicine Conference was held at the St. Paul RiverCenter in late June with 27 workshops and 15 panel and clinical study discussion sessions. The event also included a community celebration sponsored by the Center for Spirituality and Healing of the Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota, which promotes
interdisciplinary education, research and patient care that combines biomedical, complementary, cross-cultural and spiritual aspects. Harvard University and the University of Arizona served as co-sponsors. The event included presentations by the internationally recognized expert on integrative medicine, Andrew Weil and the world’s most celebrated music therapist, Deforia Lane, a Heart of the Beast procession and children’s musical groups such as the Hillside Flyers gymnastics, Golden Eagles Drumming, and the Benilde-St. Margaret Choir.
    Vaccinations are a debatable issue for many caregivers, as it is an extremely important decision that has to be made for the child. In questioning vaccinations, we open ourselves up to disapproving criticism and accusations of child neglect from doctors, school administrators, public health officials, family members and other parents. Their mindset could resonate issues like, “How could you put your child and other people’s children at risk in contracting a serious disease,” or “Don’t you know that doctors say the vaccinations are safe and government agencies are designed to protect the public and their health?” Because we cannot wipe out every disease on the planet it may be more sensible to focus on strengthening our children’s immune systems to cope with the ever-increasing amount of plague created by the massive use of antibiotics than to inject numerous toxins into their delicate, young, still-developing bodies.
    If we use breast milk, good nutrition, herbs, naturopathy, homeopathy or other resistance-enhancing methods to keep our children’s immune systems strong, then why would we want to inject foreign material and toxins into their bodies, especially since no long-term studies have proven their safety?
    An increasing number of parents are not willing to risk sacrificing their child to a point of view that goes against their core beliefs about health and wellness. We don’t hear much about all the sickness and death that vaccines have created. If we wish to keep our children’s bodies free from harmful toxins and develop healthy immunity naturally, we have every right to say no to vaccines. There are several ways to redeem exemption from Immunization Laws if you educate yourself on it. Many people are not aware these exemptions exist since public officials, school administrators and doctors rarely mention them.
    Keeping a clean house is helpful in order to ward off disease and infection. Today, the cleanser is frequently more dangerous than the things we are trying to clean up. Many common household products contain alcohol, ammonia, bleach, formaldehyde and lye. These substances can cause nausea, vomiting, inflammation and burning of the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory system. Some are linked with neurological, liver and kidney damage, blindness, asthma and cancer. You can either make your own household cleaners and disinfectants from a variety of common, less toxic household ingredients, or you can purchase less toxic commercial brands in certain stores. This provides a safer environment for you and your children, and it is cheaper too. Natural store bought products usually require much less in order to do the chore, and making your own can be significantly lower in price.
    From a “scientific” perspective, many herbal treatments are considered experimental, but the reality is that herbal medicine has a long and respected history. Many familiar medications were developed from ancient healing traditions that treated health problems with specific plants. But as Western medicine evolved from an art to a science in the 19th century, information that had been widely available became the domain of comparatively few. Once scientific methods isolated the medicinal properties of these botanicals, extracted and analyzed their healing components, pharmaceutical laboratories took over from providers of medicinal herbs as the producers of drugs. The use of herbs, which for most of history had been mainstream medical practice, began to be considered unscientific, or at least unconventional, and fell into relative obscurity. Most modern physicians rely on the Physician’s Desk Reference, an extensive listing of chemically manufactured drugs. Ever notice all the horrible side effects listed on all those advertisements for drugs that are supposed to improve your health? Herbal treatment is useful for both acute and chronic conditions in addition to health maintenance and illness prevention.
    Antibiotics have saved many lives and are useful for serious bacterial infections. Unfortunately, antibiotics are excessively prescribed, especially to children. The Center for Disease Control estimates that of the 235 million doses of antibiotics given each year, from 20 to 50 percent are unnecessary.    
    This overuse leads to tragic consequences to children. Antibiotics have been shown to increase the likelihood of repeat ear infections. One reason is that when a doctor prescribes antibiotics, the underlying cause of the ear infection is usually ignored and left untreated. For instance, Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcus, is commonly found in the nose and throat. This bacterium is thought to be responsible for many cases of ear infection, which is why antibiotics are prescribed. However, your child can have pneumococcus and not be sick. It will only cause trouble if it gets trapped in the middle ear. Once trapped, the bacteria can reproduce rapidly and become an infection. This scenario could be the result of an allergic reaction to a certain food, which can cause congestion as well as significant pressure changes and obstruction to the Eustachian tube. In the case of an allergy-induced ear infection, eliminating the allergen from a child’s diet or environment will also eliminate the obstruction, allowing the bacterial fluid to drain. However, if an allergic child continues to be exposed to the allergen, repeat ear infections are likely to occur. A weakened immune system or nutritional deficiencies can also be factors in ear infections.
    Whether massage or simply touch, contact is a primal need. Nurturing touch communicates love, the main ingredient for physical and emotional growth and well-being. The one-on-one interaction of infant massage promotes health on all levels—psychologically, emotionally, developmentally and physiologically.
    The benefits of massage are carried into adulthood. Recent findings indicate that the secure attachments with primary caregivers formed in infancy produce adults more capable of healthy, happy and trusting relationships. When the attachment bonds are not formed, children grow up being less sympathetic to others, and their relationships lack trust and intimacy. Massage improves circulation, strengthens immunity, enhances neurological development, and stimulates digestion, providing relief of gas and colic. Massage can also raise a child’s sense of self and worth, which is tied to developing self-esteem.
    When babies are upset, a soothing massage can lessen their tension and irritability and help them to feel more secure. In our culture, babies are born into a fast-paced, technologically advanced world with many unknown situations—an environment that can create stress for a newborn. Without relief, this stress can accumulate and may cause a baby to shut down or block sensory intake and learning. Massage is a great buffer against stress. When we give our babies massage, we teach them how to relax. When relaxation is learned early in life, it can become a lifetime tool for dealing with stress.
    There are numerous tools in maintaining and nurturing your children’s health: herbs, music, massage, aromatherapy, martial arts, biofeedback, mind-body techniques, energy medicine, structural integration and rolfing to name a few. Becoming educated on the options can help you make choices that involve natural practices to maintain and improve your children’s health. Treating the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of childhood illnesses doesn’t necessarily mean popping a Ritalin tablet or masking the problem with antibiotics. Finding the right balance between the appropriate use of drugs and herbs is important. There are times when antibiotics or surgery can save lives. Similarly there are times when using the powerful tools of modern medicine is excessive and the desired results can be achieved with herbs or some other form of complementary healing.