Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Raising Healthy Kids, Naturally

Sometimes I look around and see kids who don't look very healthy and I want to stop the parents and have a conversation. I don't want to judge anyone. But I've been a registered nurse for the last 30 years (during which time I've watched in amazement as the number of kids with asthma, autism, ADHD, allergies, childhood cancers etc has skyrocketed), and so I want to have that conversation with the parents because I believe as a society we've strayed from mother natures ways and our kids are paying the price. I want to get all these kids back on track. You can probably tell by now that I tend to be a little preachy......like I have the answers. Actually, I only have a few, but I think they are important ones and they seem to be missing from conversations parents are having with their pediatricians. Because I was a labor and delivery nurse, taught childbirth classes for many years, became a mom of two kids, coordinated the Defeat Autism Now! conferences for 10 years and 2 years ago started the Saving Our Kids, Healing Our Planet green children's health expos, people tend to ask me this question: Is it vaccines? I always give the same answer: I don't think kids are sicker now just because over the past 20 years, the number of vaccines we give our kids has increased to 36 before the age of 5, I also think it's because we have 87,000 chemicals in our air, water and food and our kids for the most part aren't eating all that well. So there you go, my first blog post. Hopefully not too obnoxious. I plan on posting more about natural ways you can boost your child's immune system to help ward off the flu and other infections. Super foods to super charge your children's health. Great tips for women to consider prior to conceiving to minimize the chances that their offspring will develop autism or other chronic health conditions, some natural approaches for preventing and treating asthma, ADHD, autism, allergies etc. etc. Here we go!

6 comments:

  1. Dear Maureen,

    Thanks for starting this blog. We need to get this message out to parents and potential parents as well.

    Kind regards,
    -Richard Cann

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Maureen,
    I happened to find you blog by mistake, and was happily suprized. As a mother of a 1 y/o I now realize the importance of nutrition, and the power of 'super foods'. Luckily my daughter loves her veggies, fruit, and grains, and I have to admit she eats better than I ever have. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about vaccines, and child rearing in general.

    thanks,
    jackie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Commenting on vaccines is challenging.....especially at this moment in time. Merck,(the makers of the MMR) announced today that they will no longer manufacter the Measels, Mumps and Rubella vaccines separately. What does this mean? It means that parents who are rightly concerned that there is a subset of children (who because of a genetic predisposition or other acquired weakness may develop a problem after receiving the combo MMR) no longer have the option of spacing these vaccines out. This is a shame and an injustice to our children. When is the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC going to wake up and listen to what many smart and concerned parents are saying? The powers that be need to pay attention to the reports of how previously normally developing children were negatively affected after receiving the MMR either while sick or concurrent with too many other vaccines. For some children, this is just too much....the breaking point! Stop telling these these parents and don't tell me that vaccines don't cause health, behavioral and developmental problems including autism. We are not blind to the truth. Thankfully more and more caring, intelligent and open minded health practitioners are in agreement and the movement grows. More to come I hope better news!

    ReplyDelete
  4. While visiting two of my four granddaughters in Portland, Oregon, I loved seeing their mom give the 4 year old homemade elderberry syrup to ward off infections. Do you know a recent study showed that elderberry flavanoids can activate specific immunity against HINI (the swine flu)? Anyway it was a joy to see the youngest (2 month old) happily breastfeed, while the older one ate kale, or spinach or some other green with each and every evening meal. Okay, I'm bragging a little bit, but it brings joy to my heart to see my daughter-in- law grow her own food, can much of it, harvest and freeze fresh berries, make her own elderberry syrup, juice fresh vegetables and fruit etc. Meanwhile I wrote my first post in the Huffington Post tonight in response to Bill Maher's discussion where he questions the number of vaccines children now receive: I'll add my comments on vaccines to the next post

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here is my first comment published in the Huffington Post “I have been a pediatric RN for over 30 years and I couldn't agree more with BIll Maher's perspective on health in general, and the vaccine issue in particular. I have watched as the number of kids diagnosed with autism has climbed from 1-2 per 10,000 to 1 per 100. Incidences of Asthma has doubled since the 80s, 11 million kids are now being diagnosed with ADHD. Come on! This is not just better diagnosis, these are real epidemics and although vaccines are not the only culprit, the overuse of them, definitely plays a significant role in the escalating number of kids being affected by these and other disorders. We as a society have become way too reliant on pharmaceutical and medical solutions for our health needs. We have lost sight of the role diet, herbs, vitamins, and nature in general play in helping us resist infection and achieve optimal health.. The loss in human potential that we will endure as a result of our blindness to this issue is quickly becoming immeasurable. The propaganda machine is strong on the part of the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics. But in the end, common sense and the opinions of smart and observant parents who watched their child descend into autism and develop other health problems after vaccines will prevail. History will look back on this era and question our passive acceptance of this medical mistake. that has gotten way out of hand. See RaisingHea­lthyKidsNa­turally.bl­ogspot.com .

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wonderful article, thanks for putting this together! This is obviously one great post. Thanks for the valuable information and insights you have so provided here. Antipodes Skin Care Antipodes Australia

    ReplyDelete