Introduction

We’re living at an interesting time because the cracks in the status quo are starting to show. Issues like ADHD, autism, Asperger’s and environmental toxins are common knowledge. Campaigns are raging pro and against vaccination and all sorts of other issues affecting children are headline news. It doesn’t matter which side of the arguments you decide to support from my perspective. What matter is that you reached your conclusion yourself from your own experience and research, rather than believing someone else. Each child is different and parents know their own children best.

I was just recently in the USA where I was observing children and parents with great interest. The USA has the highest rates of autism, ADHD and childhood disorders on the planet. They have also have the most processed sugar and fat-laden diet, and have awarded 4 billion dollars in compensation to parents for vaccine injuries. There is plenty of food for thought…

Why Today’s Parents need Empowerment

The media run daily fear-inducing health scares and different business interests promote drugs as safe or preventative that then go on to kill people. Therefore parents need to be on their toes and using their common sense to screen some of the more harmful influences out of their children’s lives. Being embodied and noticing how things affect you or your child are essential. You have to be your own health advocate. This begins with food additives like MSG and aspartame, which are both extremely damaging to a growing child’s development. Many of the conditions I have seen in children have been treated solely with diet and supplementation. .This says a lot about both the poor quality of nutrition and children’s ability to bounce back. Their bodies have a strong innate healing capacity.

The reason that I feel parents need empowering is that clearly something is not all right as far as healthy child development is concerned. As a society something is off for children. And yet the information being offered by mainstream health professionals is not complete, based mainly on medicating rather than looking at diet and lifestyle, and often doesn’t make sense. Children are totally vulnerable to what their parents – or their school or culture – decide for them, and I’m here to help parents take a stand in their children’s best interests, whatever it is that they personally decide.

I’m not sure that there is a right and a wrong per se. Since every child is unique it is very important that each parent make their own assessment since they know their child by far the best. Vaccinate or not? How much and when? Special needs school or extra tuition? Additive-free diet or steroids for asthma? There are endless choices when issues arise. How do you decide?

Tools for making health decisions

So what are the tools that parents need to make their own assessment of their child and meet their individual needs? I’ve spent decades observing children and getting inside their minds to see things from their perspective. I bring years of anthropological observation of indigenous cultures to what I do. My nervous system is in the extremely sensitive range, and the everyday challenges I face navigating normal life have given me tools that help me translate children’s experiences for their parents. What I discovered in the process is that there are two very key elements that parents need.

Embodied Experience or Presence

One is embodied experience – through using my body and emotions as a sensor or satellite dish I discovered that it is very simple to pick up what is going on for others. This is why I think craniosacral practice (learning to experience body sensation) is such a phenomenal tool for supporting parents. It helps them getting in touch with their own abilities to sense their children and know what’s going on. Absolutely anyone can learn this – it’s an innate human ability. Being present and embodied is just about learning to experience the current moment exactly as it is. If you’re interested in knowing more about this, you can find a variety of information here.

The first step to empowering you as parents to make positive decisions for your children is to enable you to sense your child and their needs for yourself. Then you can intuit what would support them. I call this looking afresh without judgment. It is extraordinary how simple things can become for the child when parents just take a good look with an open mind.

Empathetic Attuned Relationship

The second skill that empowers parents is learning a more attuned way of relating. Some people call it empathy, others talk about attuned attention. It’s a way of relating to another person where you allow yourself to receive emotional and mental information about them without judging. It also includes learning to really listen without thinking or answering back.It makes all the difference to your child’s development because they need this in order to develop a sense of themselves and of their innate talents and characteristics.

The bonus is that apart from having a healthy child if you learn to do this you will likely never have to visit a psychologist or mental health professional with your child. You will have an exceptional understanding of your child that will fulfill you totally as a parent. And it’s actually very simple to do. There is more information on empathetic relating and some fascinating case studies of problem-solving in families on www.sensingchildren.com.

Communicate with your Child

Once you have got a sense of what you feel your child needs you can communicate this with them directly in an honest way. If you suggest a supplement for a child to take and explain why, they will also be able to tell you if it’s having the desired effect. Small children tend to be very honest and exact in their own descriptions of their physical and emotional state so you can get good feedback. You can figure out together what works best by trial and error, communication, and observation.

You are your child’s greatest ally

I believe that parents are the solution and greatest resource for whatever their children need whatever the cause of their children’s issues – yet we live in a global society that increasingly seems to try to tell parents what to do and to control our individual choices. This can be extremely frightening and confusing – yet if you just apply these three simple principles of sensing your body and being present, attuned relating and communication – you will be able to rely on your own perceptions.

Then you can choose your own path with peace of mind and a light heart. And as you do so, you will empower other parents to look again and open their minds afresh to observing their own children and meeting their real needs. Rather than their imagined ones. Just by applying your common sense and using your own perception when relating to your child, you can touch countless other parents and children’s lives by example. A different future begins with you.