Tips for Keeping Your Child Drug-Free and Healthy

By Drugs We Mean prescriptions Drugs     

It's quite common for parents -- especially first-time parents -- to rush their children to a physician for every minor ailment. It's important to remember that in the first year or two of life, your child's immune system is still being formed, and their experiences during this time can often predict whether or not they will have life-long health problems.
Scientific studies continually support the wisdom of limiting exposures to "foreign" substances for children, including synthetic chemicals -- which includes drugs.
As often as drugs are administered to infants and young children, it's easy to forget that 75 percent of all prescription drugs do NOT have labeling instructions for children, leaving their use in children up to your physician's discretion.
Along with immune system development, your child's nervous system continues to develop well into their seventh year of life. With the recent epidemic increase in the rates of autism, attention deficit, and hyperactivity disorders, it would seem prudent to nurture and protect your child's health in every way possible.
It's also important to remember that your child's immune system and overall health is most influenced by diet, not by drugs or supplements. Many if not most of the chronic diseases kids are now facing can be prevented with proper food choices, along with the commonsense strategies that follow:

• Breastfeed – Feeding your child breast milk and avoiding baby formulas (especially soy formulas, which can be deadly) is perhaps one of the best things you can do to nurture your child's inherent immune system, setting the stage for optimal health.
• Get educated on vaccinations – Before you go along with the standard protocol, do your homework on childhood vaccinations, and opt out of any vaccination where the risks are greater than the potential benefit.
• Proper diet – So many people, including health professionals, do not pay enough attention to diet. I recommend determining your child's nutritional type and following my nutrition plan from an early age to avoid many common ailments and chronic diseases later on. You should also be sure your child is not consuming too much fructose from consuming soda, candy or other processed foods.
  Fructose is now the #1 source of calories in the U.S. and is highly destructive to virtually every body system within your child. So eliminate ALL sodas, and be VERY cautious about drinking fruit juices, as they are also high in fructose. It's far better to eat whole unprocessed fruits instead.
• Exercise -- Too much sedentary time is actually one of the forces driving the child obesity epidemic. About 30 percent of U.S. children are now overweight, and, childhood diabetes has increased 10-fold in the last 20 years.
  If your child is in this group, it is imperative that you limit their TV, computer and video game time, and replace them with a regular exercise program. Overweight and obese children will need at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, and may benefit from closer to 60 minutes.
  Even if your child is not overweight, you should encourage him or her to take part in physically engaging activities throughout the summer, after school days, and on the weekends.
• Treat fevers properly -- A fever is actually a good thing and can improve your child's immune system, making them much healthier in the long run. High fevers can be especially beneficial as they are far better than any immunization at building an authentic, life-long immune response.
  When you suppress these fevers with Tylenol or another medication, you can cause far more harm than good. (I advise avoiding most all of the anti-fever medications unless your child is absolutely miserable or the fever is over 104 degrees F.) A tepid bath can be a soothing and effective alternative.
• Avoid antibiotics – Many common infections -- such as colds and the flu -- for example, are still treated with antibiotics even though it's common knowledge that antibiotics CANNOT treat those kinds of infections! This kind of antibiotic abuse will only be a detriment to your child's health in the long run.
• Healthy outlets for stress – Kids can be under a lot of stress to keep their grades up and forge new relationships with their peers. Make sure that your kids know how to release their sadness, stress, or other negative emotions, and encourage them to engage in relaxing activities if you know they've had a stressful day.

These lifestyle strategies will help prime your child for a lifetime of optimal health.
In the event your child is offered a prescription drug, I would strongly encourage you to do the research before giving your child any medication, and only do so if there is truly no other option (you may need to seek out the opinion of a physician who is knowledgeable about natural medicine).