How do you know if your backpack is overloaded?

Getting your muscles working correctly.

Packing, carrying and lifting a backpack.

What’s a good backpack design?

Classroom learning relies on good reading skills.  Reading in turn, requires fine motor control of eye movement.  There are two main movements to be concerned about.  One is scanning back and forth along a line of print and the second is drawing the eyes in or converging so that attention is focused on a point.

To achieve adequate fine motor control of eye movement, messages need to travel through the nervous system between the brain and the eyes without hindrance.  If a child has retained reflexes; allergies; gut issues; parasites, or even minor structural issues, then this nervous control is being physically hampered.  The role of the chiropractor is to remove the physical block.

Fine motor control is a learned skill.  The visual system in children with learning problems will usually need to be retrained so that both eyes work together to scan and converge.  This is where the behavioural optometrist comes in, using colours and exercises to develop this skill.  Often glasses will be prescribed – not to correct a physical problem but as a temporary crutch to help the eyes converge automatically until the skill is learned and becomes automatic without any help.

The combination of chiropractic adjustment and behavioural optometry will allow for significant improvement in reading and learning.

Feel free to contact us if you want to know more.

With the increase in disorders such as asthma, eczema, behavioural disorders, environmental, food and chemical allergies as well as Chrohn’s disease and Coeliac disease, there has been an increase in research and clinical investigation.  What researchers are discovering is that the nervous system, gastrointestinal and immune systems are intricately linked.

Our nervous system, the body’s computer, depends upon the proper functioning of the intestines to enable digestion and absorption of food nutrients.  Some of these nutrients are essential for optimum functioning of the neurotransmitter pathways that affect mood and cognition.  The immune system also depends on the proper absorption of these nutrients for optimum functioning.  Unfortunately, toxins and dietary allergens can fundamentally affect and overload our digestive systems.

So what does this mean from a day-to day perspective?  When it comes to building our children’s constitution and educating them about health your family can focus on small things that promote “Strong Guts”, “Nerves of Steel” and the “Immune Balloon”.

Strong Guts

Prioritise produce that’s fresh and in-season. 
These are high in nutrients that not only delight our taste buds but act as “Rocket Fuel” for our cells.  Buy organic if you can.

Include power foods as often as possible.
Power foods include garlic (the vegetable antibiotic), vitamin C, iron and zinc rich foods.
Garlic rids the body of bugs and with regular consumption, helps protect us from viruses.
Vitamin C carries oxygen and assists with the proper absorption of iron which is the mineral vital for burning off waste.  Vitamin C also helps us to bounce back from physical and emotional traumas.  Good sources of Vitamin C include green and red peppers, green vegetables, berry fruits and tropical fruits.  In fact any fresh fruit will help you along with your vitamin C quota.
Iron is very important.  If you haven’t enough iron then you probably frequently suffer with colds, tonsillitis, conjunctivitis and many other types of infection.  Without iron your body will be challenged by waste removal which is essential for regeneration.  The richest source of iron is liver.  Try purchasing one organic lamb’s liver each winter.  Divide it into small portions.  Blend one portion and add it to any casserole that you’re making.  Your kids will be none the wiser!  Freeze the other portions until you need them.  There is also an abundance of iron in green leafy vegetables, especially ones with darker leaves.  Sesame seeds and seaweed such as Nori are also high in iron.
Zinc and iron can be found in pumpkin seeds, both fresh and dried.  Oysters win hands down when it comes to zinc while wheat germ, liver and beef are also high in this mineral.  Zinc plays an important role in enabling healthy growth and development.  It’s an important part of many chemical reactions in the body.

Focus on buying foods that are as close to their natural food state as possible.

The closer the food is to its natural state, the better it is for us.  There are large numbers of processed food items that not only lack most of their original nutrients but also offer us a cocktail of additives.  For instance, choose “real butter” rather than margarine or spreadable butters and enjoy fresh fish rather than fish fingers.  In doing so we are more likely to benefit from nutrient dense foods and minimise our chemical load.

Encourage your children to consistently drink water.

Water flushes away toxins and keeps our brain and body hydrated enabling it to function efficiently.

Nerves of steel

Have your child’s nervous system assessed.

The nervous system functions as the body’s master computer.  This computer coordinates the human body.  Instructions are sent via your nervous system to the cells and organs of the body which direct things like our breathing, immune responses, digestion, personality and ability to concentrate.  Physical stressors such as the birth process, knocks and falls, and chemical or emotional stressors can result in nerve irritation.  Left unchecked or unresolved this irritation can alter your child’s natural state  A child’s body may be resilient but your child’s nervous system requires care just like any machine or engine requiring maintenance and service to help it run smoothly.

Encourage your child’s neurological development.

It has been shown that carefully spinning your child on an office chair and teaching them to bounce on trampolines encourages their development neurologically.  As does teaching them to cross crawl, walk on their tippy toes and on their heels and encouraging them to balance on one leg or a beam.

Include essential fatty acids in your child’s diet.

One of the most critical deficiencies amongst children today is dietary depletion of essential fatty acids (EFAs).  Very few parents realise the EFAs play a crucial role in the health of the nervous and immune systems.  Several studies have demonstrated greater attention and reduction in behavioural problems in school children when they are given Omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-3 and 6 EFAs are found in many of our oils including sunflower, safflower and cod liver.  They are also found in evening primrose oils, olive oil, flaxseed oil and peanut oil. The important EFAs can be found in cold water fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, bluefish, herring and sardines.  Ideally, purchase these fish fresh as processing can destroy the EFAs.  Dried beans such as kidney beans also contain EFAs as do pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and walnuts.  In fact, walnuts contain the highest amounts of omega-3 of any nuts and are a really smart idea for kid’s snacks.

Immune balloon

When the digestive and immune systems are strong, so too generally speaking will be the immune system.  Keep the immune balloon impenetrable with good old fashioned common sense.  This includes refraining from the overuse of prescription and non-prescription drugs, early to bed when we are tired, and keeping warm in cold weather.  Using “good old know how” we encourage our children to learn about and discuss best methods of care.

We are also mindful about promoting “how clever their bodies are” and focus our children on wellness behaviours.

Hopefully these tips have given you a few ideas on how to build your child’s constitution and make them into happy, healthy kids!  Look in the “downloads” section on “Remember your kids” if you want to download this article.

This is an edited article by Jennifer Barnham-Floreani, the author of “Well adjusted Babies”