Nature
Nature is grounding. The act of putting your bare in the grass/dirt/sand/ocean is called “grounding” or “earthing.” Humans are negatively charged. The earth is positively charged. When we put our skin on the earth, there is an exchange of ions between us and nature. This exchange neutralizes free radicals in our bodies and can decrease inflammation, decrease pain and stiffness, and can increase circulation. Something as simple as reconnecting to nature, to the earth, can have profound impacts on you and your child’s health. Unfortunately, a good amount of parents are quick to put shoes on their kids, or not let them get dirty. Hands in the dirt is a tremendous way to support your biome. I always tell patients to jump in the ocean if they’re not feeling well. I like to call it “nature’s reset button.” Even better if it’s chilly. So next time you’re at the park, in the backyard, or at the beach, take everyone’s shoes off and get connected to mother nature.
Water/food
At this point in life, this shouldn’t need an explanation. Real food. That’s literally all it takes. Just feed your kids real food. You should be able to read and identify every ingredient. They don’t need to be macrobiotic raw vegan, or purely on a carnivore diet. They just need real food. You know what else they need? Fat. Yeah, I said it. We all need it. Who doesn’t love butter? Our brains are 60% fat. You know what they don’t need? Sugar. Sorry not sorry. I’m not going to tell you what to feed your kids. The role of nutrition on your growing child is something that should be taken seriously, that for some reason, still isn’t.
Water is delightful. It hydrates us. It cleans us out. We are roughly 60% water. A simple rule for people is half your bodyweight in ounces per day. Add 20-30oz more if you work out. If we are not properly hydrated, our body cannot function at its optimum state. In fact, most symptoms people feel on a day to day basis are signs of dehydration. Things like headaches, fatigue, constipation, and dizziness can all be traced back to dehydration. However, drinking filtered water isn’t enough. Filtered water has nothing in it. I like to add trace minerals back into my water. This ensures that I’m getting everything I need out of my water that is typically filtered out. This simple tool can help with ph balance, athletic performance, hair/skin health, electrolyte balance, bone/joint health, heart health, and bowel function. Is this necessary? Maybe. Maybe not. However, upwards of 90% of people are deficient in minerals.
Chiropractic
Chiropractic as a movement sufficiency practice/process that helps facilitate NORMAL alignment and mobility of the spine and therefore optimal potential of the nervous system. If your spine does not work how it should, your nervous system does not work how it should. It really is as simple as that. “Chiro kids” are markedly different from non-chiro kids. We see this everyday in our office. We are often asked “when is the best time to start getting adjusted?” In a perfect world, a baby would be checked at birth. Dr Stan’s daughter was, and my future children will be as well. If not at birth, the sooner the better. The results we get in our office with children are insane. They respond to care insanely faster than adults. Their physiology is going through the roof, and they don’t have 40 years of stress weighing on their system. Having your child checked by a pediatric chiropractor as soon as possible, sets them for growth, and allows them to properly adapt to their ever changing environment.
Community
Now, more than ever, community is a necessary part of life. For the past 19 months, most people have lost their communities and their necessary connections. Kids have been especially impacted by this because they’ve been taken out of school and forced into solitude. Not being able to go to school and see their friends has had a way more giant impact on the mental health of our children than any virus could. There were more adolescent deaths from suicide during this pandemic than were from the virus. They were not allowed/told not to see classmates, friends, teammates, and family. We have seen the mental impacts of these mandates and “rules” on the children in our office at Future Generations. From kids coming in crying, to a child coming in afraid to take off his mask because he thought he might die. We die without connection. There are too many benefits to list in this blog on being part of a community. This WILL be the major root of many chronic diseases are kids will be burdened with in the future.
Mindset
According to Carol Dweck Phd, there are two types of mindsets. The first is a fixed mindset. The second is a growth mindset. The difference between these two mindsets is grand, which is why she wrote a whole book on the subject. I highly recommend you take the time to read it, as it should be required reading for everyone. It costs less than ten dollars, and is a fascinating read.
The fixed mindset believes that intelligence is static. People with this mindset desire to look smart instead of taking the initiative of making themselves smarter. Common characteristics of this mindset are avoiding challenges, giving up easily, seeing effort as fruitless, ignoring useful feedback, and tend to be threatened by other people’s success.
The growth mindset is the exact opposite. People with this mindset tend to believe intelligence can be developed, and have a strong desire to learn. The growth mindset embraces challenges, persists past obstacles, sees effort as a path to mastery, learns from criticism, and is inspired by other people’s success.
Now, looking at the two of these, which do you think is better for kids to learn at an early age? Instilling the growth mindset to your children can be an absolute game changer for their entire lives. I’ve read “Mindset,” and understand the benefits of a growth mindset. However, it takes work to constantly be in this frame of mind, and not resort back to a fixed mindset based on life experiences.
Let any of us at Future Generations know if you ever have any questions on any of these subjects. And if you know anybody who may benefit from the chiropractic portion of this blog, send them our way. We will take the the time to connect and figure out what is truly going on with their body.