A Wellness Approach for Children
By Jane Sheppard
In raising healthy children, it’s not enough
to just focus on the physical aspect of health.
To be truly healthy, a child’s emotional health
must be nurtured and strengthened. Developing
a mental attitude of wellness is also essential.
When we adopt an attitude of wellness, we
take on a belief that being well is a natural,
normal state. Our goal is to have outstanding,
vibrant health, not just to be free of disease.
With a wellness attitude, we know that we
have control over our own body and how healthy
it will be.
We can teach and help our children to grow
up with an attitude of wellness. Children
have much more control over their own health
than you may think. The mind is a very powerful
mechanism with miraculous control over health
and healing. The more children learn to use
the extraordinary powers of their minds, the
healthier and happier they will be. They may
also live longer than someone who takes a
passive approach to health.
Children can learn that negative, unhealthy
lifestyles are choices that contribute to
sickness. We all know what a struggle it can
be to encourage children to eat the foods
that we know are essential for health, and
to avoid junk food. When our children are
very young, we can pretty easily restrict
the things we know to be unhealthy for them.
However, as they get older, telling them that
they cannot have sugar or other problem food
is not productive. They will feel deprived
and will probably rebel. Anything that is
forbidden is tempting.
Children need to know they have a choice
- they can either choose good health and wellness
or opt for poor health and sickness. They
need to be taught the facts so they are able
to make educated choices. Talk to them about
the effects that food has on their body. They
can understand that sugar lowers their immunity,
making them more susceptible to sickness,
as well as contribute to tooth decay. You
can explain to them how eating healthy foods
will give them more energy and make them feel
better. This can be taught in very simple,
fun and creative ways. It may take a while
to actually sink in, and at first the lure
of scrumptious tasting sugar and white flour
“treats” that all the other kids are
eating may be too much to refuse, but eventually
the time and energy you put into health education
will pay off. If children are raised with
a respectful attitude of wellness, as they
get older they will most likely choose to
turn down things that they know are not healthy
for them. Respectful is a key word, meaning
not nagging or shaming them about food.
As they get even older, they can be taught
that smoking cigarettes or taking drugs is
their choice to opt for sickness. Telling
them to “just say no” and forbidding them
to smoke or take drugs is not enough. They
need to understand the health consequences
and realities of putting these substances
in their bodies. Children are very intelligent,
but they need to be reminded that they are
powerful and they have choices. They can understand
the consequences of their choices.
Talk to your children about how strong their
bodies are and the extraordinary things their
bodies can do. Show them how their bodies
can miraculously heal a cut, how their heart
works and how they can strengthen their heart
through exercise and healthy food, how their
immune system fights off germs and other invaders,
and how getting enough sleep makes them feel
better throughout the day. All these things
can be taught in fun and imaginative ways
with drawings, stories, etc. Children are
fascinated with their bodies and they want
to know how they work.
Dr. Wayne Dyer tells us in his book, What
Do You Really Want For Your Children?, “the
more children learn from you to rid themselves
of attitudes which foster sickness, the more
you are helping them to enjoy life each day.
They will actually live longer and more productive
lives if they learn wellness as very young
children.” Parents frequently make statements
that reinforce a sickness attitude. Did your
mother ever tell you that if you don’t wear
a scarf, you’ll catch a cold and be sick?
A wellness approach would be to say, “You
are so strong and healthy that you probably
won’t develop a cold, even if the other kids
do, but here is a scarf to keep you warm and
comfortable outside”. Dr. Dyer also cautions
us to resist taking frequent trips to the
doctor and using medications for everyday
aches and pains and common ailments such as
a cold. When we teach children that there
is a pill for every complaint and that a doctor
visit is part of every cure, we disempower
them and set them up to rely too heavily on
drugs and doctors throughout their lives.
They need to know they are in charge of their
own health.
In order to teach our children to choose
health, we must model wellness and take charge
of our own
health. Wellness is not just having an absence
of symptoms. It’s asking yourself how you
can attain outstanding health. It’s making
exercise and stress reduction a daily part
of your lifestyle, choosing healthy foods
and modeling this behavior for your children.
As Dr. Dyer puts it, “It means simply being
as healthy as you possibly can be, and being
determined not to allow your wonderful body,
the place where your mind currently resides,
to deteriorate unnecessarily.”
There has been much research on the relationship
between illness and attitudes. The research
suggests that even cancer and heart disease
are strongly related to a person’s inner attitudes.
Dr. Harrison tells us in his book, Loving
Your Disease, that “Predispositions
to disease are often not passed on in a physical
sense but rather through the messages parents
give their offspring and the living habits
and diet they pass down”.
Dr. Dyer recognizes the obvious elements
of wellness that include diet,
exercise, and eliminating negative lifestyle
habits. In addition, he suggests two elements
that will help children as much as the physical
components. These elements are using visualization
and having a sense of humor. They are just
as important as diet and exercise.
Positive imagery or visualization is a powerful
tool that children can use to help them become
capable, healthy and vibrant people. Visualization
puts the imagination to work to help achieve
a desired outcome. It is the process of creating
positive thoughts and images in the mind to
communicate with the body. It is one of the
strongest and most effective ways to make
happen what you want in your life. Children
can be taught to regularly see themselves
in their minds as being radiantly healthy,
vibrant, and actively participating in whatever
activities they want to do. Positive imagery
or visualization is very helpful for children
who are overweight or who have acne or other
skin diseases and need to establish a better
self-image. Verbal affirmations can be used
with imagery. A good affirmation for a child
to say regularly is “I am good to my body
and my body is good to me” or “Every day I
am feeling better and growing more vibrantly
healthy”. Children can also use visualization
to help their body to heal. Studies show that
there are significant remission rates among
people healing from cancer who use visualization
as part of the healing process.
Laughter is a strong healer and health builder.
Dr. Dyer tells us that “when children laugh
they are actually releasing into their bloodstream
chemicals which are necessary for the prevention
and cure of disease”. Have fun with your children.
Be a little crazy and silly and laugh as much
as you can. Each good belly laugh means that
you and your children are becoming more physically
and emotionally sound.
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Use
the information provided on this site as an
educational resource for determining your
options and making your own informed choices.
It is not intended as medical advice or to
diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific
illness.