Sarah Harris N.D.
Specialist Naturopath – Holistic Nutritionist – Herbalist – Homoeopath – Remedial Therapist
Did you know Australians spend more on vitamins and supplements than on prescription drugs? With over 11,000 complementary medicine products for sale in Australia it’s no surprise to find parents bewildered when it comes to choosing a supplement that might help their child feel better (1).
As a Naturopath, when I see parents pondering over supplements at the supermarket or chemist, I am tempted to offer some direction. However, I know, that without understanding their child’s unique needs my advice would be general not specific. So I will continue to stay in my lane and help my clients find the bullseye treatments that they truly need.
Children’s health requirements are special, given their immature and ever-changing physiology and unique nutritional needs. Self-prescribing, whilst appropriate in some cases, could end up delaying results if your selection is not hitting the target. Seeking professional advice will ultimately save you time, effort and money and give you a clearer picture of what is actually going on.
Image source: https://www.nps.org.au/consumers/complementary-medicines-explained
Different stages of development require different strategies.
A tailored approach, considers this along with the uniqueness of a child’s size, absorptive ability and their overall level of compliance. Professional prescribing for your child ensures appropriate dosing and directive advice on how to best get them to enjoy the experience of taking their bullseye medicine.
Spending time with a naturopath to understand your child’s health can be both educational and reassuring. Along with prescribing appropriate lifestyle advice, we have access to many fantastic traditional remedies that are often more powerful and effective than most of the off-the-shelf offerings.
There are also many safe and traditional remedies that have been confirmed by scientific studies to provide gentle but effective healing outcomes.
For example, German Chamomile tea enhances sleep and is well known for its calming effect. It is beneficial for children who are distressed and found to be palatable by most children. Research shows that it improves the ability to fall asleep without affecting daytime functioning and cognitive performance. It is also useful for teething, and for stressed children with “nervous tummies”.
Using food as medicine is also a fabulous way to improve the long-term health of your child.
But with so many different opinions in the media and online, it can be difficult to know what to do. Many issues can be resolved through proper assessment, which in turn can lead to the appropriate recommendations for your child’s diet. When a child has a nutritionally balanced diet, the need for supplements is reduced along with the length of their prescription.
When there is so much to know and understand about your child’s health, it makes sense to seek tailored naturopathic advice and invest in child-friendly medicines, which are suitable for even the fussiest of kids.
Taking the guesswork out of choosing remedies for your family can give you peace of mind, better results and reassurance that the medicines going in will be safe and effective.
Please know that I am here to help you and your child with any health issues that may be challenging you. You can make an appointment by calling our reception team at Claridge Naturopathics, by phoning (03) 5221 8220.
Yours in good health,
Sarah
- Janmejai K Srivastava, et al. 2010. Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Mol Med Report. 2010 Nov 1; 3(6): 895–901.