Thoughts on Natural Remedies for Kids

Most problems that take folks to the pediatrician or family doctor are not emergencies and you can often deal with them at home. Special medical needs are an exception to this.

Your 3-year-old son has a cold that suddenly turns worse. When you take his temperature, the thermometer reads 103 degrees. His breathing becomes labored, and you notice a bluish tint beginning around his mouth and fingernails. It’s after doctor office hours. What do you do? Take him immediately to the emergency room!

The goal of all my blog information is not to keep you from the doctor, but to help you know when you should consult one. Study natural health methods, use critical thinking and take responsibility for your health and the health of your family. Herbs and natural remedies work. Be aware that not everything that is promoted as “natural” is beneficial. Stay away from anything that promises unrealistic results. Before you apply natural remedies, a thorough investigation is in order.

I have been a nurse for 40 years. The last 18 of them in a pediatric outpatient office. I discovered that many triage phone calls I was required to advise really needed just a phone call to grandma and some commonsense. I often joked that someday I would have a business called “grandma nurse”. My Kids Health category is a fulfillment of that.

Let me preface this Children’s Health category with this: I am a mom and grandma. I took responsibility for the health of my children. I cannot and will not assume the responsibility for the health care of your children. God entrusted my kids to me and my husband, and He entrusted your kids to you. So, if you are not willing and able to make intelligent, informed decisions about what you can reasonably handle and what requires professional assistance, then do not attempt to do so. This category of information is not intended to replace medical doctors. It is my way of sharing the knowledge and experience that I have been blessed to learn.

Simple, natural remedies are especially effective when used in the early stages of illness. Why use modern crisis medical care on common childhood diseases? If the problem is beyond your scope of knowledge, persistent or life-threatening, then of course professional help is needed. When raising my children, this is the principle we lived by. Home remedies were our primary form of health care. “Orthodox” modern medicine was the “alternative” for us. This is the way it was for most of our grandparents and great-grandparents. They had their family remedies for common health problems. Sadly, this knowledge has become lost, but I am excited that there has been a renewed interest in responsible home health care in the past few years.

Many of the home remedies of the past were and still are tremendously effective.

I am amazed at how well the simplest remedies work. My philosophy is to try the simple things before going to greater lengths. Most moms and dads who care about their children, who are awake and aware to what is going on in their family, will be able to do most of what their children and babies need. Parents should know how to identify dehydration, deal with constipation and diarrhea, colds, fevers, and simply be alert to how your child looks and acts. Illness in children frequently shows first in their behavior. Mom says, “something’s not right with Suzie”. Mom (or dad) is usually right. Parents know their kids. Most parents will be able to use nutrition and natural remedies for the health of their children, but only when they understand what these things are able to do.

There are those who use herbs and other home remedies on themselves but are afraid to treat their own young children. This is partly because parents today lack the common sense understanding of things their great grandparents had. Perhaps they are fearful their treatment won’t be effective enough and the child may be harmed as a result. They may even fear criminal prosecution by the state should their treatment fail. Most natural health books are written with the purpose for adult problems which compounds these concerns. There are very few sources of information geared towards children. My hope is that the information in this blog, along with searching out more advice using the sources below, will start you on your way to be fully informed and confident in a natural approach to children’s health concerns.

Educate yourself (recommended books and sources below), be responsible and make wise choices. If you have a gut feeling that something is not right, seek professional help. Almost every course of action in life involves risk. I want to assure you that it is not difficult to learn to take care of most childhood ailments. In fact, even doctors estimate that we could recover from 70-80-% of most ailments if we just rested in bed drinking plenty of fluids.

“Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine.”

Ezekiel 47:12

Remember that I am not a doctor, and I quite possibly may not have the information you are looking for. This blog is my passion to share what I have learned, so you can help your family using simple remedies first. Sometimes they are nothing short of a miracle.

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