Health Articles — children

How does an appointment with a Naturopath come in handy?During an initial consultation questions will be asked which will guide the practitioner towards the root cause of your signs and symptoms. This process will delve deeper into sleep patterns, an assessment of dietary intake, an assessment of energy levels and an ability to regulate moods. In addition to this, questions will be asked regarding relevant systems of the body. This will include questions relating to digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. AND YES we WILL ask you about your stools. In between your first and second visit we will assess...

If you are a parent of an overweight child this is may be emotionally difficult to read. This post has been written to provide educational information that you may already know or may not be aware of. The purpose is to provide educational information regarding what may occur if changes are not made and habits continue. If you are struggling and are concerned about your child's weight and don’t know how to make the first change, I am here to help and will support and guide you without judgement. Your child's health is important to me as well as their emotional health. ...

One of the biggest moments in a girl’s life is when menstruation begins. This then becomes the question When is it going to start? It is becoming common to hear of 6 & 7 year olds getting breast buds and pubic hair and children as young as 8 years beginning their first period. This is increasingly becoming the norm. Up until about the 1960’s the average age for beginning menstruation was 14-16 years of age and since then the age has rapidly declined to 12 years and now down to 8 & 10 years of age. Why has this changed?...

Getting the right amount of sleep can be a problem for children of any age. It can even be a problem for adults. Young children may have difficulty settling and teenagers may experience insomnia. When it comes to baby's sleep, it can take about six weeks for sleep rhythms to develop. It takes even longer, up to six months, to develop regular sleep wake cycle. Why does it take so long? Melatonin is the hormone required to regulate sleep and it takes about three months for this to get into full production in the body. Breastfed babies can get melatonin...

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterised by impairments in social interactions and communications, repetitive behaviour.  There are however, common co-morbidities (a medical condition that occurs at the same time as another) that ASD children usually experience such as: allergies, epilepsy, gastrointestinal disorders, attention difficulties, anxiety, insomnia, and low immune system.  Around 91% of children with ASD experience a gastrointestinal disorder of some kind such as constipation or diarrhoea, or both, food allergies and/or intolerances.  Often is the case that these signs and symptoms are not connected to ASD by the practitioner and therefore either ignored or treated in a generic...