Category — KLA

Sometime last week around 3 a.m. I woke up to the sound of a seal barking.  It to a few minutes for me to realize that it was my son coughing.  My next thought was, “Oh boy, here we go again with the croup.”  My husband and I are no strangers to croup since my oldest son typically gets it once or twice a year.   The first time he had croup he was about 18 months old and I was just finishing my advanced classes in acupuncture pediatrics.  I had studied croup and heard the audio recordings of it, but it still didn’t register in my sleep deprived and slightly panicked brain that night.   I was scared because my son was having difficulty breathing and he was making these high pitched wheezing sounds called stridor!  Before I completely panicked and took him to the ER, I called our pediatrician who, god bless her, called us back in the middle of the night.  The second she heard him in the background she knew what was going on and recommended some natural remedies for croup.

To learn more about what croup is and hear some audio recordings Click Here.  The good news about croup is the majority of the time parents can treat it at home and it rarely requires medical intervention. [Read more →]

My son's cranky face

I’m sure there have been times when you’ve asked yourself, “why is my kid so cranky?”  Then if your not completely exhausted from dealing with your cranky kid, you go down the checklist of possibilities:

1. Is he hungry?
2. Did he get a good night sleep? Does he need a nap?
3. Did he have anything sugary to eat?
4. Has he had too much screen time?

No. No. No. No.   What could it be?  Oh, no!  He might getting sick!  Crankiness, whining, and irritability are the first signs that your child could be getting sick.   Take action right away to see if you can prevent a brewing illness from becoming full blown. [Read more →]

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Every fall I field many questions about the flu shot and I’m most commonly asked “should I get one?” Vaccinations are a very controversial topic and people feel strongly both for and against vaccinations.   Rather than make a decision from fear or pressure, I think it’s important to ask the right questions, look at all the data, evaluate your medical and health history and then make an informed decision that YOU are comfortable with. [Read more →]

This year I started out with grand ideas of getting my kids to eat super fun healthy lunches.  Unfortunately, my kids had other ideas like playing at lunch recess instead of eating.   I will not admit defeat and I’m opting for a change in strategy instead.    My game plan is to get them to eat a hearty breakfast with lots of protein, whole grains and fruits, provide a simple lunch at school that they like and can eat quickly and then have a healthy snack right after school.  There is much confusion over what is considered healthy these days so if you’d like more information on what foods I consider  healthy check out Principles of a Healthy Diet by Weston A. Price.

Here is my basic morning strategy.   [Read more →]

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Are your kids fussy about food like mine?  Both my husband and I are foodies now, however, as kids we were both extremely picky.  My mother-in-law told me that my husband subsisted on peanut butter sandwiches for most of elementary school and I fed my peas and other vegetables to the dog under the table.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that my kids are picky eaters too.

At home it’s easy to work with my picky eaters and can usually get healthy greens and other nutritious food into them.  School presents a much greater challenge since I’m not there to supervise and make sure they’re eating healthy, let alone eating. [Read more →]

My kids started school today.  Unlike last year, I started preparing for back to school a couple of weeks ago.  The first step was getting to the boys to bed earlier.  It’s so hard to do in August when it is hot and the sun doesn’t go down until late (it’s unnatural to start school before labor day as far as I’m concerned).  So, I started giving my boys a melatonin spray under the tongue about 30 – 60 minutes before bed to help counteract their exposure to light before bed.  We also have some blackout curtains in their room which help if it is cool enough to keep the windows closed and curtains drawn.  The melatonin worked quite well [Read more →]

Last Friday, August 12th I held my first ever Kids Love Acupuncture Party at my office.  It was so much fun and I had lots of kids attend the event.  I’ll be sharing more details about this event soon, but for now you can check out my facebook page to see pictures of the event.  This party prompted me to start this blog to cover all manner parenting and child health issues.  I’ll be writing more soon, so stay tuned!

Robin