As we reflect on this season of Thanksgiving, it is more than just merely a season of gratitude. According to John Hopkin’s Medicine, teaching and incorporating an attitude of gratitude in children can have far reaching health benefits.

Children and families that practice gratitude as part of their daily life and routine report decreased stress, less anxiety, lower rates of depression, better sleep, and a more optimistic outlook.

Given the rapidly rising mental health crises and escalating chronic disease rates in children, learning and practicing an attitude of gratitude at a young age has the opportunity to provide lifelong health benefits.

How do we as parents teach our children an attitude of gratitude? It starts with us! A daily mindfulness of the blessings and provisions we often take for granted.

The following are ideas that can be used with children and include:

• The simple art of teaching little ones to say “thank you” and show kindness and appreciation to others🗣️
• Taking a walk in nature and being thankful for their surroundings and what they see, touch, hear, and smell 🌳
• Pausing before each meal to express gratitude for food 🍛
• Counting on 10 fingers and naming one thing to be thankful for on each finger🙌
• Learning to write thank you notes 📝 
• Listing something to be thankful for on a chalkboard or whiteboard👩‍🏫
• Keeping a thankfulness journal📔 

In our home the weeks prior to Thanksgiving we have a thankfulness basket or thankful jar with small pieces of paper. Each member of the family records individual things (one item listed per paper) they are grateful for over the past year. On Thanksgiving Eve, we gather as a family and take turns, drawing the slips of paper from the basket, and reading what has been listed on them. We close the evening with a prayer of gratitude for the blessings we have experienced the past year.
May your family experience the blessings of an attitude of gratitude, not only during the upcoming Thanksgiving season, but all year long!

🍁Happy Thanksgiving from Wellness 4 KIDS. 
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​Are you interested in building your child's health and wellness through holistic care? Contact Wellness 4 KIDS for a FREE Pediatric Wellness Discovery Call.

​The rising rates of childhood chronic illness impacts the entire family. Parents and children experience increased stress along with missed work and school days which can negatively impact work productivity and education. Childhood chronic disease can lead to increased financial burden for the family.

Are you concerned about your child’s health? Are you ready to address the underlying root causes of your child’s chronic illness to promote a brighter future for your child? ☀️

🎈Children’s health struggles respond well to early interventions to promote positive health outcomes. Wellness 4 KIDS focuses on building health not just treating disease.
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​Learn more at www.Wellness4KIDS.net and Contact us for a FREE Pediatric Wellness Discovery Call to learn how to address your child’s health concerns with a holistic approach.

​Are there alternatives to sports drinks that do not contain high amounts of refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, dyes, or colors? For children and teens safer hydration options would be unsweetened coconut water or purified water with a pinch of Himalayan Sea Salt. ​

In addition, there are several options for electrolyte replacement if your teen does need an occasional electrolyte replacement drink. Two possible healthier options would be Dynamic Hydrate or Electrolyte Forte. They do not contain artificial dyes or colors. Dynamic Hydrate is sweetened with stevia and Electrolyte Forte is sweetened with monk fruit extract. Dynamic Hydrate also contains additional B Vitamins. ​

With school back in full swing, the bedtime battles may begin. Children may be accustomed to a more relaxed bedtime schedule during the summer months. However, with back-to-school, bedtime routines need to be reestablished.

Bedtime routines should be handled with a matter-of-fact approach with your child and should be consistent. It is important to set a time preceding the actual bedtime to accomplish the bedtime routine activities. This will allow the actual bedtime to be accomplished without delay. Working with your child to develop a consistent bedtime routine that meets your child’s individual needs and assures adequate sleep on a nightly basis is important. 

Adequate sleep is essential for optimizing children’s physical and mental health. Lack of sleep can affect children’s normal growth and development including brain development and neurocognitive development. Too little sleep can impact a child or teen’s social and behavioral health. Lack of sleep has been implicated in poor school performance, behavioral disorders, and as a contributing factor in ADHD. In addition, sleep is essential to a healthy functioning immune system providing resiliency in fighting colds, flu, and infections. 

Children should spend approximately 40% of their time asleep during childhood. The AAP recommends the following sleep guidelines for children:

Infants: (4-12 months) 12-16 hours including naps
Toddlers: (1-2 yrs) 11-14 hours including naps
Preschoolers: (3-5 yrs) 10-13 hours including naps
Grade schoolers: (6-12 yrs) 9-12 hours
Teens: (13-18 yrs) 8-10 hours

Best Sleep Guidelines:
1 Turn OFF screens at least 1-2 hours before bedtime.
2 If screens are needed for homework in the evening use amber blue-light blocking glasses.
3 Keep TV, phones, and screens out of the bedroom.
4 Avoid wearable devices with wi-fi during sleep.
5 Avoid caffeine and sugar in the evening.
6 Establish a consistent bedtime routine.
7 Snuggle, cuddle, and have storytime for children before bed.
8 Keep pets out of the bedroom.

Is your child experiencing back-to-school sleep struggles? Wellness 4 KIDS is here to help! Contact Us for a FREE Pediatric Wellness Discovery Call.

References:
Childhood Sleep: physical, cognitive, and behavioral consequences and implications. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12519-022-00647-w

Does your child experience occasional environmental allergies, but does not require daily allergy medication? Are you interested in a natural option for addressing those allergy symptoms of itchy & watery eyes, sneezing, and itching throat & nose?  

AllergyCalm Kids, a homeopathic allergy medicine, is a natural, non-drowsy, option you may desire to try with your child who experiences occasional pollen, dust mite, pet dander, or mold allergies.

AllergyCalm Kids is indicated for children ages 2 years and older. It comes in meltaway tablets or meltaway pellets for ease of administration and is available at this Fullscript link.

Are you interested in natural options for addressing your child’s health and wellness? Wellness 4 KIDS offers a holistic approach to address children’s health struggles. Contact us for your ​FREE Pediatric Wellness Discovery Call.

Seasonal allergies can be difficult (and miserable!) for children with pollen allergies and may even impact sleep as well as learning if symptoms are not well controlled.  The following are helpful ideas for fending off children's fall pollen allergies.

• Keep your child well hydrated to keep the mucous membranes moist. (Children need half their weight in ounces daily).
• Ensure a nutritional healthy diet with the rainbow of colors from vegetables and fruits that provide vitamin C, vitamin A, and bioflavonoids to reduce the amount of histamine the body produces in response to an allergen.
• Use an indoor air purifier.
• Keep windows closed in bedrooms. Keep all windows closed during peak allergy seasons.
• Keep pets well groomed, out of bedrooms, and off the furniture. Pets are great pollen collectors from being outside and then may transfer pollen indoors and onto furniture or bedding.
• Have your child shower before bed or after time spent outdoors to remove pollens. (Pollens are carried on shoes, clothes, hair etc.)
• Remove shoes upon entering the home to prevent “tracking in” allergens.
• Use nasal saline spray to clear pollens from nasal passages.
• Pollen counts are typically higher in the evening so if possible, schedule outdoor activities earlier in the day.

Natural Support for Children’s Seasonal Pollen Allergies

Local honey (1-2 tsp daily) can be taken 2-3 months prior to pollen season to help in desensitizing pollen allergies. (Contains pollens from local plants, flowers, weeds, trees, grasses etc.) 

D-Hist Jr. is a comprehensive natural supplement for children recommended by Pediatricians who integrate natural approach options with conventional medicine in their care for children. D-Hist Jr. is a great tasting chewable supplement formulated to support healthy immune balance during allergy season. D-Hist Jr. contains quercetin a powerful plant flavonoid to support healthy histamine levels. The quercetin is combined with bromelain, a plant based enzyme to aid the absorption of the quercetin and is beneficial in decreasing inflammation and supporting mucous membranes. Stinging Nettles leaf assists in balancing the hyper-immune response. N-acetyl cysteine, an antioxidant derived from an amino acid, assists in clearing mucous from the airways. Vitamin C is added as an essential nutrient to support the immune system and is a potent antioxidant with the ability to assist in deactivating the histamine response. Together the ingredients assist in supporting the immune system during pollen allergy season. D-Hist Jr. works best when begun a couple weeks prior to the onset of allergy season.

D-Hist is also available in capsule form for older children who prefer swallowing a capsule. D-Hist Jr. and D-Hist are available in the children’s health products section at this Fullscript link.

Your kiddos are immersed in summer fun and adventures, and WHAM out of nowhere come the summer colds and sniffles to disrupt the fun! What can you do to snuff out the summer sniffles faster so the fun can continue?

A few ideas to incorporate if your child does come down with the summer sniffles:
-Including a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant properties
-Encourage adequate hydration
-Assure extra rest to recover from the sniffles

Cold Calm - a clinically evidenced based homeopathic remedy to be taken at the onset of cold symptoms, to help decrease the duration and severity of the common cold. It needs to be taken at the onset of symptoms for best results. It is non-drowsy and has no known drug interactions.
Children’s Cold Calm for kids 3 years and older
Cold Calm Kids Liquid Doses age 6 months and older
Both can be found at this FullScript link.

Zinc - research backed, zinc can be used to shorten the duration of the common cold. Several forms of professionally approved zinc products including chewable and liquid can be found at this FullScript link.

Liposomal Vitamin C - the most absorbable form of vitamin C in liquid form at this FullScript link.

FullScript ​is a trusted professional company that assures the quality, purity, and proper storage conditions of products to ensure safety and efficacy for your children.  All products should be taken as directed for age.  Fullscript accepts FSA and HSA cards on eligible purchases.

Wellness 4 KIDS can help you in building your child’s health and wellness. Contact Wellness 4 KIDS for a FREE Pediatric Wellness Discovery Call.

As you prepare for the 4th of July holiday and summer fun with your kiddos, be prepared for skin scrapes and bug bites. Active Skin Repair Kids is a natural, nontoxic, and sting-free spray.

Active Skin Repair Kids is a medical-grade treatment for everyday skin scrapes, bug bites, and wound care, as well as soothing on sunburns. It is simple to use and helps your body’s natural healing processes.

The active ingredient in Active Skin Repair Kids is used in hospitals' burn and wound care centers and is backed by clinical research studies. It contains a natural ingredient molecule that has natural antibiotic and antifungal properties. It is safe and nontoxic and may be even used around the head and near eyes, mouth, and ears. (But do not spray directly in the eyes, ears, or mouth.)

Active Skin Repair Kids can be taken on your outdoor hiking adventures, backyard barbecues, camping trips, and beach outings. It is available at this FullScript link in the First Aid Favorites or Children’s Favorite Sections.
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As parents you are celebrating the completion of another school year and anticipating fun in the sun with your kiddos!☀️ Are you wondering what are the safer sunscreens to buy? Let’s take a look…😎
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Active ingredient to include in sunscreen:
Zinc oxide

Ingredients to avoid in sunscreen:
Oxybenzone
Avobenzone
Benzophenone-4
Preservatives
Fragrances (can be endocrine disruptors)
Alcohol if possible (can be drying & irritating to skin)

Children’s skin is more delicate and more susceptible to damage from sunburn. Having more than 5 sunburns doubles the risk for melanoma. Using sunscreen during peak hours protects the skin.

Children do need safe sun exposure for Vitamin D. If not using sunscreen, choose sun exposure times that are not during the peak hours of 10 am and 4 pm.

Safer sunscreen options:
Badger Baby
Badger Face
Badger SPF 50 Sport Mineral Sunscreen
Babo Botanicals Baby Face

Does your child suffer from seasonal pollen allergies? Are you looking for a natural seasonal support option to address pollen allergies?  D-Hist Jr. is a comprehensive natural supplement for children recommended by Pediatricians who integrate natural approach options with conventional medicine approaches in their care for children. D-Hist Jr. is a great tasting chewable supplement formulated to support healthy immune balance during allergy season.
​
D-Hist Jr. contains quercetin, a powerful plant flavonoid to support healthy histamine levels. The quercetin is combined with bromelain, a plant based enzyme to aid the absorption of the quercetin and is beneficial in decreasing inflammation and supporting mucous membranes. Stinging Nettles leaf assists in balancing the hyper-immune response. N-acetyl cysteine, an antioxidant derived from an amino acid, assists in clearing mucous from the airways. Vitamin C is added as an essential nutrient to support the immune system and is a potent antioxidant with the ability to assist in deactivating the histamine response. Together the ingredients assist in supporting the immune system during pollen allergy season.