Category: Children

Home Archive by Category "Children"

The Stress of Back-to-School

Children, Kara McNabb, Mindfulness, Naturopathy, Relationships, Self Care, Stress1 comment, , , , , , , , , , ,

After my son’s first day of school, I was exhausted. Like, I-need-a-nap-immediately exhausted. I haven’t felt that tired since…well, come to think of it, since before summer break began.

He’s the one in school. Not much has changed for me. And there’s nothing too tiring about this back-to-school routine. In fact, I’ve been looking forward to having more routine that comes with the school year. So why the exhaustion? I wondered.

And then day two of school hit. Along with the answer.…

Read More

9 Tips to Strengthen Your Kids’ Immune System

Children, Kara McNabb, Medicinal Herbs and Food, Natural HealthNo comments, ,

As warm weather fades and autumn brings in the cool air, immune systems are on many parents’ radars. I keep hearing, “How can I boost my kids’ immune systems?” So I compiled a few things that are helpful for any sized human being.…

Read More

When the Root of Your Child’s Behavior Problem is You

Children, Kara McNabb, Mindfulness, RelationshipsNo comments

“I thought you said plastic was bad, Mom,” my eight-year-old son said as I handed him cereal in the green plastic bowl.

I proceeded to acknowledge that yes, I have mentioned that and explained that we don’t want to put hot things in plastic because the heat leaches icky chemicals into our food, and the more we can avoid that, the better for our bodies. “But your cereal is cold, and I don’t have time to wash any dishes right now,” I said as we scurried to get out the door and to school on time.

I took a moment to silently celebrate that he does indeed listen, because sometimes when his dirty socks are still sitting on the living room floor despite my asking him three times to take care of them, I really wonder if “I didn’t hear you, Mom” is true.…

Read More
immune system

9 Tips to Strengthen Your Kids’ Immune System

Children, Kara McNabb, Medicinal Herbs and Food, Natural HealthNo comments, ,

As warm weather fades and autumn brings in the cool air, immune systems are on many parents’ radars. I keep hearing, “How can I boost my kids’ immune systems?” So I compiled a few things that are helpful for any sized human being.…

Read More
plantain benefits

The Story of Plantain

Angela McElroy, Children, Medicinal Herbs and FoodNo comments

The Story of Plantain from A Kids Herb Book by Leslie Tierra

Once there was a fluffy cloud that lived high in the sky. Every so often the cloud would grow dark as it filled with water from the earth and then uncontrollably rain upon all the plants and creatures below. Now the cloud could have lived happily ever after just like all the other clouds in the sky, except one day it realized it could not be fully happy so long as someone below was unhappy. This usually happened when Cloud released rain when people were not ready for it. Cloud was silly to wish that it could only rain when everyone was ready because it is impossible for everyone to be happy at the same time. So, no matter what, Cloud was left no choice but to feel unhappy every time it released a shower.

One day Cloud thought long and hard about this problem. It heard a rumor going around in the heavens. The news spread from stars to the moon, and the moon to the planets that a special event was about to happen. This rumor was that the sun and moon were going to shine …

Read More

ReWild Your Child

Angela McElroy, Children, NatureNo comments

“A child found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole. Then it stopped, as though it was unable to go any further. 

The child decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily, but its body was swollen and wings were shriveled.

The child continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to support the body. Neither happened. In face, the butterfly spend the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.

What the child, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from its body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight. It was the struggle that the child tried to free the butterfly of that ensured its life. “   ~origins unknown

I first heard of this story during an herb class with Jim McDonald teaching …

Read More

Fever – The Unsung Hero

Angela McElroy, Children, Medicinal Herbs and FoodNo comments

An Unsung Hero: One who does great deeds but receives little or no recognition for them.

This is the last thing I would have thought of while being awakened at 1am by a fussing baby that felt as if he were on fire. I remember walking over to him and even before I got to the crib I could feel the heat radiating off of his chubby little body. At this point I was frantic; my baby was burning up. I rushed to the bathroom to start a bath and dosed him with acetaminophen because that is what the commercials and health professional say to do. After that I sat on the rocker with him, on the phone with the ER, wondering what to do next.

The fever has been engrained in the parent’s brain to be a harmful symptom of an illness. And we as parents struggle to see our kids with a fever; we want them to feel better. The commercials try to convince us that the way to fight a fever is to give them this magical syrup and they will be well.   Because of this there is a lack of education about fevers and parents …

Read More
phone: (616) 371-4680   email: