By Dr. Nancy A. Pattison, FAAP, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Heart of the City Pediatrics and Westside Health Center
Parents need to understand the behaviors they see are not on purpose. Their kids aren’t acting “bad” on purpose. All kids are born “people pleasers” and are trying to do the best they can. When they are not acting the way you think is healthy, please find out why they are acting this way and what you can do to help them. A good child therapist can help if you need to change how you parent your child in order to get the best out of them. Without being rude, I would ask you to consider how dogs are taught to not potty in the house. You train them with kindness and attention to let you know when they need to go outside. The same goes for kids in many ways. As kids don’t come with an instruction manual at birth, getting “training” advice may be helpful! Here are some ways to keep your child healthy:
- Make sure they get 8-10 hours of good sleep (if your child snores talk to their primary care doctor and get that fixed!).
- Eat food that is pulled off a tree, off a bush or out of the ground – not out of a box. Processed foods (food out of a box like cereal and mac and cheese) are bad for the brain.
- Eat good protein (eggs, nuts, beans, chicken, turkey and some fish) and good fat.
- Avoid fast food.
- Help them go out and play in a green space (and away from video games and TV).
If medication is prescribed, know that it will work better if you do all of these things listed! Enjoy your talented, think outside the box, creative child!
