Things that could help you with a gifted child

General

1. Trust your intuition as a parent. You know best.
2. Remember that your child chose you as her/his parent.
3. Be gentle on yourself.
4. Listen and talk to your child with respect.
5. If your child is of school age, consider alternative schools (e.g., Montessori schools, Waldorf schools, arts schools), homeschooling, or unschooling. Or maybe your neighbourhood school is a great fit for your sensitive child. This is, of course, a very personal decision, but it’s good to consider your options.

Having fun

1. Enjoy your child. Celebrate the joys of raising a sensitive child, and being a sensitive parent. Our story here.
2. Celebrate your child’s gifts.
3. Get a family pet (one that your child isn’t allergic to).
4. Do things that you like to do as a family — especially outdoor things.
5. Try yoga, dance, martial arts, or gymnastics.
6. Arts and crafts
7. Dance and sing – make up songs together.
8. Laugh, giggle, tickle and tell jokes
9. Be a silly Billy (as we like to say in our family)

Care of the emotional body

1. Teach your child to talk about his/her feelings.

General Body Care

1. Try baths with epsom salts, sea salt, baking soda and olive oil or coconut oil. Read more here.
2. Try Weleda toothpaste. More info here.
3. Try a castor oil abdominal massage for gentle cleansing and a variety of ailments.

Foods

My child is sensitive to a lot of foods, Make sure a casein-free / gluten-free diet may help your child for many other ailments.

1. Get your child tested for allergies, but in the meantime, try a milk-free and gluten-free diet (points 2 and 3 below).
2. Try a milk-free (casein-free) diet. It may take at least one month to show any improvements.
3. Try a gluten-free diet. It may take at least six months to show any improvements.
4. Try an MSG-free diet. There is MSG in just about everything (e.g., Campbell’s soups, flavoured potato chips). including MSG products.
5. Try reducing the amount of sugar in your child’s diet.
6. Buy as much organic produce as possible. Wash all conventionally grown fruits and vegetables with apple cidar vinegar.
7. Hemp seeds are non-allergenic, a great source of protein and essential fats.
8. If your child is allergic or sensitive to certain foods, even trace amounts of this type of food can lead to an allergic reaction. Avoid cross-contamination. For example, read here.
9. Keep a food journal.
10. If you’re not sure which foods are triggers, try an elimination diet, a few foods diet, or crystal testing (dowsing). Read here for more info re: dowsing with a crystal.
11. If you are introducing new foods, only introduce one new food every four days. (This is something that is obvious, but we often didn’t follow this advice and then it was difficult to know exactly what the trigger was).
12. If your child has been tested for a certain food or environmental allergen and it comes back as being “low”, but your child hasn’t been exposed to this particular food or environmental allergen, she/he may still be allergic to it.

Supplements

1. Find a good multi-vitamin.
2. Find out if your child is low on vitamin Bs, in particular, vitamin B12.
3. Find out if your child is low in vitamin D3. Read more here.

Currently, my son also uses the following supplements (this will vary from child to child):

1. Liquid calcium supplement
2. Liquid iron supplement
3. probiotics (recommended by his naturopath)
4. arnica homeopathic (for his past history of traumas – e.g., birth trauma; recommended by his naturopath)
5. sulphur homeopathic (for his rashes; recommended by his naturopath)
6. flaxseed oil (though if your child is not allergic to fish, I’d recommend cod liver oil; more here)
7. liquid chlorophyll

Tips for dealing with eczema

1. Saltwater compress
2. Omega 3 fats
3. High quality probiotic
4. Avoid highly allergenic foods (e.g., gluten, dairy, eggs).
5. Getting sufficient sun exposure or taking a quality Vitamin D supplement.


Health care practitioners

1. My vision of a health care system here.
2. Find a good naturopath.
3. Find a good chiropractor.
4. Find a good energy healer / shamanic practitioner / Reiki practitioner / Integrated Energy practitioner. I believe that sensitive children are especially helped by energy healing. An example of how energy healing helped our family here.
5. Find a good doctor that you can trust.
6. If you have unresolved problems from your own childhood and/or life, find someone (e.g., an energy healer) or a technique to help you deal with them. You child is sensitive and can sense your unresolved issues. Emotional freedom technique is a useful technique for releasing the emotional charge on issues. Our story here.
7. Listen to your own intuition before following the advice of any health care practitioner.

Minimize Medications

1. This one is hard to do, especially if your child is sick, but minimize medications as much as possible. We haven’t been able to completely, but do the best that you can. Trust your intuition on this one. Our story here and here.
2. If your intuition says not to vaccinate your child, DON’T DO IT!.

Minimize Environmental Toxins

1. Choose ceramic dental fillings over stainless steel or mercury amalgam fillings. here.
2. Minimize the toxins in your environment. More information here.
3. Use natural cleaners (e.g., vinegar, baking soda).
4. Open up the windows and let fresh air circulate in your home.
5. Ensure there is no mold in your home.
6. Use cast iron pans to cook with.
7. Purchase a good air purifier.
8. If you are renovating your home, find another place to temporarily stay during the renovations.
9. When painting, use no VOC or low VOC paint.

Care of the energetic body

1. Try smudging (using the smoke from sage stick) your child’s body, room and home to clear the energy of the room.
2. Consider putting crystals in your child’s room.
3. Spend as much time outside as possible.
4. Teach your child yoga, a martial art, and/or tai chi.
5. Consider registering your child for a Reiki for Kids or an Integrated Energy for Kids class. My little crystal is now a Reiki master I.
6. Find an energy healing practitioner (Reiki, Integrated Energy Therapy, Shamanic Healing).
7. Try putting a himalayan salt crystal lamp in your child’s room. Read more here.
8. If your child has trouble sleeping, some tips here.
9. Teach your child about the spirit world (that it does exist). If your child mentions talking to spirits or angels, s/he probably is.


Care of Sensitive Babies

Many of the other tips apply to the care of sensitive babies. In addition…

1. Try attachment parenting.
2. Try breastfeeding as long as you can (but if your child is sensitive to foods, you will need to restrict your diet as well).
3. If your baby is extremely colicky, I would eliminate milk from his/her diet immediately (and from your diet too if you’re breastfeeding). Remember, it can take up to a month to see any changes because it takes a while for the milk protein to leave his/her and your system after you’ve eliminated it from your diet.

Self-care for Mom and Dad

1. Schedule at least once a month dates for mom and dad.
2. Schedule at least once a week time for you. Follow your bliss. .
3. Find time to exercise. Even 10 minutes a day.
4. Find time to meditate or center daily.
5. Build a support group of friends.
6. Get body work (massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, energy work) once a month.