A Naturopathic Doctor’s Role In Your Child’s Development
Naturopathic doctors can offer incredible benefits to your child’s developmental process.
In addition to improving their overall health, this is the best time to start teaching your child effective habits that will pave the way to a healthy and happy future.
These habits consist of things like nutrition, regular physical activity, effective sleep habits, and strong mental health.
As always, quality care delivered through gentle, safe and effective treatments is a priority here at the Dawdy Naturopathic Clinic.
If you’re interested in a naturopathic doctor for children in Ottawa know that you’re in good hands here at Dawdy Naturopathic.
Before diving into the specific benefits of working with a paediatric naturopathic doctor, there are some important things to note.
How Can A Naturopathic Doctor Help Your Child?
There are numerous ways that a naturopathic doctor can help your child as they grow.
Routine check-ups can ensure that you receive an ample education around diet and lifestyle recommendations, health optimization and preventative approaches to reduce the risk of your child developing future chronic conditions.
Naturopathic doctors can also perform well child checks to assess your child’s development both physically and mentally.
Plus, there are specific medical conditions that can be strategically addressed using a naturopathic approach as you’ll see below.
1. Skin Conditions
This skin of a child tends to be thinner, more absorbent and more sensitive than an adult’s.
This is why rashes can be a common occurrence as your child grows.
Some strategies to combat this include using gentle, non-toxic products to reduce the amount of rashes that develop in your child.
Next, don’t forget to consider internal factors.
Skin is an organ of elimination and irritants can show up there when your internal modes of elimination (think of your liver, urination, kidney function, and digestion) are not optimal.
This is why digestive health and food sensitivities are both an important part of treating skin conditions and an area that naturopathic doctors excel in.
2. Digestive Concerns
Healthy digestive habits are very important to build while your child is growing.
This includes the importance of fibre and regular water consumption to promote bowel regularly and a balanced gut microbiome.
Optimal digestion generally promotes and improves immune system function, skin health, and mental health.
Because digestive health is so comprehensive, a naturopathic approach can be quite effective.
3. Nutritional Counselling
Continuing with this holistic, naturopathic approach is nutritional counselling.
Thinking about the complete systems that digestive health affects, it is important to ensure that you get the educational tools you need to ensure your child’s development and that they’re getting the nutrition required to maintain their digestive health.
Many foods designed for children are high in sugar, and low in fibre and many other vitamins and minerals.
This is why they taste so good.
Your goal should be to get your child interested in healthy foods in order to avoid any possible nutrient deficiencies and maintain optimal gut health.
Some common deficiencies that we often see in children are iron, vitamin D, and calcium.
4. Food Sensitivity Testing
One common concern we hear from parents quite often is food sensitivities, especially if they have noticed a physical reaction after their child ate a specific food.
Everything is connected and so it’s worth investigating whether your child has any so that it can be incorporated into your nutritional counselling.
It’s important to note that there is a difference between a food allergy and a food sensitivity.
Food allergies are diagnosed by an allergist using a skin-prick test and is an immune response that your child has to a particular food.
Food sensitivities are typically less immediate and severe, but can cause significant symptoms in children including eczema, diarrhea, nasal congestion and poor immune system health.
This is an area your naturopathic doctor will shine, as food sensitivities are harder to find with a typical allergy blood and skin tests.
5. Childhood Mental Health Concerns
Stress can impact everybody and that includes your children.
Naturopathic doctors can teach you and your child techniques for coping with anxiety in a healthy way.
These will be especially important habits to develop as your child grows and is then better able to cope with stressors as an adult.
It’s also important to remember that nutrition affects mental health and so maintaining a healthy diet is a vital preventative measure to avoid having your child potentially develop mental health challenges.
6. Dealing With Childhood Infections
Antibiotics address bacterial infections, not viral infections and this is one more important area that a naturopathic doctor can help.
There are natural treatments with anti-viral properties that can help the body to eliminate infections and strengthen your child’s immune system.
Some quick examples include echinacea, honey, garlic, and elderberry.
Book An Appointment With Dr. Kimberly Dawdy, ND
There are many different ways in which consulting a naturopathic doctor is beneficial for the health of your growing child.
Call Dawdy Naturopathic Clinic today to book an appointment with me, Dr. Kimberly Dawdy, ND, to optimize your child’s developmental process.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Kimberly Dawdy, ND
Dawdy Naturopathic Clinic
6899 Sunset Blvd,
Greely, ON K4P 1C5
-https://g.page/dawdynaturopathicclinic
Dawdy Naturopathic Clinic offers a variety of naturopathic health solutions for individuals and families in Ottawa and the surrounding area.
