I have made fire

It's nice to get a break from fixing humans to hang out with my boys. Well, Jack doesn't do much "hanging" yet, but James does. This past weekend we made a 8 foot by 8 foot sandbox that required a cubic yard of sand to fill.

48-6 inch nails, 12 landscaping timbers, 50 feet of weed blocker, and some shoveling. Best part about it was the 100 degree temperature and near triple digit humidity. I lost a lot of sweat and lot of pride.

But, for the first time ever, I managed to not injure myself during the construction process. Anyone in my family will tell you that I go to the ER, a lot. Stabs, punctures, lacerations, crushing injuries, breaks. I've done 'em all.

But not this time!

This time my son and I had a great weekend, made 5 trips to Home Depot, each of which required a stop at the candy store, and started/completed a project.

In your face Holmes!

on your shoulders.

Habit #8 --Teach your child how important they are to you.

One of the best habits you can develop in your child is to teach them that they matter. That what they say matters, what they do matters, and that they matter very much to you. You may think, “Of course they know they matter. I’m their parent, I do everything for them. The deal is, they don’t see that. They have no concept of what life was like before they came along, so they don’t know how they have impacted your life. Consequently, we may act under the assumption that they realize that we spend all our time and money on them, rather than on us. Focus on taking the time to listen especially. When you take the time to listen to your child, instead of brushing her off, you are building connections. When you respond in a manner that validates her feelings instead of invalidating them, you are teaching her to be caring. When you help her to choose appropriate actions, you are helping her to be more competent. Trust me, they hear you. From their point of view, it can be difficult to think about themselves as having power, or worth. That is something we as parents, are uniquely situated to present. Don’t waste the opportunity to make someone’s day or lifetime.

Study after study demonstrates the importance of social interaction in determining a child's future. Geniuses who are socially inept will rarely do more in life or go farther than someone who gets along with people. Those "people skills" come from a childhood of interactions that have empowered the child. Nature vs. nurture is moot and passe. You play the biggest role in determining your child's success in life.

No pressure.

ouch.

Tired of talking. Enjoy pics of our Athletic Extravaganza.

Invitation

belted.

More healthy habits from a presentation I wrote.

Habit # 7 -- Teach your kids to wear safety belts.

Child safety seats and belts are referred to as the "wonder drugs" when it comes to saving the lives of children. "If seat belts were medicine, they'd be wonder drugs," says Chuck Hurley, spokesperson for the National Safety Council. "Instead they're like aspirin--so common that people forget how beneficial they are in preventing death and serious injuries."
Nevertheless, too many parents give in to the complaining and resistance from their children and drive without having them buckled into their seats. Six out of every 10 children killed in crashes are unrestrained by either seat belts or child safety seats. In 1997 an 1,244 of the 2,087 children under age 16 killed in crashes were completely unrestrained. In this day and age, there are still parents out there who neglect to put their kids in safety belts. I cannot fathom why anyone driving a car would do this. Additionally, developing the habit of safety will run as a theme in everything you do together. When safety is a habit, that’s a good thing.

There should be some wildly disproportionate penalty for parents who don't seat belt their kids. Public shaming, hot-foot, something. It's just unreal that some parents don't do this.

validate this

I just realized, I come here and post all the time. I cite references, make timely observations, talk all doctor-y. Why?

Because I am incapable of not justifying everything I do with a peer reviewed study or massive sample size. I'm so used to being the witch doctor that I try twice as hard as the next guy to convince people of what I can do as a doctor. I guess that carries over, even to my blog posts. I'm not sure if that is the mark of a clinical mind, or just someone wanting validation.

I adjusted a small boy this week, he was clinically deaf in one ear, had asthma, and told his mom that he had a headache ever since he could speak.

I treated him three times, with the last treatment coming 2 hours ago.

As of today at 10:30, a.m. he can hear you speak from a distance even with his good ear covered up. He slept through the night last night. He smiled at me for the first time since I met him.

Placebo? Witchcraft? Luck?

That kid can hear, that kid can sleep. I did nothing but take away the interference to his nervous system. There are no side effects, no dangerous drugs, no pill cycle. I did a scientific analysis of the joint between his skull and atlas, and checked the local muscle tension and corresponding cranial nerves.

I'm done being the torchbearer for chiropractic apologists.

I fix little kids. They know it, I know it. Everything else is moot.

Five, Six, Pick up Sticks

More from my "7 Habits for Healthy Kids Presentation." This next one is one of the toughest, but one of the best for your kids. In order to successfully get your kids to go to bed, you may have to lead by example. Good Luck!

Habit # 6 -- Teach your kids that sleep is a necessity, not a luxury.

Imagine you are in charge of a big factory making tires. You make tires all day, every day, and you have more orders than you know what to do with. From the time you open, to the time you close, you focus on getting as many tires made as you possibly can in order to keep up.
That much tire-makin’ will naturally wear out some machines and some people. Both of which will have to be replaced. You will also need to get all the by-product and trash out of your factory and get it cleaned (the factory) in order to maintain productivity. If you are up to your neck in tires during the day, when are you going to clean the place, change the trash, and put in new machines/fix the old ones? That’s right, at night. It is the only time available. What do you think is going to happen to your factory if you never close, or if you aren’t closed down long enough to get these essential tasks done?

Your body is no different. When you sleep you grow muscle, process emotions and learning, and lose weight. Those things do not happen when you are awake, just like in the factory, you are too busy during your waking hours. If you don’t get enough sleep, over time you suffer and your health will suffer. You must teach your kids (and yourself) that short changing your downtime doesn’t make you tough, it makes you unhealthy. It is even worse for kids. They aren’t maintaining what they already have, in terms of size and strength; they are in the process of addition. Here are several ideas for getting and enforcing a bed time:

• Maintain a daily sleep schedule and consistent bedtime routine.
• Make the bedroom environment the same every night and throughout the night (lights, temp, shades, etc.)
• Set limits that are consistent, communicated and enforced.
• No television or gaming right before bed.

There are many, many tips and tricks for helping kids to get to sleep and stay asleep. E-mail me if you are looking for more, or if you have one I haven't mentioned.
Next week: more stuff!

bigger things

I went to a memorial service for the infant daughter of a good friend of mine this weekend. She was born premature, the mom and dad had less than a day with her. Long enough for an outfit change, some pictures, and a lifetime of unspeakable pain.

I wasn't going to post about it. But I can't get it out of my head. I've been in pain before, and a pretty good dose of it too. Broken bones, 100s of stitches, concussions. Emotionally, I've been there as well. I was thinking about that too, this weekend. The parents of the daughter and I have had our share of nights out on the town when we were in college. They used to joke about how attached I would get to someone, only to have it eternally blowing up in my face.

But nothing I ever went through, no laceration, "its-not-you-its-me", or dream deferred ever hurt like Friday night. I never met the baby, never saw her except for the pictures in the memorial service, but I could not stop crying. I couldn't sleep until Sunday night, haven't been hungry. I don't think you are supposed to get more emo as you get older.

I think it's that, even the worst possible thing that can happen to you as a parent, is better than anything that happens to you when you aren't.

I hope I got that right.





The child they had, but didn't have, that they will have forever.