If you are curious about my own private practice in Vancouver, Washington, our clinic website has more details, and it is called Points of Origin, PLLC.

Please leave your comments and feedback below. And stay tuned for more video episodes coming up on this topic and others.

Thanks for coming back to visit my blog. If you like the content I have here, let all your friends know and make sure you send me your questions and comments.

Stomachaches in Children

Stomachaches occur in children quite commonly and over the years I have seen many kids with this condition. I have a different perspective on the causative factors that need to be taken into account and I feel this is an important topic to discuss with parents.

In my practice I like to use the saying, “The more information, the better”. What I mean is that we can gain a lot more ground by being open to different systems, interpretations, and models of explanation, rather than just relying on one single description.

If we are evaluating a child with stomachaches, we must address the symptom and condition and try to elucidate the likely causes. However, often there is no discernible cause from a physiologic or anatomic standpoint. Then what do we do? I have stated in other places how I am in agreement with doing testing to make sure there are no obvious or hidden physical problems, like blockages, ulcers, growths, appendicitis, inflammatory bowel disease, etc. In the vast majority of cases, however, none of these are identified as the cause and we are left with no answers.

This is the situation where I believe a broader more holistic and energy derived description and evaluation comes in very handy. On my website I have given more information about the Chinese medicine system and how it addresses conditions found commonly in kids. There are specific groupings which bring together body organs and energy pathways in a coherent and clinically significant way, which I find extremely useful as a physician and I think can be very insightful information for parents to know.

In the Chinese medicine system, the stomach organ and channel are grouped with the large intestine, the lungs and the spleen. These four organs and channels essentially work together on the same circuit, and your child’s energy system must distribute or parcel out its energy in the most efficient and beneficial manner that it can in the context of your child’s daily life and experience.

I have found that when we open up the breadth and scope of our questioning and increase the potential topics of inquiry, our chances of finding the right causative explanation for something like stomachaches goes up dramatically.

So, the bottom line is this: Get an evaluation done to look for treatable and serious problems that could be going on with your child. But don’t stop there if those lab tests and procedures don’t reveal anything. It is important to keep looking for the causes, even if it takes you beyond the physical realm and into the arena where energy becomes the more useful explanation.

In my practice, I use a consciousness based system called BodyTalk which allows us to have access to those things which are only accessible through the energy medicine or consciousness based paradigm. I discuss these concepts in more detail in my ebook called Energy Medicine Principles for Parents and you can read more about the Chinese medicine system and your child on my website called Principles for Parents.

Parenting Tips: Giving Choices

The next tip I want to discuss is giving choices. This is another tip taken from my 8 Tips for Parents.This is a very important concept that really begins from the time a baby is born and can be used throughout childhood and adolescence as part of a holistic pediatric approach to your child.

Giving Choices Accomplishes the Following:
1. Gives your child plenty of opportunities to practice this important skill of decision making.
2. Gives them a sense of identity and individuality through this process.
3. Helps with the long term goal of building self esteem.
4. Lays the foundation, and builds a track record of choices made and their outcomes.
5. Empowers your child and gives you some control at the same time.



All kids need to make choices and learn the difference between making individual decisions and complying with others. You want your kids to have plenty of practice at this so that by the time they reach their teenage years they will be well versed at making good choices.

This gives them a sense of their own identity and individuality. In addition, the consequences of making good choices will reflect on their own self esteem, and the consequences of making bad or poor choices will lead to learning valuable lessons so as not to repeat them again.

This lays the foundation and builds a track record of the choices they have made and their outcomes which is stored in their own memory banks. These choices are what they will refer back to over the course of their whole lives as they live, grow and learn more.

I usually recommend giving choices as early as possible. This serves the dual purpose of giving practice for the child, and it gives them an outlet to exert their own will power. Of course, in reality, you are the one who is giving the list of choices to choose from, but the overall feeling of making a choice can be very empowering for your child. It fulfills an important developmental need and it doesn’t require you to have to exert your own will power over your child’s.

This is an invaluable tactic when you’re trying to navigate through the preschool and early childhood years; when testing the limits of acceptable behavior and your patience are pushed to their maximums.

An example of giving choices might be asking, “Which of these three outfits do you want to wear to school today?” or maybe asking, “Do you want to help me clean up the kitchen, or help me vacuum the living room?”

In other situations, it may be more appropriate to give time windows as choices like, “Do you want to do your homework before dinner or after dinner?” Another one might be “Do you want to do your chores before school or after school?” I’m sure you can think of an infinite number of ways to use this technique. I highly recommend that you use it frequently.

For more information about my approach to holistic pediatrics,
visit this page on the Principles for Parents website called Your Healthy Child.

Paradigm Shifting Principles for Parents: Individualize for Your Child

Individualization strategy for your child

I’m going to discuss this topic of individuality taken from my free ebook called Paradigm Shifting Principles for Parents. Perhaps the most important information I can give you is to pay attention to the context your child’s situation fits into. What I mean is, your child’s individual nature is unquestionably the most important factor in their learning, your parenting, and my general advice-giving in my supporting role to you as a pediatrician.

What most parents don’t realize is that although their own child is unique, our current medical system considers them to be the opposite. This is a shocking realization for everyone involved, including myself as a practicing physician! While we in the medical community pay lip service to the laudable goal of treating your child as an individual, the fact is, very few practitioners have the time, the understanding or the framework within which to work to accomplish this goal. It is my view that you as the parent are the only one who can possibly attain this outcome for your child. No practitioner or medical system can do it for you or for them. All we can hope to do is point you in the right direction. This has been and will continue to be my goal in my interactions with you, either in person or indirectly through my writings.

How Does Your Child Absorb Information?

Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about to make this more clear. In my practice, I place a lot of importance on how your child takes in information, and how they assimilate it. Some kids are very feeling oriented and kinesthetic or sensitive to their surroundings including other people. Some kids are much more verbal and talkative, and they show an ability to communicate their wants and needs to you in a flurry of words and phrases. Still other kids are more auditory, and they need to hear instructions, encouragement, and/or reinforcement, sometimes repeatedly and numerous times before it will finally “sink in”. As you can see, the logical strategy is to match the method with the easiest way your child can absorb the information you are trying to get through to them.

Pigeon Holing is Not Logical

If I am called upon to give advice to help parents with a child with a particular problem, it is imperative that I know which of the above methods will most likely result in the most efficient way to address the issue. Is it logical for me to arbitrarily choose one method for all kids of a certain age group, knowing that there is wide variability in how kids take in information? This is what I call pigeon-holing and I see it constantly cropping up in the medical field in particular. As a physician, I am just as much to blame for this unfortunate tendency because I used to think and practice in that way. Now I am trying to reverse the trend and begin the necessary dialogue to find common ground between parents and practitioners for the benefit of your kids.

Individualize Your Approach to Your Child

Now if we come back to your role as the parent. There is no doubt that you have the most influence and hold the most important position when it comes to your child, period. What I want you to know is that there is nothing wrong with individualizing your approach to all things related to your child, and I would include the medical or health related decisions you make. I can only make this statement now, after many years in practice, because I have arrived at an understanding that includes the energy medicine view of your child and your family. I do not believe we can ignore the very important contribution energy influences make during your child’s growth and development years. You can read more of my perspectives on this in other posts I have made in the energy medicine category here.

If you’d like more information, go here to download the full version of the free ebook: Paradigm Shifting Principles for Parents.

Parenting Tips: Foreshadowing for Your Child

I wrote my 8 Tips for Parents piece a while ago, and I just wanted to share one of those 8 tips today called, “Foreshadowing”. I borrowed this literary term to describe the exercise of narrating the future for your child. This is basically a technique that gives your child something to shoot for. In other words, it gives them a direction or a pathway to follow, and the advantageous part of this is that you are the one leading the way.

There is no doubt that parental expectations can be a powerful motivator especially in the early years. In the energy medicine system, this foreshadowing is happening all the time, and can be very useful if it is harnessed and used correctly.

Let’s take an example of preparing for school. This is a significant milestone around age 5. It includes the novelty of school with its rules, order, and social scene. At the same time it involves the necessary
absence of you as the parent, as your child enters the long process of becoming educated through the school system. By foreshadowing what will happen when your child enters school for the first time, you can essentially prepare them in advance. This can take the form of statements directly to your child or to others. It can take the form of actions, like visiting the school itself, going to the playground, or maybe meeting teachers or the principal. These preparatory steps are basically foreshadowing for your child what school will be like.

I often recommend that parents make statements like, “I wonder what you’re going to learn in kindergarten?” or “How many friends do you think you’ll make in your first month of school?” These types of statements foreshadow the positive aspects of the upcoming scenario and they can make it much easier for your child to make this important adjustment.

Here are three things I want you to remember about this topic called foreshadowing:

1. Foreshadowing allows your child to get in sync with your expectations of the future.

2. This means they have something to shoot for, or a pathway to follow.

3. Foreshadowing is best used with open ended, nonchalant, “I wonder” type of statements and questions.

Another very important tip is to use what I call “gossiping”. If your child hears you talking to someone else about them, their ears are sure to perk up. In the energy medicine way of looking at your child, this can happen even if your child is too young to understand what you’re saying. The typical scenario would be if you are talking on the phone to grandma, and you mention something about your child by name. Something like “Guess how well Bobby is doing in school?”, or “You should see how fast Bobby is learning to read!”. These statements directed at other people but particularly extended family members can be like gold.

If you make use of this technique, I am optimistic that you will see your child responding to new situations or previously stress provoking ones in a more calm and confident manner. So keep foreshadowing in mind as a technique you can use whenever you see an opportunity to prepare your child for the near or the distant future. Give it a try, and let me know what kind of results you get.

If you liked this tip, you may want to know the other seven included in my 8 Tips for Parents  here.

Parental Wisdom

I had the pleasure of speaking with the Founder of Parental Wisdom.com, Lisa Nocera, and I must say we are on the same wavelength.

Her site uses a patented format to field questions anonymously from parents and then matches them up with experts who can give relevant answers. The key is that you as parents have the ability to receive multiple responses to the same question, thereby enabling you to choose which one fits best with your point of view and philosophy.

I think this is a great idea and it is sorely needed in our current fast paced culture and world. I believe it is especially needed when it comes to parenting advice and I couldn’t agree more with Lisa when she says,

Parenting is the ultimate in on the job training, with no qualifications required or formal training program. And let’s not forget that each child is unique. That means what worked for one child, won’t necessarily work for the next child. Every parent with more than one child knows that!

Parental Wisdom was created because kids don’t come with manuals® they never have, never will, because you can’t write a manual on a work in progress.

I highly recommend that you become a member and get the free benefits of having access to multiple experts. Click here to visit the ParentalWisdom website.

8 Tips for Parents

I just put my “8 Tips for Parents” available to download on the home page of Principles for Parents. These tips are more related to energy medicine principles and how to use them in parenting your kids. Some examples include techniques like “foreshadowing”, “contrast”, and “practice”. These are taken from conversations I’ve had with parents over the past several years.

I think this will give you an idea of my style and philosophy when it comes to energy medicine and your child. When you receive the download email, you can choose to watch the short video/slide show or listen to the mp3 audio file. You may also download the ebook and read it as a pdf file. Click here to go to the page where you can download it from my Principles for Parents site. Hope you enjoy it!

UPDATE: Please note the 8 Tips for Parents is no longer available on the Principles for Parents home page. Instead I have an excerpt from my new ebook available now. The 8 Tips for Parents will be included with the purchase of my new ebook as a bonus, or you can get it separately from the multimedia store page on Principles for Parents.

Thanks!

Dr Pete

Helping Promote Conscious Parenting

I came across this site called TEACH through love, an organization dedicated to helping to raise awareness of emotional harm that children can be subject to. It’s run by Lori Petro, a writer, producer, former educator, child advocate and mother of one.
In addition to articles on conscious parenting and really great resources, there is a section on baby horoscopes which may give you some insight into your child’s underlying personality characteristics.
Take a look at the site here and share your comments if you’d like.
Teach-through-love.com

Parenting Advice from Mom

One of the things I recommend to all parents is to get plenty of good resources together for the long haul. No one person can lay claim to the best advice out there. It has to be a combination of different perspectives, different disciplines, and different points of view. One of the best resources I’ve come across is Janet Allison’s site called Parenting-Advice-from-Mom.com. Janet has put together a great website with topics ranging from quick reads on child development, evidence that boys and girls really are different, how to use words that get results, practical parenting tips & techniques and much more! Janet happens to live in my local area so I have had a chance to meet and talk with her in person! I highly recommend her site so go and check it out for yourself. Parenting-Advice-from-Mom.com