Okay, I’m curious, how many green mama’s are out there?  I mean are you into the herb things, or take your children to the doctors?  Or bit of both?

Living in Canada, everyone might think “health care” is all that and then some, but honestly it’s not impressive and we’re treated more like a number than actually treated.  Very few doctors give correct diagnosis that I’ve been to and am not impressed with the overall system.  Sure we get a few of the big things “taken care of” but we’d have to actually have known what they are before we even make it to treatment, and usually by than it’s too late.

Since having my fourth child, I’ve been more into trying natural remedies than always running to the doctor.  I’ve been so frustrated that it seems to be the only alternative for myself to start (I’m not talking about life-threatening here I’m talking about  small issues for myself personally.)

So with that I open on this book.

Healthy Child, Whole Child: Integrating the Best of Conventional and Alternative Medicine to Keep Your Kids Healthy   by Stuart H. Ditchek , Russell H. Greenfield, Lynn Murray Willeford

This book about:

It goes through the myths on vaccinations, foods that are “powerhouses” for your children, questions to figure out if your children are really overweight and herbs that are effective for your children.  It also discusses on how to integrate care with your pediatrician.

Healthy Child, Whole Child is quite a nice resource. It is full of information of questions you need to ask your doctor and options of natural remedies  that can be tried first.  It presents itself as an integration of both conventional and alternative methods and I’d say it’s done a decent job on it.  I will be keeping this book around for a long time.

Now I say that with caution.  As a Christian I believe discernment is key when reading any book like this — whether for myself or about my children.  I definitely don’t agree with all aspects of this book.  I think all books like this need to be taken with a teaspoon of salt as they are slanted slightly to each authors own ideas (most books in general).  So while it is fairly rounded there are a few things that I’m not so keen on such as  its “alternative methods”such as Reiki.  It does however point out other “alternatives” and  even admits some of these things such as biofeedback are unscientific, so I sense they are trying to be well rounded.  For myself though, I did find that it was almost as if they were trying to justify the inclusion of such items by including prayer in there as well  (because whether we are Christian or not most of us pray, yes?).  I guess I’m really disappointed that they there was a bent on it again as most “alternative” books have and don’t stick to the facts.

What I like about this book is that it gives answers and information.  It is geared specifically towards children, which is great to understand the differences between adults and children and how to treat them.  I like that they do discuss some herbs and supplements that are useful and how they effect children.  I do like that most (and I say most, not all) is studied from a scientific level.   And like I mentioned earlier this will be a great resource/reference when I need some ideas and comparisons on modern and alternative medicines.

So, what are you reading?

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