Family-types

Families come in lots of different patterns so to make navigation easy, I have divided things up in terms of developmental phases.

• The first 1000 days – conception to 2 years
• The little people – 2 to 12 years
• The teenager – 13 +
• There is a section on special kids, the non-human family members.
• Finally a section providing some TLC especially for “Mom’s”

The first 1000 days

The first 1000 days which covers before the BIG moment i.e. conception, birth and the next two years or so. Most of the major biological construction takes place during this time period, so from a health perspective it is critical.

Link to “The first 1000 days”

The little people

The little people focuses on children during the time period where you’re still the parent / hero. Health issues during this time period are typically about skinned knees and sniffles.

The blog focuses on kids with three health issues – fat kids, highly strung kids and allergic kids.

Link to “The little people”

Fat kids

Fat kids worry me, because odds are they will develop into fat adults, suffering from metabolic imbalances which bring on all the lifestyle diseases i.e. diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Metabolic syndrome is pervasive and largely avoidable, but as I discovered the hard way, a lot of the health advice promulgated, fails to address the underlying problem and often times makes things worse, not better. One of the main reasons I blog, is to provide science based information to help people avoid these mistakes. If you are dealing with a chubby child, make sure you visit the “weight management pages”, you will find lots of information (sometimes a little unconventional), that might just give you the tools to protect your family from this health scourge.

Highly strung kids

The other group I feel aligned to, are the hundreds of children labelled with the tag, ADHD. I am pretty sure that if I was sitting in a classroom today, I would be a card carrying member of this club and have been loaded up on drugs. I did acquire the nickname “fidget” in high school and still can’t sit still or focus for very long. But I think I turned out okay, sure I have a few interesting quirks and my mother had a pretty rough couple of years keeping me “stimulated”, but WE made it. Sometimes drugs are the answer, but sometimes they are not – a lot of the time, getting the 7 Big Spoons™ sorted, sorts out the problem.

Allergic kids

The last group, allergic kids, is not as personal as the first two, but it is also a growing phenomenon, which impacts negatively on lives.

The teenager

The average teenager seems to develop a kind of death wish. The objective is to kill you, with worry, as they explore sex, drugs and “rock ‘n roll”. You are the “village idiot”, know nothing, count for nothing except when the “sky falls” on top of them, in which case you are expected to rush in like a knight in shining armour to save the day. You will not be thanked for your efforts, accept it and move on. I have it on good authority – in most cases they grow up.

Some health issues are unique to the teenage population, most are not.

The blog provides some ideas to get them through school in Neurotechnology Tips as well as ammunition to use if you find yourself in a “war against drugs” or playing “Agony Aunt” or just in plain agony (raising a teenager can be  a tough job).

Link to “The teenager”

Non-human kids

No this section is not a reference to your teenager – you may think that he/she comes from another planet but I promise, DNA testing will confirm that spacey as they might seem, they are still human.

The non-human kids included here are the dog, cat or pet spider which you end up feeding and taking care of.

For the record, I am a dog and bug person. The dog in my life at the moment is a dalmation called Jozie. The bugs don’t have names.

TLC for Moms

Finally, motherhood is not a bed of roses – for many juggling the family, the home and the job is overwhelming.

I’m not a mother (struggle with the responsibility of caring for a plant), so I will not presume to give advice on the nitty gritty of potty training and getting the homework done. What I can give, are pointers on is how to keep going.

• Dealing with the psychological trauma
• Managing woman’s health issues
• Beauty tips

If you succumb to the stress – the rest of the family is in serious trouble. This section is not a how to be a superhero but offers a few science based ideas on surviving motherhood.

PS. If you want superhero pointers explore the nootropic pages and make sure you manage the 7 Big Spoons™