life stages 131
digestion can become upset. When this happens, provided they are no
longer being breast-fed, give young children juices and superfood in a
sippy cup. A little diarrhea is to be expected, but if there is constipation,
use gentle laxative foods like prunes and olive oil. Children should also be
encouraged to drink meadowsweet leaf tea three times daily before meals.
A formula to aid poor digestion would be equal amounts of licorice root,
cinnamon stick, and fennel seed taken as a tincture or tea (with honey).
Growing Pains
Growing pains can affl ict toddlers, older children, and adolescents,
especially if they have a poor diet. I have talked to many patients who
remembered suffering weeks or months of aching limbs; their parents had
told them that growing pains were a normal part of growing up.
What is actually happening is that the body is growing and stripping
itself of the materials it requires for growth. Normal childhood growth
can induce pains if the diet is not suffi ciently balanced (see the section on
calcium in chapter 4), but occasionally massive growth spurts take the
body by surprise. If this occurs, extra calcium and magnesium must be
given immediately by increasing the intake of herbs like boneset and
nettle. Nettle leaf tea should be drunk daily; boneset tincture can also be
given, but only for a few days at a time, until the pain has gone away and
then for three to fi ve days longer. Carrot juice, homemade or
storebought, is also a good source of calcium. My children told me
immediately whenever they got any aches; they were then given fresh
carrot juice for a week, on top of their daily plant calcium and magnesium
input.
Fever and muscle aches leach a large amount of nutrients from the
body, not least calcium. If it is not replenished, what began as an acute
and easily rectifi able ailment can become chronic, simply from the lack of
calcium in the body. Drinking milk at this point is not recommended, as
its neutralization of digestive foods would make an already hampered
digestive system work at an even lower level. Get children to drink nettle
leaf tea to increase levels of calcium and magnesium and use rice milk, soy
milk, or other milk alternatives. Leg twitching during the night can
indicate a need for calcium, magnesium, and iron in children, in which
case nettle or red raspberry leaf will help, as they both contain large
quantities of all these minerals.
Fever
When taking children’s temperatures, remember that their higher rate of
metabolism means that they can more safely sustain a higher temperature
than an adult. Your fi rst course of action should be to keep the child
sponged down and ensure high fl uid intake. If you are concerned about
131 The Complete Home Guide to Herbs, Natural Healing, and Nutrition