We’re living at an interesting time because the cracks in the status quo are starting to show. Issues like ADHD, autism, Asperger’s and environmental toxins are common knowledge. Campaigns are raging pro and against vaccination and all sorts of other issues affecting children are headline news. It doesn’t matter which side of the arguments you decide to support from my perspective, but rather that you reached your conclusion yourself from your own experience and research, rather than believing someone else. I’m just on my way to the USA where I will be observing the children and parents with great interest. The USA has the highest rates of autism, ADHD and childhood disorders on the planet and I’m itching to go and observe what’s going on for myself.

At a time when the media run daily fear-inducing health scares and different business interests promote drugs as safe or preventative that then go on to kill people, parents need to be on their toes and using their common sense to screen some of the more harmful influences out of their children’s lives. Being embodied and noticing how things affect you or your child are essential. You have to be your own health advocate. This begins with food additives like MSG and aspartame, which are both extremely damaging to a growing child’s development. Many of the conditions I have seen in children have been treated solely with diet and supplementation, which says a lot about both the poor quality of nutrition and the resilience of children’s bodies, and their innate healing capacity.

The reason that I feel parents need empowering is because clearly something is not all right as far as healthy child development is concerned, and yet the information being offered by mainstream health professionals is not complete and often doesn’t make sense. Children are totally vulnerable to what their parents – or their school or culture – decide for them, and I’m here to help parents take a stand in their children’s best interests, whatever it its that they personally decide. I’m not sure that there is a right and a wrong per se, and since every child is unique it is very important that each parent make their own assessment since they know their child by far the best. Vaccinate or not? How much and when? Special needs school or extra tuition? Wheat free diet or steroids? There are endless choices when issues arise. How do you decide?

So what are the tools that parents need to make their own assessment of their child and meet their individual needs? I’ve spent decades observing children and getting inside their minds to see things from their perspective. I bring years of anthropological observation of indigenous cultures to what I do. My nervous system is far from in the “normal” range, and the daily challenges I face have given me tools that help me translate children’s experiences for their parents. What I discovered in the process are that there are two very key elements that parents need. One is embodied experience – through using my body and emotions as a sensor or satellite dish a discovered that it is very simple to pick up what is going on for others. This is why I think craniosacral bodywork is such a phenomenal tool for supporting parents in getting in touch with their own abilities to sense their children and know what’s going on. Absolutely anyone can learn this – it’s an innate human ability. If you’re interested in knowing more about this, you can find a variety of information on www.craniohealing.com. The first step to empowering parents to make positive decisions for their children is enabling them to sense the child and their needs for themselves, and to intuit what would support them. I call this looking afresh without judgement. It is extraordinary how simple things can become for the child when parents just take a good look with an open mind.

The second skill that empowers parents is learning a more attuned way of relating. Some people call it empathy, others talk about attuned attention. It’s a way of relating to another person where you allow yourself to receive emotional and mental information about them without judging. It also includes learning to really listen without thinking or answering back. The reason it makes all the difference to your child’s development is that they need this in order to develop a sense of themselves and of their innate talents and characteristics. The bonus is that apart from having a healthy child, if you learn to do this you will likely never have to visit a psychologist or mental health professional with your child. You will have an exceptional understanding with your child that will fulfill you totally as a parent. And it’s actually very simple to do. There is more information on empathetic relating and some fascinating case studies of problem solving in families on www.sensingchildren.com.

I believe that parents are the solution and greatest resource for whatever their children need whatever the cause of their children’s issues – yet we live in a global society that increasingly seems to try to tell parents what to do and to control our individual choices. This can be extremely frightening and confusing – but if you just apply these two simple principles of sensing your body and being present, and attuned relating you will be able to rely on your own perceptions to choose your own path with peace of mind and light heart. And as you do so, you will empower other parents to look again and open their minds afresh to observing their own children and meeting their real needs. Just by applying your common sense and using your own perception when relating to your child, you can touch countless other parents and children’s lives by example. A different future begins with you.