Modern American families are plagued with physical and mental health diagnoses. Diabetes, obesity, depression, anxiety, learning differences, ADHD, autism, allergies, asthma … the list goes on and on, and the numbers are growing exponentially. Half of Americans are on prescription medications, including 20% of those under the age of 12 (with the average American taking four prescriptions daily). Over half of our children today are suffering from a chronic health condition and they now "display consistently poorer health outcomes than children in other wealthy nations" (source). Lifestyle habits play a significant role, but research also links exposure of household toxins and other chemicals to exacerbation of symptoms like ADHD, learning disabilities, struggles with focus, hormonal irregularities, and behavior concerns.

Combined with 33% of our children being impacted by at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE), the time to act is now. It is well known that ACEs not only contribute substantially to chronic health conditions, but they can also be responsible for learning differences and promote challenges with many other concerns (including behavior, emotional regulation, attachment, attention, focus, sensory processing, impulse control, and countless others).

Thankfully, though, there’s hope.

Not only has experience proven to me that wholistic wellness practices can deeply support overall wellness and even help to mitigate the damage of lifestyle-related diseases (like my insulin resistance), science also shows that using a whole-child approach helps children overcome the toxic stress and impacts associated with ACEs. My philosophy is certainly not a guaranteed fix-all, but I have seen firsthand how well it can mitigate so many health symptoms and challenges. I’ve witnessed it in my own family and in countless others.

Here’s the thing. We can't erase diagnoses and we can't take away our children’s adverse childhood experiences. But we can create a sanctuary at home where we wholistically support our children's bodies in their healing journeys. We can prioritize trusting relationships that help them develop authentic connection, calm fear responses, learn to trust, use their voice appropriately to get their needs met, learn to self-regulate, and understand their own worth and value and loveliness. We can support their bodies with wholistic wellness so they can feel good and thrive in true health. And in that process, we can become families that are resilient together. That does not mean we will have a "perfect" family and that we will never experience challenges or have hard days, but it does mean that we can pursue each other with connection and wellness, and roll through those storms together.