I’ve always taken the natural healing route when it comes to my family’s health. Good food and home remedies are the first things I turn to when sickness strikes but there have been times when antibiotics have been necessary. In my (almost) seven years of motherhood I’ve experienced many winter lulls; the runny noses, hacking coughs and general malaise – the mucus misery that is cured with chicken broth, warm lemony drinks and a bucketload of patience.

Regardless of what I’ve learnt over the years I still feel a little out of my depth when it comes to the kids’ diet and the best things for them to eat when sickness strikes. Earlier this week I listened to a chat with Rebecca and Naomi from The Red Tent – Sydney’s renowned Chinese medicine and acupuncture clinic dedicated to women’s and children’s health and wellbeing. In the recording they discuss mucus misery and the best ways to boost your child’s immunity through diet and simple acupressure techniques. Perhaps what I enjoyed most about their conversation was their down-to-earth manner; not once did they seem to preach nor did they dismiss the role of Western medicine. I learnt a lot from the talk and I’ve just signed up for their kids health online course From Anxiety to Security – the A-Z of home remedies for children’s health which promises to arm me with all the information and techniques I need to strengthen the general wellness of the children and myself (it’s designed for children 0-12years).

Interested? Well, here’s what the course entails:

• you will come out of the course as a confident home practitioner who can effectively boost your child’s immunity, gut strength and improve their general wellness through your knowledge of food, special massage techniques and a bunch of herbs.
• you will have a better understanding of how your child’s body works. This means you’ll know exactly what to try when they get sick with a cold, have constipation, have loose motions, are a picky eater, don’t sleep well, are moody, suffer recurring infections etc.
• you will come away with an abundance of new tricks – you’ll have a large toolkit to work from. In many cases you’ll be able to home treat them and nurse them back to health. Why? Because you’ll have an action plan for your child that aims to strengthen their system so their body can get on with the job of self-healing.
• if your child does need pharmaceutical drugs you’ll know what to do after treatment to ensure they are building their immunity again so they don’t get struck down with another illness.
• perhaps most importantly the course has an entire section dedicated to the health of you – the mother and what you can do to improve your immunity, gut, sleep, menstruation, mood and overall wellness. This is essential (and so often and so easily overlooked).