Redefining Normal For Our Children’s Mental and Physical Health
“Our kids are the canaries in the coal mines, our signal that things are not ok in our world and that our world needs to change. Our kids are our wakeup call!”
In 2005, the New England Journal of Medicine published a landmark article that issued a stark warning: children’s life expectancy was at risk of being shorter than that of their parents, largely due to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. This article was a turning point in public health discussions, as it highlighted the far-reaching consequences of obesity-related diseases in younger populations.
The research suggested that the rise in obesity among children was not just affecting their immediate health but could lead to long-term, life-threatening conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. These conditions, traditionally seen in adults, were being diagnosed in children at an alarming rate. The study also noted that lifestyle factors—particularly diet, physical activity, and environmental influences—were major contributors to this trend.
Dr. Song, licensed Holistic Pediatrician and Functional Medicine MD, is all too-familiar with the startling impact of common-day diet and lifestyle effects on children. During her Pediatric clinical rotation at USF in ‘97, she distinctly remembers her attendee in the Autism Unit telling her: “If you see a handful of autistic children in your practice, it will be a lot!” But when she opened her Pediatric Practice in 2004, she was shocked as she was flooded with Autistic pediatric patients. In just 7 short years, “a lot” transformed into “normal”.
In the last decade, we have been conditioned to accept diagnosis’ and illnesses as ‘normal’. 1 in 2 children have chronic disease; an average of 1 in 5 children have eczema; 1 in 10 children have Asthma or ADHD; 1 in 3 suffer from anxiety; 1 in 3 girls suffer from suicide. Parents find themselves shifting their lives, rearranging their schedules, putting their children in protective diagnosis-bubbles, ignoring their instinctual curiosity to ask: “This doesn't seem normal. This seems overly hard. Is there something deeper going on here?”
“Our kids are the canaries in the coal mines, our signal that things are not ok in our world and that our world needs to change. Our kids are our wakeup call,” Dr. Song told me as we discussed how re-evaluating our “normal” and reconditioning ourselves to hearing and trusting our intuition leads us to seeing these effects on our children as our wake up call to change.
“We can’t control everything…forever chemicals [for example] are here to stay. But we as parents still have so much we can control - that’s where our focus should be. We can control our home, the environment we set there.”
The first place we can look to for re-defining “normal” stasis is diet and lifestyle. We have to begin by untangling ourselves from the solution of pills and supplements for fixing our conditions.
Dr. Song teaches her patients and their parents what she calls the 5 steps to microbiome magic. “Without these, you can throw any supplement you want at a leaky gut but until the gut is healed, you won’t stay in health.”
The 5 steps she shares for what she’s coined as “microbiome magic”:
Nourishment
Breathing
Sleep
Hydration
Moving our bodies
But we also discussed the need to get over our collective fever phobia. Our body’s response to toxins and illness is inflammation. This inflammation is good inflammation at the moment - it serves a purpose! I recall when I was working inpatient pediatrics, a Pediatric Infectious Disease Doctor asked my patient’s parents: “Is your child [with a fever] happy? Are they smiling? Are they drinking? Then we don’t need to be afraid.”
We don’t need to rush off to urgent care. We don’t have to freak out about fevers. We can trust our long-neglected intuition and trust protocol modalities like bone broths; keeping our children comfortable; keeping them hydrated; watching for regular urination schedules; etc.
It’s never too late. Whether your child is struggling with health issues now or you’re looking to prevent future problems, you can always restore their microbiome and set the stage for healthier brains, bodies, and futures. Microbiome resilience is possible at any age. By making intentional changes today, you can help your child thrive in ways that go far beyond simply “managing” symptoms.
Take a listen to the full episode below and make sure to grab a copy of her book HERE
Check out my favorite kids gut health supplements here
