"Mommy, I don't like those scary masks!"

Understanding Children's Asthma — A Fresh Perspective 🌿

Do you have a little one who's been struggling with asthma? Have you ever considered that it's linked to their experiences? Let's explore the reasons behind asthma attacks in young babies and toddlers from a Germanic Healing Knowledge (GHK) perspective.

👻 Scary Movies/Books: Evil characters like Ursula from the Little Mermaid can be quite shocking and scary.

💥 Fireworks: The sudden loud bangs and bright lights for new babies, young children (and animals) is very stressful.

🎃 Halloween Scares: Spooky masks and gory costumes can genuinely terrify our little ones.

💔 Domestic Conflicts: Arguments or fights at home can create fear, how long and intense have consequences to your little ones.

🚒 Fire Drills: Even well-intentioned safety practices can be frightening for kids.

Believe it or not, asthma is actually a perfect natural adaptation process. We (in the GNM community) call this a healing event that occurs after a child experiences an unexpected event related to scare/fright or fear within their environment. Short conflicts lead to brief healing events a couple of hours after the event, while long and intense fears and scares can result in more severe healing that may require medical assistance.

Lets break it down:

During a scary or fearful event, children are adapting and trying to resolve the conflict and may exhibit signs of conflict activity:

❄️ Cold hands

😢 Crying and running away or saying nothing and "freezing!"

🙈 Covering their eyes

🙉 Covering their ears

🗣️ Verbally expressing "no," "I don't want to do this," "I'm scared!" or "let's go."

How long that stress continues is within your power as the parent or adult in charge and is the key to less intense symptoms. This is prevention!

If you see that your child seems scared, take them out of the situation as soon as possible. Talk to them and comfort them. Let them talk if they are of the age. This will interrupt the stress phase, and your words and comfort will at one point bring them back to safety. In this scenario, you may notice a few hours later that the child is suddenly tired, then wakes up with a little cough, and then goes back to bed, and then he/she is back to normal!

What NOT to do or say:

❌ "Toughen up"

❌ "It's not scary"

❌ Force them, ignore them and let them cry it out

If this is the parental strategy, when the child finally feels safe, the symptoms will be worse, and possible fears are established, creating chronic asthma attacks every time they experience that fearful trigger. Example: When our child was 16 months, and we forced him on Santas lap, every time he sees Santa clause he freaks out and starts coughing!

Now that you know that the root of asthma is unexpected events that are perceived by the child as scary or fearful. From now on, when you are planning new outings, think from the young one's perspective. Consider their normal home environment. Avoid pushing them into situations that may be shocking in any way. Instead, see the world through their eyes and make choices that nurture their safety first and emotional well-being as you consciously integrate them into society.

Empathy and understanding can go a long way in helping you understand, manage and ultimately prevent asthma.

Join our Up Your Vibe Tribe and start learning Germanic Healing Knowledge now, so when that next asthma attack happens (or any other symptom) fear is out the door as you navigate your child's health with a new confidence. #AsthmaAwareness #ChildrensHealth #HealingWisdom #GNMConsciousParenting 🌼

I love a happy ending!

In this picture is my brother Richard and son Michael. Last Halloween Michael was sooo frightened of scary masks, that this year his dad asked him if he wanted to help paint his face!!! Facing the fear in a gentle way and slowly helping him get used to a situation is a very conscious approach to helping Michaels sub-conscious relax and know that he is safe. Just another "best day ever!"