Keesha's Blog
August 2007

Greetings to all and many thoughts of sunshine and beauty as I look outside at this glorious summer day! Enjoy your infusions of Vitamin D while you can and get outside daily!

As we get closer to September I am reminded daily by my children that it’s almost time to return to school. Lately there has been a lot of published research in the medical world about developing brains and children. It’s pretty clear that television is not the tool for healthy development it was hoped to be in the 1950s! The average time the TV is on in U.S. households is a whopping 7 hours. Now we also have ipods, DVD players, and Xboxes. The number of DVDs and VHS tapes rented each year is 6 million, while only 3 million books are being checked out of libraries. The typical American child watches TV 1680 minutes a week. This actually calculates out to 900 hours in school and 1500 hours in front of the TV each year. My kids tell me that at the end of the school year they spend a fair amount of time watching movies in school too! By the time a child finishes elementary school he witnesses 8000 murders and 20,000 commercials. The bottom line is, when a child is watching any kind of screen, he or she is not receiving feedback or socializing with real people and he or she is receiving millions of messages that increase the demand for material possessions.

The solution? Turn off all screens, get outside, and learn how to live according to the rhythms of your planet and your body. There are many studies that show positive results in dyslexic and hyperactive children receiving Omega-3 oils. One was recently published out of Oxford:

The study included 41 children with dyslexia as well as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). The children were given either Omega-3 fatty acids or placebo. Twenty-two children received a combination product consisting of Omega-3 and Omega-6 oils with vitamin E added, while the remainder received a placebo. While the study lasted just 12 weeks, the results were nevertheless quite remarkable. Immediately following the conclusion of the study the children receiving the essential fatty acids demonstrated significant improvement in ADHD symptoms such as learning difficulties, anxiety and hyperactivity.

It has been estimated that in many public schools as many as 25% of the students are taking stimulant drugs for the so-called "treatment" of ADHD. There is now significant concern about the long term consequences of these medications as well as the more immediate side effects including growth suppression, hyperactivity, confusion, weight loss, insomnia, and tics. It is therefore critically important that research such as that noted above become part of the public awareness, but without the powerful influence of a pharmaceutical advertising budget, it unlikely to do so.

He who teaches me for a day is my father for life- Chinese Proverb

Spend five minutes at the beginning of each day remembering we all want the same things (to be happy and be loved) and we are all connected to one another- Dalai Lama

Be kind and gentle to your children, both in private and in public- The Upanishads