Emotional regulation and emotional resilience are key concepts to develop awareness and skills around for children of all ages, starting from the very young. Good mental health is every person’s birthright, however unfortunately in Australia our children are facing something of a crisis. Beyond Blue reports that 1 in 7 school aged children were diagnosed with a mental health condition in 2015, and this doesn’t take into account that mental health conditions are notoriously under-reported and under-diagnosed due to a pervasive social stigma around these conditions.

It’s really important for parents, carers, teachers and anyone with young people in their lives to be proactive about encouraging the development of emotional intelligence, and raising awareness around good mental health practices.  

Even though I am passionate about natural and complementary approaches to pediatrics, I am also incredibly inspired and awed by the amazing advances and achievements of western pediatrics and the people that dedicate their lives to working with kids. I recently read two western pediatric memoirs – “Healing Children” by Kurt Newman, and “Learning to Listen” by Barry Brazelton - that I enjoyed so much I thought I would review them both. If these reviews pieque your interest, you might like to read them too.  

By Angie
For those of you who enjoy reading about ways to improve and maintain radiant good health for your children (or other 'little friends' in your life), here is a short-list of my all-time favourite kids health books.

By Angie

In recent years, Western Medicine has been catching up with the wisdom that Traditional Chinese Medicine has been promoting for centuries, namely the fact that our mind and bodies are inextricably linked and that to treat one, we must treat the other. The holistic approach of TCM aims to treat the whole person, not just with acupuncture and herbs, but also with lifestyle changes and an emphasis on emotional, mental and spiritual health. This is in contrast to the reductionist approach of seeing the patient as a collection of symptoms that has characterised Western Medicine until recently.

Mind-body medicine has been slowly gathering momentum in the West for decades, and with Lissa Rankin's new book heading to the New York Times bestseller list, it is possible that we are standing at the brink of radical change. At a time when chronic illness is on a steep rise, this comes not a moment too soon.