We have many rhythms that fuel our thoughts, movement, energy and actions. Some we are aware of and some we are not. We have the daily rhythm of our organs, the monthly rhythm of our menstrual cycle, lunar cycles. We also have the rhythm of the seasons, our circadian rhythm and our own personal biorhythm.

Our circadian rhythm tells us when is the optimum time for sleep, which for adults is between 10 pm and 6 am to feel rested. If we deviate from this from time to time we are fine, but if we burn the candle at both ends so to speak over a long period  it can impact on our other daily rhythms  and our health in general.  We know when we see a child that is screaming, yawning, rubbing their eyes they need sleep and after being put down for a nap they will wake feeling rested and calmer. Sometimes it’s not so easy to see it in ourselves when we are overtired. We may become irritable, craving sugary foods or lethargic struggling to get through the day.

Our menstrual cycle is a very important rhythm and one we should be taught a lot more about at the time of menarche. A woman could use it to enhance her life instead of being told that it is a hindrance and something that she needs to medicate her way out of. There are days in the month when a woman is at her sharpest, most intuitive, others when she feels like she can take on the world. Then there are days when she needs to be still and look within, to gain knowledge and insight to pave the way forward during her next cycle.

The seasons tell us when we should take it slow be still and when to stretch and begin new projects and when to burst forth with energy. We do not live in summer all the time, we do not eat ice cream all the time, sometimes we have to slow down. During autumn we have to eat vegetables from the soil to nourish our digestive systems after the high phase of summer so we can rest and feel restored for a new year. We have a connection with the land and nature with the rhythms of our planet and the more we listen to these the more we are in tune with ourselves and our needs.

It can be difficult to find the time to tune in to our own internal seasons, but the more we do it the more we will be aware of the rhythms of our children.  I see when my children have had a hectic day, been on a trip or they have eaten too much junk food it takes them a while to recover. There are days when their energy is high so we go outside and have a physical day for they do not want to sit still. Then there are days they want to be still, read a book or cuddle the dogs.
It’s impossible for anyone adult or child to go to school or work every day and give the same optimum output for years. That is the equivalent of living in summer all the time, there is no scheduling for a winter season. Now more than ever we have people wanting that work life balance and opting to work from home, or do a three day week so they don’t end up on stress leave or burnt out. Unfortunately our children do not have the option of a three day week,  which is why so many now are ending up stressed, anxious and some eventually being home schooled. 
 I think it's important to accommodate our family’s physical and emotional needs on a daily basis as much as possible. Obviously there are times when we have to go out even when we don’t feel like it, but if we can listen to our internal rhythms and honour them as much as possible then I think it makes for a happier and healthier person.

Sometimes much courage is needed to follow our own path rather than walking the one that has been worn down by many others before.  There is a comfort in following the path that is flat and well trodden for the chances of stumbling are very slim. However the bumpy trail that we fall on many times and are tested by is normally the one that takes us to the summit giving us the most breathtaking view.
Every now and then people have to take a brave step and perhaps even go it alone to reach for something new, something they feel strongly about and believe in. Its a hundred years since women won the right to vote.  This was not an overnight process it took the best part of a decade, but eventually women were taken seriously and given their right to vote.

Today there is another movement happening all over the western world where women and parents are exercising their right to home educate their children. There are many reasons for this, for some its logistics as more people want to travel and live off grid, for others it’s ethical, personal or there may be issues with anxiety or bullying.  I myself made this decision one year ago. Was it a hard decision to make? No, not really, it felt right.  Was I scared? heck yes. Did I think I couldn’t do it, yes at times, but I realised this was just collective fear.

We are conditioned into thinking we are not capable of educating our own children, even though we have been teaching them since birth. We teach them to walk, talk, and stay safe, right from wrong and self worth. So much is learnt through living and doing that children do not even realise that they are constantly learning every day. I think it’s more in our heads that we have the difficulty with how to teach our children as we only have how we were taught as a reference point, so we keep looking back to that experience. How we were taught is not necessarily how our children need to be taught, so we should in effect toss those text books out the window.
 We live in a different world now where we read and ingest information differently. We are in the age of smart phones, kindles and online learning. We do not need to sit and spend hours copying from a board or a page of text. Rhyming off things does not necessarily mean we know anything. Memorising is not learning or understanding.

Teachers constantly have to find new teaching methods as they encounter more and more variation in children’s thinking and learning patterns. What if one day there are more children left field than mainstream what will the new normal be?  There were literally thousands of children deregistered from schools across the UK last year alone. So clearly something isn’t working.  The education system needs to be radically reformed.

Schools were born out of the need to warehouse children during the industrial revolution and adults were needed for work. This has not changed much as children are still putting in a thirty plus hour week from the age of five in the UK and spend most of it with their heads buried in a book with as little as twenty minutes of outside play per day and only one hour per week of physical education at elementary level.
The best part about being a child and the thing we remember most is having fun and all the games we played.  When kids come home from school tired and a bag full of homework there is no will or inclination to play or create. Their creativity is being stifled.
If we can build bombs and rockets and think about sending people to Mars we can come up with a school system that is versatile, fun and exciting for children. School should not be something that is dreaded, feared, or stressful it should excite a child they should be eager to go and show off their talents.
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The relationship between children and food is a tricky one with all the sensitivities and allergies of today. Children are being born with allergies from the get go, whilst others develop them before their fifth birthday. There has been much speculation that some of the culprits are vaccinations, foods we are eating and toxins we are coming into contact with during pregnancy.

It has also been stated that there is a relationship between autism and food especially as scientists have now found that there is a direct link between the neurological and immune systems. The first protocol for some, especially in the USA is to put children on the autism spectrum on a dairy and wheat free diet to alleviate some of their symptoms for it is believed that autism is an allergy to gluten and casein.

In his book’ Mother and Child’ Jan de Vries a well known naturopath, talks about children who attended his clinic as patients with autism, allergies and hyperactivity.
In the cases of autism he always recommended a diet free of gluten and casein alongside nutritional supplements and homeopathic remedies.
With regards to hyperactivity he talks about many triggers for children such as additives,  preservatives, phosphates and sulphites.
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Additives such as flavouring and colouring have had a bad press for a long time, but seem to have been addressed by some companies.  Certain sweets and candy now have only natural flavours and colours, obviously in response to people’s avoidance of said products.
I know the food our kids eat definitely affects their mood for I have seen my children’s behaviour change just on consuming too much sugar or junk food. 
You can find lists of additives which are deemed harmful by the FDA online. I personally try to avoid giving my children additives as much as possible.

It is not just foods that contain additives. Certain brands of antiseptic cream contain additives that are linked to hyperactivity in children and some toothpaste also contains similar ingredients. So if you are a parent of a child who is highly sensitive then it may be worth looking at these types of products also.

It is strange that some children can eat almost anything without the slightest bit of difference and others seem to react to everything and anything. Whether it is the ingredients that really are the culprits or we are becoming more sensitive to what we are consuming and coming into contact with no one knows for sure. It is not possible to avoid everything that is harmful to our children. The best option is to introduce a healthy diet and be conscious of anything that they have an adverse reaction to.

So many children are being sent for assessment at school for their behaviour. Perhaps some do need therapy or medical help, but for some a change of diet and some nutritional input may be all that is necessary. Diet and nutrition should definitely be looked at in all cases of children struggling on any level. The food we feed our children does play a major role in their overall well being and their diet can certainly compliment any other help or treatment they may be receiving. It is true what they say, that ‘food is medicine.’

Children are our compass, they point us in the right direction. Currently that direction is one of choosing to eat healthy foods, life giving foods, organic foods and accepting nothing less.  If we give them less they do not function optimally. They are showing us the way forward and inadvertently prompting us to re-evaluate our beliefs, eating patterns and lifestyle.

My six year old daughter told me the other day that it didn’t feel right when she ate something that used to be an animal. I asked her if she would prefer not to eat any more meat or fish, she said yes.  I wasn’t surprised as my son also said the same thing a few years earlier when he was five.  I felt proud of my children for listening to their inner voice which was telling them not to consume these products as it was not in alignment with who they are.
I am sure it's not an easy decision to make. For my kids like many others love to eat out at restaurants and enjoy the odd happy meal from a particular establishment.  I don’t think they want to give up the consumption of burgers or hot dogs just the ones that are prepared with animal products.

What does that even mean being in alignment with who they are? It means that they are still dancing to the beat of their own drum and only do what feels good to them. This is something I nurture in them as it's important for their sense of self and spiritual growth. 
It is easier to be in alignment with who we are at a young age as we are not long here on the planet and still quite close to where we came from.  As we get older we twist and bend to conform to societies rules and slowly over time can lose a sense of the person we came here to be.

Vegetarianism is nothing new; people have been choosing not to eat meat or animal products for decades. There seems to be a surge with it now as a large supermarket has just announced they are expanding their vegetarian range to include full vegan choices.  Most people that choose to become vegetarian do so when they come of age, start thinking for themselves or go off to university, but children as young as three now are refusing to eat meat products for they are beginning to make the connection between the food item and the source.
I was so inspired by my children’s choices I decided to have our first meat free Christmas just past and it felt really good.

My kids are also taking more of an interest in what they are eating, where its grown and how it is prepared. They acquire this information from the many media outlets available to them. My nine year old son has elected to cook dinner one night a week. He is really enjoying the process as its encouraging him to try new things and experiment a little with ingredients.

I believe that children born today are more intuitive and tuned in to their true self. This means that their vibration is pure which can lead them to push boundaries, not conform, not eat meat, and have sensitivities to foods and even energy itself. This is because they do not want to accept anything less than what they think is right for them.

A lot of today’s food is intensely farmed, genetically modified, mass produced, and full of additives, pesticides and hormones so it’s no wonder that food related allergies and illnesses are a part of many peoples’ lives regardless of age.
Given that humans are of a higher vibration, we naturally reject chemical injected toxic foods which are of a low vibration. We thrive with high vibrating foods that are locally grown, organic, in season and fresh. There’s surviving and then there’s thriving. Research your food.

Not every parent needs to turn their family into vegetarians, nor are the families that are vegetarian the only ones that are in tune with their true selves.  Each person will find the thing that helps them be their true self. For some this will be clean eating for others it will be growing their own, connecting with nature, meditating, being kind to animals, speaking up for others, human rights or being a caretaker for the planet.

In order to set a good example for our children we must be true to ourselves first.

If you wish to explore some vegetarian recipes for your family follow the link below.
https://naturallyella.com/21-kid-friendly-vegetarian-recipes/