These early formative years are crucial developmentally as the foundation of the first 18 months is built on further in the next 18.
The circle of Life...
The foundations for life are laid down in the first 3 years.
The foundations for the first 3 years are laid in the first 3 months.
The foundations for the first 3 months are laid in the first 3 weeks.
Birth is the foundation for the first 3 weeks.
Pregnancy is the foundation for birth.
The foundation for life in the womb is laid down in the health of the parents before conception.
The foundation for the health of the parents is the first 3 years of their life!
And so life goes on and on...!!!
This section is concerned with the early life and what we can do to give our children the best foundation for health and longevity.
When we see new life as unfolding before it is fully expressed in the body, we begin to understand the importance of the early foundations and we look to prevention, rather than seeking help when problems occur
Health can be discovered at any stage of life, but early help presents the greatest opportunity to build the house on a stable foundation.
Children develop rapidly in their first seven and especially first three years.
There are many developmental challenges along the way.
With the developmental challenges can come health challenges and natural medicine is a gentle way to support them through these.
In childhood development sensory integration is the foundation. What babies sense and how their nervous system interprets this input in their early weeks is so important to development.
Difficulties in early life like bonding or feeding issues, excessive crying, irritability or poor sleep patterns can all contribute to future health challenges.
A mass of sensory "data" is filtered, processed and integrated by the brain. Sensory integration is a complex but normal process occurring constantly throughout life, but is particularly active in children as they develop rapidly in their early years.
Osteopaths emphasise the importance of the "sensory side" of the nervous system because not only is sensory integration the foundation from which learning arises, but it is also a foundation for health (or if there are problems for disease).
Treatment helps the nervous system to function optimally and therefore to make better sense of what it senses as well as resolving sometimes deeply held tension patterns!
The function of the nervous system is so intimately connected with that of the hormonal system that by settling it treatment promotes more release of the "feel good" hormones like oxytocin and less of the "stress" hormones like adrenalin.
During development the hormonal balance affects the way neural connections are made in the developing nervous system. A system under constant stress contributed to by unresolved patterns of body tension will develop differently from a system predominantly experiencing peace, love, security and relaxation in a body free from tension patterns.
The hormonal and nervous systems are important in the quality and quantity of sleep. The sleep "pattern" is important throughout life and especially during childhood. If a child does not sleep well or does not get enough sleep, development, social interaction and learning may suffer significantly and noticeably.
Total Integration of Nervous System functions
Aspects of nervous system development are not separate, just as its more central or more peripheral parts cannot really be considered separately (other than for the purposes of classification for study). As a baby learns to sit, stand, walk, navigate its surroundings and handle objects, the neural pathways begin to be mapped and "patterned" between the brain (central nervous system) and body (peripheral nervous system). Information "highways" are built, as are the minor roads and smaller byways. Re-routing remains possible though and new pathways can be laid down at any time in response to learning or development of new skills.
Integrating sensations are therefore basic prerequisites for successful academic learning, because it means that children can:
sit still
shift and maintain attention appropriately
make sense of what they see and hear
develop a preferred hand
develop fine and gross motor skills to a good enough degree, for example, to control a pencil
Children need to be posturally stable and emotionally secure so that they can listen to instructions and concentrate.
As Cranial Osteopathy settles and calms the nervous system it induces moments of often profound stillness out of which a better balance is found naturally and effortlessly from deep within. Treatment is not about physical manipulation of the body but about the effects of touch on the physiology.
Oteopaths postulate that there is a "two-way" relationship between the motility/organisation/function of the nervous system and the mechanical/postural balance/alignment of the body.
"The manipulation of bones, ligaments and muscles has no therapeutic value in itself...In Osteopathy. physical manipulation is converted into its physiological equivalent. It may be by acceleration or inhibition, thermally, or electrically but the method nearest to normal is the mechanical because it operates without exhaustion, while stimulating and arousing the native forces of the organism."
J M Littlejohn, Osteopathic Principles
I believe that early treatment in the early years is potentially life changing! Don't hesitate to give your child the benefit of Osteopathic care in their formative years.
The evidence for the benefit of early Osteopathic help is anecdotal rather than scientifically validated.
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