Tomorrow’s world is in the hands of today’s children, so the proper upbringing and proper health of a child indirectly affect the future global health. Ayurveda, the science of life, helps everyone to achieve a happy, healthy, and disease-free life. Ayurveda pediatrics, aka Kaumarabhritya, is one among the 8 branches of Ayurveda, which deals with the process of upbringing of a child, child illness & treatment up to the age of 16 years. Kaumarabhritya=Kaumara+Bhritya (Kaumara means child, and Bhritya denotes child caretaker).
Kaumarabhritya gives importance to the physical, mental, and psychological growth of a child. At every stage of development of the child the pattern of disease and its treatment varies accordingly so Ayurveda helps to understand each childs unique constitution and provides individualized care to support the growth and development.
Effective parenting plays a crucial role in shaping child’s future success, parenting in Ayurveda comprises of nurturing children’s physical, mental, emotional & cognitive skills through an integrative approach that balance the body & mind.
Balanced Nutrition
Ayurveda highlights the importance of balanced nutrition according to each child’s constitution &stage of development. Ayurveda recommends proper daily routines that promote stability, balance & peace for children. Ayurvedic dietary guidelines consider the qualities of food & their effects on doshas according to their body constitution, known as vata, pitta, and kapha. These doshas influence our physical characteristics and personality traits. So, vata dosha predominant child benefits from warm, nourishing foods that are grounding & calm, while pitta constitution children thrive on cooling & hydrating foods that balance their fiery nature. Kapha constitution benefits from light, stimulating food that prevents sluggishness and promotes energy. A variety of fresh seasonal & nutrient-rich locally grown foods, including fruits, vegetables, dairy, wholegrain, and protein-rich food, provide essential nutrients and support optimal growth, digestion & immunity.
Consistent sleep schedule, meals at regular time and age appropriate activity which creates a sense of security & predictability. Gentle warm oil massage, soothing baths, brushing before bedtime helps them to prepare a restful sleep by that promotes physical & mental well-being.
Nurturing Parent–Child Emotional Bonding
Importance of emotional bonding between parents & children for creating loving and nurturing environments and positive self-esteem in children. For promoting good bonding between parent & child, spend quality time together, engage in meaningful conversation, and express love & affection through physical touch, basic efforts & all kindness help your children to do things confidently. Even if they make mistakes, let them learn from their own mistakes, which makes them confident in future tasks.
Physical Activity And Stress Reduction
Encourage children to engage in activities and play that support physical health and sensory development, including outdoor activity, yoga, dance, martial arts, and other simple stretching exercises that stimulate senses, strengthen the body, and enhance mental clarity, concentration, and emotional stability. Ayurvedic parenting teaches children mindfulness and stress reduction techniques to promote emotional resilience and mental well-being. Simple mindfulness practices such as simple pranayama technique, deep breathing exercises, and sensory awareness exercises help children manage stress and enhance focus and concentration.
Herbal Remedies
Common childhood ailments can be cured by simple herbal preparations which are safe and without any side effects. the common herbs and spices used in children’s ailments such as haridra, tulasi, adrak, yashtimadhu provides potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds that supports immunity.
In vata imbalance conditions, Ardrak and madu are helpful; in pitta imbalance conditions – dhanyaka and sounf; in kapha imbalance conditions – lavanga & tvak
In Shwas kaas vikaras use of pippali and madu, in mukhapaka aswathachurna and madu, In jwara use of musta and parpataka churna, In pratishyaya use of ardrak ras and tulasi ras with madu.
Suvarnaprashan is a holistic immunization method in Ayurveda that supports Growth &development of children. This should be administered on the day o pushya nakshatra in each month to enhance its effectiveness.
Importance of Tracking Developmental Milestones
Achieving milestones in a typical age shows a child is developing as expected. Some children may reaching them much later than that specific age can be the earliest indication that a child may having developmental delay, in that condition seek a professional help to support the kid for attaining the milestones so checking milestones properly helps parents monitor their child’s development.
Children are confronted by a large number of health challenges such as learning disability, attention difficulty which are very common now days. Learning disabilities are managed by Ayurveda through increasing cognitive abilities, supporting mental clarity and encourage relaxation techniques by creating customized plan which includes Ayurveda therapies, lifestyle modification and dietary advice to support a child’s neurodevelopmental needs.
Environmental Awareness
Parents should teach them to appreciate the beauty of abundance nature, reservation of water with ecological sustainability, importance of cultivation of agricultural crops, so that we can give them hope to build a safe world.
Greta Thunberg, the teenage climate activist, recently addressed the UN on the catastrophic problem of climate change, spoke on behalf of the children of this world & asked the adults, “You have let us down; how dare you rob us of our future?” Let us not rob the future and dreams of millions of children due to preventable causes. Let us take a pledge that they shall always have a tomorrow.”
Conclusion
We need to be prepared to face challenges in the future for children that include obesity, metabolic syndromes, bioterrorism, alcohol, tobacco, substance abuse, climate changes, and pollution. So, through proper ayurvedic care from right after conception to adolescence, we can face and challenge these above-mentioned hurdles.
Ayurveda provides a holistic approach for nurturing children’s health through personalized recommendations for lifestyle practices, herbal remedies, preventive care, and emotional support and empowers families to cultivate health from an early age and lay the foundation for a lifetime of wellness by embracing Ayurvedic principles and practices parents can support children’s in thriving physically emotionally and mentally ensuring that growth into healthy and resilient adult, through Ayurveda children getting good nutritional care healthy routines and care according to developing age in the basic trial for maintaining good health in a child.
