For my family, homeopathy and home schooling are a lifestyle, but I recently realized that I’ve been remiss in combining the two! Homeopathy was a part of our lives long before home schooling. Except for a couple doses of Tylenol my oldest received when she was an infant, my kids have never taken pharmaceutical drugs. From infancy, they’ve all simply taken homeopathic remedies when needed, so I never did much explaining, and they simply took what was offered.
I’ve started to remedy the situation by going into more detail about homeopathy and why homeopathic remedies are superior, in most cases, to pharmaceuticals. I’ve also started teaching them how the body works and why suppressing symptoms is so harmful. Fevers are one of the easiest illnesses to explain.
The body raises the internal temperature in order to kill off the nasty bad guys who are making you sick.
What happens when a medicine lowers the temperature? Would lowering the temperature interfere with the body’s ability to fight off the bad guys?
Explain how homeopathy doesn’t artificially lower body temperature, but helps the body’s natural healing processes. The body is trying to recover, using the fever, and homeopathy helps this happen. Fevers are exercise for the immune system! Even little ones can easily understand this! I remember my youngest son absolutely loving the picture I drew on a white board of his little army of “good guys” fighting off the “bad guys.” I love Dr. Mendelsohn’s book How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor. It has a must read chapter on fevers. (Not an affiliate link.)
Another fun way to start teaching kiddos about homeopathy is teaching some of the remedy characteristics. This is especially practical if there are certain remedies that your family seems to use over and over. You may find your kids start asking for that remedy when they need it!
Some of the remedies are downright amusing to introduce. A couple of my kids have needed Lachesis at one time or another, and they got such a kick out me telling them to “take their snake venom.” I wouldn’t try that with a more sensitive child, but with certain kids that like gross things, you’ll find that homeopathy becomes much more interesting to them. There are many remedies that can be taught this way!
Teaching kids about homeopathy is not only fun, but you’re also equipping your children with the knowledge and skills they’ll use for a lifetime. How many of us wish we grew up with this knowledge?
In closing, I leave you with another fun way to impart comprehension of homeopathy to your little learners. Poetry! You could do an entire unit study on this poem alone!
Belladonna Boogie by John Tomlinson
When you wake up in the morning
And you’re feeling hot and dry
And your skin is red and burning
Then you know what you should try
Yes, it’s the Belladonna Boogie,
That will get you back to school,
It’s the Belladonna Boogie
To guarantee you keep your cool.
If you’re on the beach at Brighton,
Trying to get your body brown,
And your headache is a-throbbing
As the sun goes down,
Go for the Belladonna Boogie
It’s the sunstroke remedy,
Yes, it’s the Belladonna Boogie
Gonna straighten out your holidee!
If your children are just angels,
When they’re feeling fine and well
But when they’re sick they’re devils
And it makes your life just hell
Then give them Belladonna Boogie,
To ease the infant’s pain
A little Belladonna Boogie
Makes the angels want to sing again.
Faces in the darkness,
Spirits in the night,
Monsters in the bedroom.
Visions that give fright,
Do the Belladonna Boogie
Ghostbusters’ Remedy,
Yes, it’s Atropa Belladonna,
Gonna cure the freaky imagery.
If you see your neighbor’s poodle,
and you always feel afraid,
and your pupils start dilating
as you sip your lemonade,
You need a Belladonna Boogie
Then it’s walkies every day,
A potent Belladonna Boogie
Gonna chase your doggie blues away.
When you’re sitting in the barbers
And he’s giving you a trim,
But the draft around your ear-holes
Is enough to do you in,
You need a Belladonna Boogie
Yul Brynner’s remedy
A little Belladonna Boogie
Makes a haircut irritation free.
Can’t do a wee-wee, when the fever’s high,
Screams and shouts at everyone
Spits right in your eye
He’s a quarrelsome boogie,
Always wants to get away
A Belladonna maniac
Will bite if you get in the way.
So–if your pulse is racing hard
As you listen to this song
And your carotid veins are throbbing
Then you’ll have to sing along
And do the Belladonna Boogie
Just to calm and cool you down.
Come on the Belladonna Boogie
Its the wildest remedy in town!
Sapare aude!
Christina
The information contained in this blog is for educational purposes only and not a replacement for medical advice. Any questions or concerns regarding your specific needs should be addressed to your health care provider.
