What is Holistic Parenting?

Many of today’s parents are seeking natural remedies and a holistic lifestyle for themselves and their families in an effort to attain optimal health and to live a greener life. Holistic parenting is about understanding how our choices are connected. Being conscious of our choices enables us to think on a larger scale and to do what is best for our families both in the short term and the long term.

Although holistic parenting can take many routes and result in a wide variety of choices, there are some simple things every parent can to do to begin their journey. Here are six steps to discovering holistic parenting:

· Be Informed. Being informed in all of your parenting and health choices is a cornerstone of whole living. Investigate your options educate yourself on the benefits as well as the risks of your parenting, healthcare, and lifestyle choices.
· Cultivate Trust. Living holistically starts with a shift in your perspective away from fear and uncertainty and toward trust in yourself, your body, and nature’s healing power. Cultivating this trust is challenging but uncovering it is ultimately a source of empowerment.
· Tune Into Your Mother (or Father) Wisdom. Deep within yourself lies your inner wisdom and intuition, as well as your spiritual voice. What feels right to you may not be the most traveled path but often will best serve your family.
· Go Natural. The preponderance of chemicals in our food, homes, and environment is wreaking havoc on our health. We need to look for safe, non-toxic products to care for our homes, and to eliminate artificial ingredients, preservatives, and pesticides from our food.
· Live Lightly on the Earth. Living holistically means recognizing the interconnectedness of our choices. Tread lightly by supporting industries that nurture the earth (such as organic farming), incorporating green practices into your life (such as recycling), and giving back of yourself through volunteer work.
· Find Support. Creating and interacting with others who share similar philosophies is empowering and will help you to find the tools you need to grow a healthy family. What’s more, social support itself is health creating. Recent studies show that being socially connected to others can improve your physical health and is linked to lower mortality rates. .

May your parenting journey be a healthy one!