Kid's Corner
Should my child receive chiropractic care?
I receive questions from parents all the time about chiropractic care for their children. Here are some common ones I’ve heard over the years:
- How early can they be adjusted?
- Is chiropractic safe for kids?
- Aren’t their bones still soft?
- Why do they need adjustments?
- What if they cry?
- How can we afford it?
I completely understand these concerns for parents who are considering chiropractic care for their child even if they’re receiving chiropractic care for themselves. Children are an amazing gift and are special in so many ways. As a parent of two children myself, I understand the urge to become overprotective and shelter our kids from unknown experiences.
But here’s the truth: if chiropractic care is necessary for you to achieve long-lasting health and fulfillment in your life as an adult, then it’s even more necessary for your child. Children have the same nervous system that controls and coordinates all of their body’s functions just as you do. And, just like you, children can get vertebral subluxations that will interfere with them living their life to their fullest potential. The only difference between you and your child is that your child has an entire lifetime ahead of them for these subluxations to permanently complicate their health.
I understand how important your child’s health is to you as a parent. Yet chiropractic care is completely safe and beneficial. Look at your own experiences with chiropractic care! It may seem frightening at first, and I understand that you want to protect your child, but it is just as important for them to see a chiropractor as it is for you. Believe me, I want what’s best for them too. I assure you that bringing your child to Scherping Chiropractic is the best way to protect their health and ensure they’re free to live the life they want.
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When should my child receive chiropractic care?
This is another question I receive all the time. I completely understand that parents want to make sure their kids are safe and grow up as healthy as possible. In fact, that’s all the more reason to ensure your child receives chiropractic care from as early of an age as physically possible. Ideally, this is immediately after birth.
Let me explain. Vertebral subluxations can occur at any time. It’s very possible that your child’s first subluxation occurred at his/her birth. I’m not saying this to scare you. Quite the opposite. Subluxations are caused by anything and everything in our daily lives. Giving birth is a tremendous and miraculous event and as such, there are many changes that occur for the mother and the baby. As such, I want to ensure that these changes are for the betterment of all parties involved. That’s why it’s so important to have your newborn receive chiropractic as soon after birth as possible.
By correcting subluxations at an early age, your baby can continue to grow and develop into a healthy, fully functioning child and adult. The longer a subluxation exists in the body, the greater the damage and the longer your child’s body will learn to grow in the way of the subluxation (i.e., grow in the wrong way). I’ve had many patients come into my chiropractic office for the first time as adults who would have had a far easier time regaining their health (and be healthier overall) if they had received chiropractic care at an earlier age.
Chiropractic care is completely safe for babies and children alike. I am professionally trained and experienced in adjusting babies. I did it with my own children right after they were both born, and they remain healthy and free of any major health challenges to this day.
If you’re still worried about how soon your child should receive chiropractic care, feel free to give me a call at (763) 205-9624 or email me here, and I’ll be happy to answer any of your questions.
Is taking my child to Scherping Chiropractic worth the effort?
Children make great patients! Their energy, enthusiasm, and optimism are a great match with chiropractic care. At Scherping Chiropractic, I make it a priority for my patients to receive a hopeful and encouraging outlook on life as they face their health challenges, and children are no exception.
While your child might be nervous at the first or second time at Scherping Chiropractic, it’s important to remember they’ll become used to the visits over time just as they do with any new experience.
Adjusting children is not difficult. In fact, in most cases, a child’s spine is much easier to adjust than an adult’s. They have not had the long-standing subluxations that occurs over decades, and their muscles are usually not as tense, so they’re generally more relaxed than adults.
Not only are children easier to adjust, but also, in most cases, they hold their adjustments for longer periods of time, and their chiropractic plans are almost always significantly shorter than the average adult. However, with the falls, the accidents, and the generally active lives most children lead, regular check-ups are still vital as they grow up.
What if my child cries?
Chiropractic adjustments are generally painless. Children can sometimes be reluctant on the first visit or two. Yet in my 25 years of experience, children rarely hesitate to get on the chiropractic table to be adjusted, especially when they see that visiting Scherping Chiropractic is a family event.
When children see Mom, Dad and their sibling(s) getting adjusted, they are usually more than willing to be checked for subluxations too. I’m making a commitment to you and your family that I will work with you so that your children will become accustomed to their chiropractic adjustments. In fact, in a very short period of time, most of my young patients really look forward to their regular chiropractic visits with Dr. Mark!
I make sure that the children that are reluctant at first are gently and encouragingly told why their adjustments are important. Treating children with respect and understanding is just as important as treating adults the same way. If we’re excited about what’s happening, then they will be too.
Chiropractic adjustments are vital to ensure children’s good health. While sometimes children may shed a few tears on their first visit because they’re afraid of the unknown, the health benefits your precious little ones receive through chiropractic care are well worth the effort.
It's also easier for children who have grown up receiving chiropractic care from a young age. If you’re worried about how your child might react on their first chiropractic visit, I’d encourage you to consider bringing them to Scherping Chiropractic as close to infancy as possible in order to accustom them to experience. Once children think of their visits to the chiropractor as a regular part of their lives, they’re not the least bit hesitant to climb onto the adjusting table after their parents.
Is chiropractic care important for my child?
Yes! It might be tempting to simply have your child come along to your chiropractic appointment and get adjusted as long as they’re there. Yet your child’s chiropractic care is vital to their health and an absolute necessity to their overall development and for them to actually reach their full potential in every area of their lives.
Here at Scherping Chiropractic, I have created a Family Plan that makes it affordable for your family to receive the care you need. This plan is flexible for each family’s situation and is an excellent way to receive quality care for everyone in your family while saving money as you avoid individual treatment payments. Not only that, but you’ll receive the peace of mind that comes only from knowing that you have provided your children with the best possible chance for them to perform at their best in all they do.
Welcome back to health!
Pregnancy
How does chiropractic care affect my pregnancy?
During pregnancy, there are many changes within a woman’s body. Here are just a few of them:
- Rapid increase/decrease in weight
- Changes in posture
- Changes in sleep patterns & positions
- Altered appetite and eating habits
- Loosening of body tissue to allow for child growth/labor
- Flat feet/pronation due to weight gain/loose tissue
- Changes in emotional/hormonal levels
While all of these symptoms (and more) are completely normal during pregnancy, they’re also all potential causes of subluxations. These changes and readjustments that are already happening in your body are ample opportunities for the spine to come out of alignment and either worsen these symptoms or add to the list of complications during pregnancy. These subluxations don’t just affect you as the expecting mother either – they affect your unborn baby as well.
In order for your baby to be healthy, your nervous system needs to be healthy and fully functioning as well during your pregnancy.
Studies have shown that women who have consistent chiropractic care throughout their pregnancies have shorter and less painful labors with fewer complications and fewer interventions from doctors and medication.
Of course, I want to reassure you that techniques are very different for pregnant women than for adults without child. Chiropractors are specially trained in this area to ensure you and your baby remain safe, healthy, and receive the best possible care throughout your pregnancy.
By receiving regular chiropractic care during this time of many changes, you minimize your subluxations before, during and after your pregnancy which allows you, your husband, and your new baby every possible advantage for health.
Schedule a FREE consultation with me today to learn more about how I can assist you and your baby in during your pregnancy!
vaccines
What vaccines do schools require for my child?
This is a tricky topic for many parents. The decision of whether or not to vaccinate your child is not easy, especially with outside pressure from social media, hospitals, family, and other parents. I want you to know that I respect whatever decision you make as a parent, but I also feel like it is my responsibility as a doctor to make sure you have all the resources possible to make an informed decision for what’s best for your child.
If you decide that you do not want to vaccinate your child(ren) due to the potential risks and the fact that there’s mercury within many shot vials in order to preserve the vaccine, I want you to know that there are ways for them to still attend childcare and/or school. At many school orientations in the Fall, the school nurse will tell the assembled parents that the state law requires all students to have their shots up to date before attending school.
If you’re on the fence about vaccinations, this might be unnerving and intimidating to hear. You want to know the truth? The truth is that you as a parent have the “Conscientious Exemption Right” to not have your child(ren) vaccinated and still have them attend public school and/or childcare. This is what I did for my son and daughter, and they’re both successful college graduates now.
In essence, the Conscientious Exemption Right states: “No student is required to have an immunization which is contrary to the conscientiously held beliefs of his/her parent or guardian. To receive this exemption, a parent or legal guardian must complete and sign one of the following documents and have it notarized.”
If you would like to read the document for yourself (which I highly encourage), you can find it stated in Minnesota Statutes, 121A.15, subsection 3 of Health Standards; Immunizations; and School Children at https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/121A.15.
To make things as easy as possible for you, I've provided all the paperwork to complete the Conscientious Exemption Right on each of the forms below. Simply choose the form appropriate to your child's situation, and they’ll be set to attend public school and/or childcare along with every other child.