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Some hope their children will be like sponges soaking up the truth and wisdom imparted by their parents. However appealing this philosophy might be, it seldom seems to catch on with their children.

The challenge of adolescence is to balance the right of the parents to feel they are in charge with the need of the adolescent to gain independence.

Parents are the external regulator for kids who cannot regulate themselves.

Hurt people hurt people.

Removing a child from a traumatic environment does not remove the trauma from the child's memory.

There has been an explosion in the prescribing of medication for very young children, particularly preschool and kindergarten boys (Juli Zito , Univ. of Maryland)

Children today are under enormous pressures rarely experienced by their parents or grandparents. Many of today's children are being enticed to grow up too quickly and are encountering challenges for which they are totally unprepared.

Early intervention is always better than crisis management - but it is never too late to do the right thing.

Whining and crying are employed by kids for the purpose of getting something. If it works, then it was worth the effort and will be repeated.

If you (parents) tend to overreact to your child's misbehaviour - your child learns that he can't trust you. Mom, Dad, stay regulated!

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Brain Fact # 13

Food for Thought

 

If you were to inject a blue dye into the blood stream of an animal, tissues of the whole body would turn blue – except the brain and the spinal cord. This is due to the presence of the blood brain barrier which prevents some materials in the blood, such as bacteria, from entering the brain. The blood brain barrier works to maintain a constant environment for the brain while allowing the movement of essential molecules into it.

Two essential molecules that are allowed into the brain are oxygen and glucose. The brain’s energy requirements are far out of proportion to the 2% of the body’s total weight that it represents. The brain receives 15% of the cardiac output, and consumes 20% of total oxygen and nearly 20% of total glucose utilization. This means that  the brain extracts approximately 50% of  the oxygen and 10% of the glucose from the arterial blood. These are incredible number considering the small size of the brain.

Glucose, a form of sugar, is the brain’s source of fuel. Because brain cells cannot store glucose, they depend on the bloodstream to deliver it. Glucose in the blood comes mostly from carbohydrates, that is the starches and sugars that we ingest in the form of grains, fruits and vegetables and  dairy products. These complex carbohydrates are broken down slowly and delivered to the brain. Simple carbohydrates (most processed and sugary foods) break apart quickly and are rapidly released into the bloodstream and they rapidly raise your blood sugar level and give you a quick brain boost. The effect is short-lived however, because the hormone insulin signals cells to pull the excess glucose from the bloodstream and store it for later use. Neurons are unable to store glucose however and so they quickly deplete their fuel.

Our brains need glucose to function and there are different ways to get it with some foods (mostly natural ones) providing a better, slower and more constant source of fuel than others (processed and high sugar foods). This has important implications for brain performance as eating a healthy diet is an important factor in brain functioning.

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“Our daughter was the joy of our life until she turned 13, then all hell broke loose. Rick helped us understand what was happening to her and we made some adjustments that helped us get through it. She’s now in University and doing well.”

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