I remember almost a decade ago before nodding off to sleep I asked a simple question ‘If a child is in their physical body for the first 7 years of life, what comes next… after the physical body?’ I drifted off with an open and curious mind and woke in what seemed like minutes later. I sat upright, reached for my paper and pen, switched on my bedside table light and began writing down everything being said over and over again in my head. When I stopped writing, I immediately drifted back to sleep to awake in the morning with a few ‘Ah ha’ moments!
I had written that night about three ‘cycles’—physical, chemical and emotional. I used to wonder why they, physical (move), chemical (eat) and emotional (think), ran off my tongue so well in that order until I noticed that indeed there was an order. I’ve always imagined the physical, chemical and emotional selves like the points of a triangle. And as we journey through the course of life the triangle rotates so a different aspect of our self is pointing forward.
The other two are still present, quietly providing input in the back ground … doing their ‘thing’ until it is their time to shine. Every seven years the triangle rotates one ‘click’ … transitioning from one to another.
I feel you’ll enjoy reading what I wrote that night I went to bed and asked ‘what comes next?’ and you may even crack a smile at the logic behind it. After looking at what I wrote the next question I asked was ‘What signifies these changes?’ As a mum sitting in the alternate approach to health I looked to the body and life for those answers. I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
Here’s what I wrote:
0-7: physical = growth and neuronal development.
7-14: chemical = puberty.
14-21: emotional = dependence vs independence tussle.
21-28: physical = back to the gym to get buffed and shined to go get a mate.
28-35: chemical = reproduction … ‘my clock is running out of time’; a fallacy in itself.
35-42: emotional = midlife crises.
42-49: physical = body loosing shape need to head back to the gym to get fit and loose the baby flab.
49-56: chemical = menopause and manopause.
56-63: emotional = retirement where to now, have I lived and done what I wanted to do.
63-70: physical = need to keep moving or ‘old age’ will set in.
70-77: chemical = old age sets in.
77-84: emotional = independent vs dependant tussle, house or retirement home.
84-91: physical = transition to death.
There are many examples I can use to demonstrate each of these stages; however, I feel that would all form a book in itself and cover a day of speaking! However, for the purpose of making a significant point I would like to choose the first transition a child goes through between 0-7 and 7-14 years and what it signifies is taking place, in the hope that you too will see how remarkable the body truly is.
Here we go …
Let’s say your child has hit the all important transition age, a time of great celebration as the body undertakes it’s first ‘click’ of rotation and begins to establish a different set of challenges. A knowing that this transition is underway is the significance of a wobbly (wibbly as our kids called it) tooth! At the age of 6.5 years to 7.5 years children are beginning to lose their baby teeth. Prior to these changes the adult tooth undertakes a tremendous amount of scissoring—up and down—as it begins to slowly but purposefully push its way up and push the baby tooth out. This is the same scissoring action used when a baby tooth is scissoring up and down and pushing through for the first time. As the teeth begin their scissoring action, generally over the months prior there are changes in the cranium. The teeth coming through are bigger and require more space. As the whole cranium expands for the new ‘bigger’ teeth to fit there are subtle changes in the pituitary gland, the master hormone gland of the body which, of course, instigates the beginning of the next stage—chemicals and puberty. That is a body that knows what it is doing. One ‘click’ of the triangle and your child is now being ‘driven’ by another aspect of themselves: their chemical body. Remember, the physical and the emotional are present, however they quietly work together in the background.
This is an important time to make sure your child has a balanced nerve system. This is because your child’s cranium (and your own) houses the brain and coming off of the brain is the spinal cord and together they form the central nerve system which is of utmost importance for the child’s future growth, development and expression of health. As the cranium makes room for the adult teeth to settle in to their newfound home it too marks a significant transition in how the child sees and interacts with their world. The child subtly begins to seek more of an understanding about the ‘self’.
Their mind slowly but surely becomes more abstract, seeing themselves for the first time as separate to others. Caution begins to be demonstrated and fear can start to limit certain behaviour. You will notice children sitting for longer periods of time; more pensive in thought. What a well guided body! We found with our children that they began to ask ‘how’ questions as opposed to ‘why’ questions.
We had questions asked about how rain forms, how did the plants get here, how do the trees grow, how did humans develop as well as many other wonderful ‘how’ questions. These were purposefully thought out questions; fascinating to witness. You could almost see the cognitive wheels going round in their head!
As each of our children has transitioned into their adult teeth we have also observed changes in their gait (walk). There is a direct relationship between the cranium, the hips, knees, ankles and gait. Changes in the cranium will lead to changes in posture and therefore how a child walks. Ankles become unstable and the hips ‘lock’ in an attempt to give the body support and stability. We noticed both our boys altered the way they ran when they entered in the 7-9 year age range. Once great runners they, almost overnight, became labored in running style. It was really interesting to observe. However, more importantly, we had them note their changes so they could be empowered by its progress.
I feel as children transition from the 0-7-year age group to the 7-14-year age group we need to pause and celebrate. So many wonderful changes are occurring that if we don’t stop to ‘see’ and observe them we miss it in a timeframe that feels as quick as missing that first step. This is such an important age as their teeth set the stage for future cellular, tissue and organ health. To support your child’s changes it’s wise to choose the health approach you are aligned to, sit comfortably in it and find health advocates who also ‘sit there’ to support you in the choices you are making for your children…in a natural way.
GOOD TO SHARE? Since 1990 Drs Randall & Sarah Farrant have been global mentors to thousands of individuals, families, health professionals, celebrities and sporting personalities. They have facilitated and inspired people to live an alternate and vitalistic life.
