My son, Shahar (which means Dawn in Hebrew), receives acupuncture since the age of 4 months.
Long before I got married, I knew that my children will receive Chinese Medicine sessions. Being the preventing medicine that it is, it seems only right to begin working on one’s health at a very young age.
As I am very fond of combining the best of 2 worlds, we combine between Western medicine and Chinese Medicine- we have very good practitioners, and whether we go for a routine session or an S.O.S session, this combo works well.
Or so I thought until recently… It’s been 2 weeks now that I’ve been feeling that my faith is a bit shaky.

Sick boy
Shahar is sick every 2 months. More or less.
I’m not very updated about other kids, maybe I should be, but I feel that it’s a lot.
Every parent knows what it means to have a sick child- a not very happy kid, broken nights, not very good working days…
90% of the times we used acupuncture, it was the turning point of the illness. After the session our boy would be on the right track to recovery. It’s seems as though the illness is rushing to leave the body.
Truth should be told- it’s pretty amazing.

60 seconds about Chinese Medicine and children
Those who practice and know Chinese Medicine know that there’s no magic here.
Children react dramatically to many things- they will develop a high temperature very quickly, and in the same speed it will calm down as if nothing happened.
Children are very much the Wood element at this point in their lives- it’s all about growing in every aspect and with much power.
We should also consider that according to the Yin Yang theory, which basically says everything in life is relative, children are very Yang in comparison to adults.
And Yang they are- almost everything is translated to heat, they are so active that they can make young parents feel very old…  Children react to the experiences they go through very dramatically and quite quickly.
That is why they will react to acupuncture (and Chinese herbs) dramatically and quickly, we will see a change within a short time after the acupuncture session.

The faith is shaking
A person should be sick every now and then.
This is how the immune system will become strong. One of the beautiful things in acupuncture is that it helps the body in it’s way and works with that person’s Qi, unlike medication which does the job for you.
There’s no doubt in my mind that children should be sick from time to time, this is how they learn to deal with issues, and I am sure that they sometimes develop an illness which is a result of a change in their lives.
But being sick every 2 months or so?
We really are investing in our boy’s health, we believe that it is very important to work on it from the start to help him have a healthy life in the future- we’re not rushing into any decision until we had enough time to think about it (for example- we took our time with immunizations, we gave some and kept away from others), we don’t give our boy too much of certain products that might present a problem to his health (such as diary products. We give him dairy products twice a week, and not too much, otherwise his asthma is getting out of hand), we call our doctor whenever we feel we should, and we do the same with his practitioner.
So how come my boy is sick every 2 months??

Possibility #1
To each his own weakness and strength.
We know the rule in Chinese Medicine- we should look at the individual and look at the symptoms in the context of the person, there’s a wider picture which should be considered. That’s why we ask so many questions, we have the birth date which gives us a look at the points of strength and the weaknesses that the patient has (those who practice Stems and Branches know what I’m talking about), and the mixture of all that gives us the understanding of the patient’s state- both mentally and physically.
So there’s really no point in comparing Shahar to other children. One thing can be very good for Shahar but terrible to another child and vice versa.
It is possible that without acupuncture, Shahar wouldn’t be as strong as he is now.

Possibility #2
It is possible that it’s not necessary.
The only way to find out is to stop with the acupuncture altogether and see what happens.
Nothing much to explain here, reality will show us whether this is the way to go or not.

So now what?
I know that Chinese Medicine works, I saw it work on my family and on myself countless times.
I also hear more and more stories from people around me about the magic of Chinese Medicine in various fields- fertility, back pain, tennis elbow, insomnia, problems with the period and so on.
This is why it will continue to be a vital part of my son’s health.

Maybe it’s good to stop every now and then and ask questions.
My doubts arise not because I don’t believe or think it’s a waste of time. They come up because I am the mother here and it is my job to ask, to make sure that my son gets what he needs, what is good for him.
It’s my job to doubt in order to make things better. We do it all the time with the food that our children eat, with the diapers they use, with the soap we use in the bath, so why not do the same when it comes to their health?

Over to you
If you share my thoughts, if you have additional thoughts, if you are a practitioner and can help me understand the situation better- leave a comment.