If a room full of medical professionals had to listen to you for 5 minutes...what would you say? I was thrilled, honored and (terrified) to do just that at a conference this summer. What was the MOST important message I could tell them about kids' health? Would they even care if they didn't work pediatrics? And I'm just a mom from the Midwest, a former elementary teacher, a writer...what did I have to share that could make a difference in their practices? I began to form some ideas...how they should see the child behind every patient...where the real root cause of disease is found... And then I discovered I was speaking against ten doctors, 3 other medical experts with fancy letters after their name, and a guy who had done a TEDx talk (it was a competition called "The Future of Health"). Um. UM! If you've ever heard of impostor syndrome, I had it in spades! Waving the white flag wasn't an option, so I doubled down on dialing in my message, practicing every step on the stage, and making every word count. Because while functional medicine is VERY good at finding root causes, the root OF the root cause is the habits children form in childhood. And it's the choices our kids make TODAY that will cause them to be living their best life or packing doctors' waiting rooms in 20 years! I managed to keep my 16 minutes of ideas (the first time I tried to record and time my speech) under the 5-minute limit, so no buzzer sounded and I wasn't disqualified. [Check!] I didn't forget what I was going to say. [Check!] And I actually ended up winning, without any letters after my name or credentials other than M.O.M., which I actually did put on my nametag as a joke at the conference. But the most important part of the day was the heads nodding in the audience. The smiles of agreement. The collective YES, this is a real issue, and this IS something we can get behind. I continue to collaborate with the new colleagues I met at the conference: they serve you through interviews on The Healthy Parenting Connector https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRC7ErdeT_7ykHmA50f6ZrHFOxW2Ydi6g at Kids Cook Real Food while I serve their communities by making it easier for their child patients to stick with the diets they need to be on (by getting them involved with their food). How can I help YOUR family achieve your greatest health, starting with the habits your children form in childhood in the kitchen? You can find me right here: https://kidscookrealfood.com
