Gentle Healing for Baby and Child: A Parent's Guide to Child-Friendly Herbs and Other Natural Remedies for Common Ailments and Injuries [Paperback]

Andrea Candee (Author), David Andrusia (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

Give your child the gift of natural health. A master herbalist offers a timely guide for effectively treating children's maladies naturally, and safely. When your children are sick or injured, you want them to feel better, fast. Although in some cases there is no substitute for traditional medical care, prescription drugs are not always the best answer. Countless parents are discovering that some alternative health therapies for their children can often be more effective, and safer. Now, a master herbalist (and mother of two) with more than twenty-five years of experience shares her natural approach to wellness. In this practical book, you'll learn: how a banana can remove a splinter; which herbs help reduce fever; how an onion helps both bruises and earaches; why peppermint tea relieves both headaches and stomachaches; how gargling with lemon juice and table salt can ease a sore throat; why ginger root can ease motion sickness;...and many other intelligent uses of foods and therapeutic plants, nature's own medicine, to alleviate discomforts. Gentle Healing for Baby and Child also stresses an approach that helps parents teach children the value of preventing illness, not just treating it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Even if you're a parent who prefers the straight and narrow of allopathic medicine, you'll find numerous tricks for soothing your little one in Gentle Healing for Baby and Child. From minor issues like splinters or a skinned knee to a nighttime cough that your prescribed medicine just isn't relieving, master herbalist Andrea Candee offers simple, safe remedies made from ingredients that you'll probably find in your kitchen.

Most chapters are focused on either a specific part of the body (skin, respiratory system, digestive system) or an age group (from infants to teenagers). You may be tempted to head directly to the chapters of most interest to you, but don't skip over "Dosing Guidelines." As with any medication, herbs must be taken properly in order to be safe, and following the simple charts of dosage frequency according to age and weight is an easy way to prevent problems. You'll also find suggestions here for getting some of those hot, pungent herbs down the hatch--it may take more than "a spoonful of sugar" to get your child to ingest doses of cayenne and garlic.

Some items show up repeatedly in Candee's book. Onions, garlic, honey, lemons, and salt are all commonly available and inexpensive, and can help with everything from sore throats (warm salt and lemon gargle) to an ear infection (onion poultice directly on the ear). Garlic, "nature's antibiotic," can take care of colds, parasites, and "anything about to become a something!" Honey works to soothe skin and the respiratory system. (Note that honey shouldn't be given orally to an infant; their immature immune systems might have difficulty fending off any botulism spores that might be present.)

Offering new and friendly ammunition for a parent's arsenal of healing techniques, Gentle Healing for Baby and Child is an excellent addition to the family first aid kit and a fantastic way to avoid overreliance on prescription antibiotics. --Jill Lightner

About the Author

Andrea Candee is a master herbalist specialising in medicinal herbs, with a consultation practice in Westchester County, New York. She lectures at the New York Botanical Garden and throughout the country on how to use 'nature's pharmacy' for regaining health and maintaining wellness. She consults with physicians and other helath-care practitioners, designing protocols of botanical medicine for their patients. She has been featured in many major publications, including Self and New Woman, and has made numerous telvision and radio appearances.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067103622X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671036225
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,766,567 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive guide for parents looking for an alternatives, October 26, 2002

By 

Melanie Wilson "mongoliamel" (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Gentle Healing for Baby and Child: A Parent's Guide to Child-Friendly Herbs and Other Natural Remedies for Common Ailments and Injuries (Paperback)

Written by a Master Herbalist who has worked with physicians and in her own private practice for the past 25 years, Gentle Healing for Baby and Child is the definitive guide for parents looking for an alternative to common treatments for everyday problems. In an accessible format, this guide includes solutions to ailments that occur both inside and outside the body. Got acne? Try an herbal detoxification, an herbal steam, or some Herbal Zinc Zapper. The Zapper recipe contains a mixture of zinc oxide, peppermint, and comfrey. Got a stressed out teen? Dose him with some Honegar - a mixture of honey and vinegar - to restore his chemical balance. In this book, the authors explain that the "floral nectars that comprise honey contain B vitamins and minerals which are calming to the nervous system." While you've got the honey jar out, don't forget to layer it over your little one's skinned knee before applying a bandage. Honey contains natural "anti-microbial properties."

Also included are sections that address subjects such as "Healing Imagery," as well as instructions for dosing herbs, where to find a local natural health practitioner, how to deal with toxicity, and even testing for food reactions. Herbalist Candee has created a helpful, easy to use guide to natural healing for parents. --Reviewed by Michelle Smith

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Natural Remedies for Parents..or Anyone!, June 7, 2001

By 

Susie Mantell (Westchester, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gentle Healing for Baby and Child: A Parent's Guide to Child-Friendly Herbs and Other Natural Remedies for Common Ailments and Injuries (Paperback)

This book is a resource to revisit again and again. I received "Gentle Healing for Baby and Child" as a gift, and was delighted to discover that it's chock-full of suggestions with applications for all family members. The authors have compiled a comprehensive, (but clear and succinct!) collection of natural remedies, illustrations and anecdotes. Introducing a wide range of herbal therapies for day-to-day problems as well as chronic conditions that sometimes can be addressed naturally, Candee does not eschew the value and necessity of skilled, conventional medical care when appropriate. She is a Master Herbalist, experienced and well-versed, and she speaks nationally on her subject, but she also appears to work comfortably within both conventional medical and holistic communities, embracing "the best of what works." Her own parenting experiences are shared in a friendly, comforting way and in clear, simple language. She covers a lot of territory, and often suggests more than one option. In my own work, facilitating mind/body stress-management, I meet concerned parents all around the country beginning to explore integrative therapies and become as informed as possible, to meet their children's health needs, and their own. So I was especially pleased to see that Candee pays considerable attention to the roles of stress-reduction, empowering children, emotional support and compassionate care, with what she refers to as "an educated heart." From acne and allergies...to pneumonia and vaccinations, "Gentle Healing for Baby and Child" allows room for individual philosophies and personal preferences as Candee offers her own expertise with a light, gentle touch. There are many roads to Rome. "Gentle Healing for Baby and Child," is a thoughtful tool for parents, or anyone at all, to include in their decision-making for optimal health and wellness, extremely well-organized, and has an unusually detailed table of contents, as well as a comprehensive index for quick searching.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Reference!, February 21, 2002

By 

Dianne (Chelsea, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gentle Healing for Baby and Child: A Parent's Guide to Child-Friendly Herbs and Other Natural Remedies for Common Ailments and Injuries (Paperback)

As a fairly young herbalist myself, i am very pleased with all the informative and varied rememdies suggested in this book. It is very easy to reference and very user friendly; nothing complicated. Andrea Candee offers a gentle manner in her representation of suggested rememdies. I have bought three extra copies to give as baby shower gifts! It's really nice to see such a variation of alternative rememdies/treatment talked about in this book, such as homeopathic, chiropractic, essential oils, onion poultices, and of course herbal preparations. It's nice to be able to make your own decision on a few different suggestions in many cases. It has been a great reference book for myself and other friends with babies as well. I highly recommend this book!!