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Mission:As parents, community, and society, putting kids first ensures our nation's and world's health. KidsFirst4Ever's mission is to educate and inform parents on four fundamental principles for the growth and development of our children.
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The 4 in KidsFirst4Ever stands for the four guiding principles of our children's development: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. These principles must be focused on from infancy and nurtured throughout our children's lives.
How do these principles fit into building a better future for our nation?
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Our children's physical health is essential for ensuring they grow up to be strong and healthy. Our passion is ensuring kids grow and develop as physically healthy as possible. Avoiding toxins and getting real food and proper nutrients are vital for physical health. Love, healthy touch, and bodywork are essential for ensuring our children are as physically healthy as possible. No child thrives when ignored, left alone, or without hugs, love, and nurture.
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Emotionally, growing up, we were always told, "You are okay." DeeDee saw first-hand how deadly the effect of those three words truly can be. Her sister was heavily impacted by this mentality. She was always told that she was okay when she wasn't. This taught her that when she wasn't okay that she needed to be okay. Emotionally unstable, she turned to drugs to self-medicate to "fix" her problems. This was her way of feeling okay. Dr. Paul saw this pattern repeated in some of his own children. There can be a sense of abandonment when your parent tells you that you are okay, but you don't feel okay! We need to pay attention to what our children feel emotionally to raise them healthily. We need to encourage our children to communicate their feelings, and we as parents need to provide a safe environment for them to do so. Our children need to know that they are loved and cared for unconditionally.
Mentally, mental health is critical to our youth as they grow and develop. They are mentally being affected by everyone and everything in their world. If these experiences are negative, they can challenge our children’s mental wellness. Whether the challenge they are faced with is anxiety, depression, self-image or the desire to live, coaching supports parents in supporting their child and gives the child a safe place to talk and share where they won't feel judged or that something is wrong with them. This is not the traditional “how are you feeling” approach but a deep engagement that is empowering and healing, and that’s why they are being coached.
Spirituality is defined by love. Who you choose to worship and call your higher power is determined and defined by many things. Children can struggle with this concept when they feel forced to figure out how they believe or when what they are being told is different than how they feel. Coaching for spirituality is simply sharing with the family how to love unconditionally and guide both parents and children through this process. Faith over Fear is key but not always easy. We coach to love first, unconditionally. Paying attention to the energy our children are putting into this world helps raise spiritually healthy children where what they are feeling and doing resonates with their soul’s purpose.
Our passion is to be able to inspire families to raise their children with a focus on these four principles. We are here to be supportive and coach families when struggles exist. We are all on a journey to discover, embrace and share the love.
Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash
