KIDS Acupuncture

Acupuncture For Kids

Acupuncture is the last thing that most people think about for their children’s health.  Its hard to imagine your child sitting still, let alone allowing the therapist to insert a small acupuncture needle.

I made an appointment for my 6 year old daughter for her very first acupuncture appointment. Here is our experience:

Dr. Stefan starts the treatment with “If you could have one super power what would it be?” My daughter Taylor says “I want to swim underwater forever” From there Stefan elaborates on a superhero story that focus on lung points in Chinese Medicine. He then asks “what other super power would you want?” She replies “I want to run super fast”. Stefan focuses on her legs, distracting her with conversation of running super fast. I was amazed by Stefan’s ability to help ease her experience of acupuncture. In fact needles do NOT need to be used. 

He uses tiny circular bandaids with a small round magnet in the middle. This acts as a pressure point instead of using a needle. He builds on my daughter’s request of super powers and eventually he asks “do you want to try one needle?” Surprisingly she says “Yes!” After he gently taps a needle into her leg she says “Mom, I didn’t feel anything!”

The fears of needles are often created by experience. My 6 year old allowed and trusted the acupuncturist to insert a small needle into her leg, which lead to her saying “Mom, when I come back I’m going to let him try 3 needles”.

Acupuncture is not the only technique that our therapists use. They also uses Acutonics (tuning forks). Turns out kids LOVE it! The tuning forks are struck against a surface to create a vibration. The ends of the forks are then applied to a part of the body such as the back, arms, legs and base of the skull. The vibration of the forks against the bone create a vibration throughout the body. Taylors description “a tickle”.

What to expect:

Duration of Treatment:

Treatments for kids are much shorter in duration. Plus, their systems are way more efficient than ours, so not as much time is needed to have a positive effect! The Initial Visit is a maximum of 60 min and subsequent visits are 30-45 minutes. NOTE: The legal guardian MUST be present for the initial visit

We want children’s experience in the clinic to be a positive one. So we always suggest short visits vs longer time.

What are the most common conditions for kids to visit an acupuncturist?

• colic
• reflux
• toothaches
• earaches
• colds
• fragile immune system
• asthma
• allergies
• eczema
• sleeping difficulties
• digestive issues
• anxieties and stress
• lack of concentration
• agitation
• pain of all sorts
• bed-wetting
• secondary effects of medication and
• transition of childhood and puberty
• and many more…