About Healthy Child

Put the Joy Back in Your Parenting

Do you feel overwhelmed, worried or frustrated with all you have to deal with as a parent?

There is an easier way to parent.

You can change what's not working. You absolutely can create cooperation, harmony, health and well-being within your family.

You’ll find a lot here on this site that can help you…

Discover the underlying physical, emotional, and developmental causes and triggers that are unique to your child’s struggles
Know how to prevent health and behavior issues and keep your family healthy
Find reliable, truthful and substantial information about toxins in your home so you can make truly informed decisions to protect your family
Manage your stress and your reactions to your child’s behavior
Build connected, cooperative relationships with your children

So that their behavior transforms, and they are healthy and emotionally secure.

So that they can thrive and reach their full potential

And you can have the harmonious, joyful parenting experience you’ve always wanted, as a balanced and happy mom.

I help you attain this through a combination of blog posts, short and powerful online courses and individual coaching.

Let me be your guide

I’m Jane Sheppard NBC-HWC

I’ve been teaching moms about health and well-being for themselves and their children for over 25 years. I created Healthy Child in 1997 – (yep, this is before the internet was even a thing for most people)

I have extensive training and experience in teaching and coaching moms, and I hold these certifications:

Certified Peaceful Parenting Coach
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach (FMCHC)
National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC)
Epidemic Answers Health Coach
Trauma-Sensitive HeartMath Certified Practitioner
Somatic Awakening Practitioner (in practicum)

I am trained in mind-body energy medicine, positive psychology, and peaceful, empowered parenting. I blend my knowledge, expertise, intuition, wisdom, and insight with effective tools and education to help you move through your most difficult challenges with your children.

As a mom I understand what you’re going through, and I empathize with your struggles. I've been where you are, and I found the path to change.

Parenting is crazy hard and it’s messy. It’s the most difficult and chaotic thing you’ll ever do. It’s filled with conflicts and challenges you never thought you’d have to deal with.

I provide individualized support, education, and resources that will reduce overwhelm and stress.

I can help you unravel and better understand the underlying physical, emotional and developmental issues related to serious behavior issues, anxiety, depression, ADHD, allergies and other chronic health issues in your family. I can help you get your child on the road to recovery with a more effective and connected way to parent and an understanding of functional, holistic, integrative medicine.

It's heartbreaking to see kids struggling

So many kids these days are experiencing compromised health, diminished brain capacity with limited ability to focus and learn. Some are having frequent intense and even violent emotional outbursts.

It’s heartbreaking when you don’t know how to help them.

We are in the midst of a devastating chronic health epidemic in the U.S. with more than 54% of children with at least one chronic health condition. School nurse’s offices are filled with inhalers and epi-pens, and this is considered “normal”. 10% of kids have ADHD and 1 in 36 have autism.

This is unacceptable to me. Since I know that healing can happen and these health and behavior issues can be reversed. And this is why I do this work.

My inspiration to do this work comes from my own struggles and parenting journey.

Long-term antibiotic use as a child, along with a family environment of stress and trauma, set me up for decades of chronic illness. I struggled for a long time, but I was determined to learn what it takes to create health and wellness. I began my healing journey around age 30, with organic whole foods and holistic healing modalities. I began extensive study into the causes of chronic illness and the pathways to healing.

When I became pregnant at age 35, I began extensively researching children’s health and learned everything I could to raise a healthy child. I had a home birth, and I gave my daughter the foundation of long-term breastfeeding, good nutrition with organic whole foods, herbs and supplements, healthy attachment, mental and emotional well-being, and a mostly non-toxic environment. She thrived as an exceptionally healthy kid.

Mother and baby walk on country rural road in pine forest

I learned about the toxic threats to babies and children and how to reduce the worst exposures in our homes. I became passionate about examining the research, investigating products, and I formed an advisory board of doctors and scientists.

I began the Healthy Child Newsletter to share what I learned with other parents, and then started the Healthy Child website in 1997. My extensive blog has hundreds of informative posts for parents to find the help and information they need.

Here is the most important thing you need to know

The healthy foods, supplements and treatments will help, but you are not going to create lasting health and true well-being and harmony if you are in an environment of emotional stress and overwhelm.

To create real change, you need to address both the emotional stress AND the underlying physical imbalances.

I grew up believing I was inadequate and unlovable. I held that belief for many years until I set myself on a path of deep healing.

I raised my daughter completely on my own under stressful circumstances. I was a single mom with no financial help and no family available. I had intense insomnia, and I was stressed, worried and tired much of the time. This stress kept my chronic health issues going. It was a huge challenge -- so overwhelming that I wasn't sure I could handle it and I made a ton of mistakes.

I had done enough of my own emotional healing to be what was considered a "good parent". I always believed in my daughter and she grew up knowing she is valued and loved.

But it was difficult for both of us because of my own triggers and reactions to her intensity and strong emotions and behavior.

During those years I was constantly striving to understand myself and my own triggers while trying to create trust and emotional safety for my daughter. I learned how to stay calm and be in empathy with her, and how to turn our power struggles around.

My daughter is now 27 and is independent, confident, empowered, with a strong sense of who she is. I am blown away by the amazing woman she has become. We are both very aware of and dedicated to healing our intergenerational trauma. It's an ongoing process - a profound and rewarding journey with many gifts.

As I look back at my parenting in the early years, I regret that I had to figure it out all alone.

I needed someone to support me through all the difficulties.
I needed someone to help me understand those intense feelings and what to do when I got triggered.
I needed someone to help me gain clarity on my values, my boundaries and how to set healthy limits without getting all the pushback and rebellion.
I needed to know how to navigate the emotional rollercoaster of parenting a strong child.
I needed someone to remind me how important it was to take care of myself, so that I could show up as the mom I wanted to be.
I needed someone to guide me into the conversations that really mattered with my daughter, to coach me in how to gain her cooperation while honoring her powerful, determined spirit.
I needed someone to help me know when it was time to let go of my agenda and control so I could more fully understand who my daughter really is.
I needed the education and actual tools. I didn’t have that, so I muddled through it.

With what I know now, I realize I could have been a better parent, and I could have prevented so much struggle for my daughter if only I'd had the support and guidance I really needed.

I could have made it so much easier on myself and had a more joyful parenting experience, but back then there were no parent coaches – at least not that I knew of.

This is why I became a Certified Parenting Coach. And I became a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach so I can help you navigate the complicated waters of the multiple underlying causes of chronic health and behavior issues.

Sad little child, boy, hugging his mother at home

I'd like to help you to heal the difficult challenges and build the kind of relationship you want to have with your children -- to save your family from conflict and pain. I’d like to help you to release the worry and exhaustion and begin to enjoy parenting.

My biggest passion is to help other moms to deeply love themselves, to understand their reactions to their child’s behavior. And to heal the underlying issues that lead to power struggles, stress and anxiety.

And beyond that…

I believe it’s tragic for a child to grow up not feeling absolutely positive about their value. I want every child to be seen, heard and understood by the people who they love the most. To grow up truly loving themselves and able to be present, loving and emotionally secure in all their relationships.

It’s fascinating how we can feel like we “have it all together” until we have children. Parenting can bring up everything within us that needs to be healed.

I am here for you if you are ready for a change. I can help you overcome your current parenting challenges, establish a deeper connection with your kids, create a whole new level of cooperation within your family, and feel a lot better about parenting.

I’m creating short and powerful courses for you because there is a lot that you can do on your own. And if you need more individual help, just ask.

The First Step to Parenting Joy

Your first step is to subscribe to get my emails. My intention is to give you what you need to know and not overwhelm you with too much information.

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