Young Children

• Encourage independence and flexibility within daily routine.

• Emphasize social interaction on the peer level.  Type O children tend to be natural leaders and they thrive in preschool, playgroups and other organized social settings.

• Plan an hour of active time every day – running, climbing, swimming, biking…

• Start introducing Type O diet elements at an early age – for example, using spelt instead of whole wheat.

• Make a point of giving praise and affirmation when your child accomplishes a goal.  All kids need this by your Type O child really thrives on attention and praise. 

• Establish firm rules to deal with temper tantrums – time outs, consequences – while teaching more positive ways of dealing with anger.  If your Type O Child can learn anger management at a young age, he or she will be less likely to develop stress related problems later.

Older Children

• Allow your child to take on responsibilities in the household.

• Nurture natural leadership abilities, and emphasize teamwork and team building.

• Encourage physically challenging group sports activities.

• Educate your child about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, while modeling positive behavior yourself.  Type O tendency toward monotony avoidance can lead to risky behavior.

• Stay out of fast food restaurants.  It’s almost impossible to find wheat free foods.

• Teach problem solving as a way to manage anger and frustration.

Young Children

• Reduce exposure to TV; avoid programs of movies that contain violence.  This exposure will raise cortisol levels.  Emphasize music, books and art.

• As early as age two or three, a child can join you in a daily deep breathing and stretching exercise session.

• Avoid being in big crowds of people – a big stress producer for Type As.

• Cultivate a love of nature and science in children.

• Serve six small meals instead of three big ones.

• Schedule one or two quiet periods per day.

• Set a firm schedule for bedtime and make sure that your child gets between eight and ten hours of sleep a night to maintain the circadian rhythm and avoid cortisol imbalance.

• Play stress-reducing music and use aromatherapy in your child’s room.

• There is a tendency for Type As to internalize emotions.  Be extra sensitive to signs that your child is upset or troubled.  Encourage them to talk it over with you.

Older Children

• Limit exposure to violent movies, TV, encouraging comedies instead.  Laughter reduces stress, violence spikes cortisol levels.

• Limit extracurricular school activities to one or two.

• Encourage your child to choose sports activities that don’t increase stress levels, such as martial arts and dance.  Type As are not well suited to repetitive endurance sports.

• Teach problem solving as a way to handle frustration.  Type As tend to become easily discouraged.

• Schedule meals at the same time every day.

• Cultivate an appreciation for nature and solitude with activities such as hiking and camping.

• Talk to your child.  Encourage him or her to open up to you without fear of judgment or reprisal.  Type As tend to internalize emotions, so there is perhaps a greater need to watch for signs of problems.

Young Children

• Create a non-restrictive environment.  For example, allow your child to select his or her own clothes, even if the colors clash or you don’t like the styles.

• Be flexible about rules, where possible – for example bed times and meal times.

• Find small ways to appeal to your Type B child’s nonconformist tendencies – for example, serving a sandwich for breakfast or eggs for dinner.

• Find ways to appeal to your child’s organized side – such as check off lists, an alarm clock and color coded clothing bins.

• As early as age two or three, a child can join you in daily deep breathing, stretching and meditation.

• Encourage creativity and fantasy games.

• Cultivate appreciation for other cultures.

• Limit sugars and artificial sweeteners, which are believed to be a factor in attention deficit disorder.

Older Children

• Be open about your child’s need to flaunt social customs in harmless ways, such as haircut, clothing, and pierced ears – while encouraging activist tendencies in a positive direction.

• Encourage daily visualization exercises.

• Encourage your child to choose sports activities that challenge him or her mentally, as well as physically.  Or balance intense physical exercise with intense mental exercise, such as chess.

• Teach problem-solving as a good way to manage stress. 

Young Children

• Create a non-restrictive environment.   Allow your child to choose clothing that best expresses his or her personality or mood.

• Make sure your child spends plenty of time outdoors.  Fresh air and sunshine help to keep NK cell levels high.

• As early as age two or three, a child can join you in daily deep breathing, stretching and meditation.

• Emphasize social interaction in an environment that is noncompetitive.  Type AB children tend to be highly social but they are easily alienated in high pressure settings. 

• There is a tendency for Type ABs to internalize emotions.  Be extra sensitive to signs that your child is upset or troubled.

• Be flexible with rules, when possible. 

Older Children

• Educate your child about the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and drugs while modeling positive behavior yourself.   Like Type O’s they are especially vulnerable to developing addictive behaviors.  These activities are harmful to NK cell activity.

• Encourage your child to choose sports activities that are not highly competitive.

• Enable your Type AB child’s need for independence and self-reliance with part-time jobs outside the home or an independent study program.