Hi Reader

Dad Joke: Which vegetable has the best kung fu? Broc-lee

Song of the Week: I believe by Douwe Bob​

Hello from Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. I have just finished teaching the updated “Common Conditions in Infants” seminar to a great bunch of paediatric chiros and I’m seeing my flight time being pushed back later and later on the board (hold thumbs that I’m home by the time you read this!)

On the flight over I eventually picked “Atomic Habits” by James Clearly from my bookshelf. Everyone raves about it so I thought I would give it a go. As per usual, the universe tends to give you what you look for and I found myself reading his story about the ice on the table (which applied hugely to the weekend content.)

He says to imagine a block of ice sitting on a table in a 25° room. The room then increases temperature by 1 degree every so often. 26° and the ice is the same, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 but still nothing, no change at all…until you hit 32°…then the moment comes, and the ice begins to melt. Just a 1° shift in temperature, imperceptible to anyone else in the room…but that’s when it happens…it’s huge.

“Breakthroughs are often the result of many previous actions, which build up to the potential to unleash major change” – James Clearly.

Allowing a baby to sleep on one side of their head for weeks on end doesn’t cause any change in the head shape…until it does…and when it does…it seemingly happens all at once. It takes time to unlock the change but when you cross the threshold…its huge.

And in the same breath, the work to change this doesn’t happen overnight either. It is constant changing of small habits that eventually move the needle. It’s deciding to take the baby to the shops in a carrier instead of the pram to build neck strength and not pressurize the occiput for hours. It is changing the position of the bottle when feeding so that the one side of the head doesn’t take all the weight. It is allowing baby to have time on their tummy, It is regularly seeing the chiropractor to change the functional and neurological patterns. It is all these things over a period of time which gives you the success in the case.

From our side it’s all about communicating this in a way that parents understand. Keeping them onboard, taking objective measurements, changing the homework to suit the case and most importantly to be able to tell normal from the abnormal, to peg the level of concern correctly so that parents know where they stand and what it will take to get to the solution.

Overnight success takes years, and most people aren’t prepared for the slog it takes to get there.

Just remember…it all happens at 32°, we just have to get you there.

Chat Soon

MIke

Here's a list dates for my upcoming trainings:

• 26 & 27 April 2025 - Management of the Neonate, Chester, UK (5 spaces left)
• 24 & 25 May 2025 - Paeds in Motion Part 2 (The Older Child) Emmen, Netherlands
• 7 & 8 June 2025 - Common Infant Conditions, Chester, UK
• 6 & 7 Sept 2025 - Paeds in Motion Part 1 (The Young Child) Wales, UK

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info@connectedpaediatrics.com
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Connected Paediatrics – Dr Mike Marinus is a registered paediatric chiropractor treating babies and children and helping chiropractors learn effective paediatric techniques that they can use in their practice

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