Use of minocycline in viral infections

"The most fruitful basis for the discovery of a new drug is to start with an old drug".

James W. Black

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1988)

Minocycline: from bacterial infections to neurodegenerative diseases

Minocycline is a semi-synthetic second generation tetracycline that has now been in use for more than 40 years. It was synthesized in 1967 by the erstwhile Lederle Laboratories (part of American Cyanamid that was subsequently bought by American Home Products Corp. in 1994 which in turn became a part of Pfizer Inc. in 2009), and became commercially available from 1972 under the brand name of Minocin, after getting United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in June 1971. Minocycline was originally developed to treat a wide array of diseases such as susceptible bacterial infections of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms and is currently recommended for the treatment of anthrax (inhalational, cutaneous, and gastrointestinal), moderate-to-severe acne, meningococcal (asymptomatic) carrier state, Rickettsial diseases (including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Q fever), nongonococcal urethritis, gonorrhoea, acute intestinal amoebiasis, respiratory tract infection, skin/soft tissue infections, and chlamydial infections (1-3). Apart from the approved uses, minocycline is being used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (4) and has even been tried for the treatment of leprosy (5).

Owing to its relatively small size (495 Da) and highly lipophilic nature, minocycline crosses the blood-brain barrier (BBB) with ease and has been shown to penetrate the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of human beings better than doxycycline and other tetracyclines (6,7). Owing to these properties it had been suspected that minocycline may play a role in neurological processes. In a landmark study in 1998, Yrjanheikki et al (8) reported that minocycline was neuroprotective in an experimental model of ischaemia. Since then, there has been several reports linking minocycline with neurological diseases such as haemorrhagic and ischaemic stroke (9), multiple sclerosis (10), spinal-cord injury (11), Parkinson's disease (12), Huntington's disease (HD) (13), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (14), leading to various clinical trials. Clinical trials of minocycline administration in ALS (15) and HD16 have been completed with positive outcome and are in progress for traumatic brain injury cases (17). Recently, a double-blinded randomized clinical trial has begun which aims to explore the possibilities of using minocycline as an adjunctive therapy for schizophrenia (18).

Minocycline in viral infections

The earliest available report of antiviral activity of minocycline came when Lemaitre et al (19) reported in 1990 that it imparts protection against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in human acute lymphoblastic T-cell leukemia (CEM) cells. They showed that minocycline (and doxycycline) prevented HIV-mediated cytopathic effects in vitro, 7-14 days post-infection. However, during this time frame, virus production was not inhibited, that indicated dissociation between protection against cell death and suppression of virus growth. However, the protected cells could be maintained in culture for 6-7 wk after which there was complete cessation of virus production in the cells, even in the absence of the drug. Later on it was reported that minocycline was also effective in adjunct therapy for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) dementia by virtue of its anti-inflammatory effect on the microglial cells thereby inhibiting their activation and also inhibiting virus production from these cells (20). In 2005, a group of investigators from John Hopkins University School of Medicine reported that minocycline imparted significant neuroprotection in a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) model of HIV-associated central nervous system (CNS) disease (21). It was the first report of its kind demonstrating anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activity of an antibiotic against a highly pathogenic virus infection and it was also reported that minocycline suppresses HIV and SIV replication in lymphocytes and macrophages, the main target cells, in vivo. Minocycline was thus found to be responsible for the reduction of severity of encephalitis, suppressed viral load in the brain, and decrease in the expression of CNS inflammatory markers. Minocycline was also found to inhibit SIV and HIV replication in vitro (21). They went on to show that the protective effect is mediated by the suppression of p38MAPK and JNK levels in the brain thereby leading to inhibition of activation of apoptosis signal-regulating kinase-1 (ASK1) (22). Thus it seemed that minocyclines' anti-HIV role is based on its ability to suppress inflammatory reactions in the brain that is associated with the infection. It is also to be noted that minocycline was originally not engineered to target any specific viral proteins. However, a non-clinical, computational docking with molecular dynamics simulation method-based study has proposed that minocycline has a very high predicted binding affinity against HIV-1 integrase (23), the key protein in the integration of the viral DNA into the host genome. Inhibition of the viral integrase could have therapeutic implications, though actual wet lab studies are yet to be performed to evaluate the efficacy of minocycline in such process. It has also been recently reported that the anti-HIV efficacy of minocycline may be attributed to the suppression of cellular activation in human CD4 T cells (24). The study proposes that instead of directly targeting the virus, minocycline acts by altering the cellular environment, thereby placing minocycline in the class of anticellular anti-HIV drugs.

Cognitive impairments associated with HIV infection has been an additional concern. The term 'NeuroAIDS' encompasses those neurologic disorders that are a primary consequence of damage to the central and peripheral nervous system by HIV. The clinical syndromes identified include sensory neuropathy, myelopathy, HIV dementia, and cognitive/motor disorder. It is believed that minocycline, when administered in adjunct to conventional antiretroviral therapy, may help in ameliorating cognitive dysfunctions associated with HIV infection. A recent study (25) reports that oral administration of minocycline is effective in alleviating neuronal damage in an animal model of neuroAIDS following infection with SIV. Using proton resonance spectroscopy it was shown that neuronal integrity was maintained following minocycline administration in SIV infected experimental animals (25). These observations are significant in the current context as a clinical trial is currently in progress in Uganda, to evaluate this hypothesis (26).

Moving away from retroviruses, it has been shown that minocycline is also effective against flaviviral infections. A study published in 2007 claimed that minocycline significantly inhibited West Nile virus replication in cultured human neuronal cells and subsequently prevented virus-induced apoptosis (27). We reported that minocycline was also protective in case of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infection. Using animal models it was shown that this protective role was attributed to reduction in neuronal apoptosis, microglial activation, active caspase activity, proinflammatory mediators released in the brain, and viral titre. Minocycline was also found to be effective in vitro, when JEV-infected neuroblastoma cells were protected from virus-induced death (28). Minocyclines' antioxidative property has also been shown to significantly ameliorate the oxidative stress generated as a result of JEV infection (29) and also imparts protection to the blood brain barrier by decreasing the expression of various adhesion molecules in the brain as well as downplaying the activity of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) (30). The observed protective role of minocycline in JE has led to the initiation of a randomized phase II clinical trial to be conducted in Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (formerly King George's Medical College, Lucknow). The trial has been approved by the Drug Controller General of India and currently going through the preparatory stages (31).

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Superbug—the so-called NDM-1

The recent paper on the emergence of a new antibiotic resistance mechanism in India, Pakistan and the UK (1) may have sounded yet another wakeup call to counter the global menace of antibiotic resistance. Curiously, the paper with little credible scientific evidence makes sweeping generalizations and conclusions by offering 'strong advice' against surgery for people opting for such treatment in India. Multi drug-resistant pathogens exist in India as they do in different forms globally including the western world with a death toll of over 2500 in the USA alone (more than the deaths due to AIDS) and some 2500 deaths in Europe every year (2). Does it mean that the whole of Europe is "unsafe for medical treatment", and that all such notorious pathogens originated in Europe? Klebsiella pneumoniae clone with KPC carbapenemase for example, is a major problem in the US, Israel, Greece and other parts of Europe; and plasmids encoding Verona integron-encoded metallo-[beta]-lactamase (VIM) metallo-carbapenemase have disseminated among K. pnemoniae in Greece (3,4). As Nordman, Director, Institut national de la sante et de la recherche medicale (INSERM) Unit of Emergent & Multi-resistant Bacteria put it ".... for the moment there is no indicator that the multi-resistant stems are more virulent that the other" (4).

The war between drugs and bugs has been on since the time of Alexander Fleming. It is known that the frequent- flow of genetic material across the whole bacterial species is an inevitable phenomenon that keeps happening in nature as part of natural selection. This evolutionary process does not respect geographical boundaries, countries or continents. It could just happen anywhere and anytime.

It is in this context that this paper (1) attracts some glaring discrepancies against the principles of truth and science that need to be addressed. The authors themselves admit that there was no statistically significant strain relatedness between the Indian and UK isolates which raises doubts about the alleged origin of so-called NDM-1 from India. Mere fact that some of the study patients (shown to possess NDM-1) had visited India for some kind of surgery during preceding years is not adequate proof to claim huge epidemiological link as claimed in the paper (1). The authors could link only 17 of 37 UK patients to Indian subcontinent. Disclosing clinical details and outcome of each of the patients harboring NDM-1 and absence of such details is hardly helpful. Had the authors included isolates from other geographic regions as well, their claim regarding origin of NDM-1 would have looked convincing. Since no pre-screening of the patients was done before their visit to India, it would be wrong to conclude that the 'bug' had its origin in India.

GARLIC IS HEALTHIEST WITH A CRUSH

Consuming large amounts of raw garlic may be good for your heart, but not necessarily your social life. So, how do we best enjoy these pungent little bulbs, without missing out on their impressive health benefits?

Crush them. Then bake them slightly. That's according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and collaborators in Argentina.

Researchers have known for some time that garlic--like its close relative, the onion--is a rich source of heart-protective compounds called thiosulfinates. These sulfur compounds, best known for causing eyes to water, may lower blood pressure and break up potentially harmful clusters of platelets in the bloodstream.

But, up to now, most researchers and nutritionists assumed that the best way to seize on garlic's cardiovascular benefits was to eat the small bulbs in their most unfettered form: in the raw.

Since most people worldwide sauté or bake their garlic before eating it, the researchers* wanted to know if cooking reduced garlic's blood-thinning effects. They also wanted to see what impact crushing the garlic before cooking had on its ability to bust up artery-clogging platelets.

After boiling, baking and microwaving both crushed and uncrushed cloves of garlic and evaluating them for their antiplatelet activity, the scientists learned that lightly cooked, crushed garlic provides most of the health benefits found in raw garlic. The only exception was microwaving, which stripped garlic almost entirely of its blood-thinning effects.

The researchers contend that while heating might be generally blamed for reducing garlic's antiplatelet activity, it's the crushing that enables the beneficial compounds to be freed in the first place.

FAT FACTS

by Karen Barnaby

All fats found in fresh whole foods are good, healthy, and sometimes vital. It is wise to include a full spectrum of fats in your diet, which will work hard to keep you healthy and young-looking. This, of course, is not the message we have been getting in the popular media, and because of this we have built up an unhealthy guilt complex and fear of fat.

Certain fats are indeed bad for us, but luckily it is easy to spot them. Trans fatty acids have been linked to raising "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and lowering "good" cholesterol (HDL); they are also suspected of being behind that "stubborn fat" that won't leave no matter what we do. They are the result of processing oils through hydrogenation. You can spot the presence of trans fats in a product because hydrogenated fats have to be listed in the ingredient panel of food. By adding up all the fats listed in the panel and then subtracting that number from the total listed, you will come up with the amount of trans fats in the product. However, the easiest thing to do is just avoid anything that has any hydrogenated oil in it.

Rancid fat is the other bad fat -- fat that has been mutated by oxygen, heat, moisture, and light. This fat is full of free radicals and can contribute to all the health and aging problems associated with them. At first you might think that it would be easy to avoid this one. Just reading the word "rancid" tends to make our noses wrinkle in disgust; however, we have been conditioned to accept rancid fats. The reason that dollop of butter is salty is to help preserve it and to cover up the rancid taste. Yes, butter is good for us, but rancid butter is not. That flax oil in the refrigerator is liquid gold to some, but if it is rancid, it is worse than useless. We have to retrain our noses and taste buds to discern fresh good fats from rancid bad ones. This is one reason for using unsalted rather than salted butter.

This retraining can be done by finding stores that sell their stock quickly, store their products properly, and rotate their stock on the shelf so that no old products linger there. Also check the expiration dates on products to help you find the freshest product.

Remember that the best fats come from fresh whole foods, so try making your own butter from some fresh, pure whipping cream. Add a bit of salt to taste, if you prefer it salty, and memorize the taste to compare with commercially prepared butter. If that is a bit too much work, just find the freshest frozen unsalted butter you can, and taste that. When dealing with vegetable oils, try grinding the seeds up and then smelling the fresh aroma. Again, if this is too much of a bother, just get a good smell of the oil when you first open the bottle or tin and memorize that fresh scent. As soon as you notice that the smell is off, get rid of it.

25 cara mudah turunkan berat badan tanpa diet.

1. JANGAN BERLAPAR
Makanan memberi kita tenaga dan bila kita menggunakan tenaga kurang dari apa yang kita ambil, tubuh akan terkejut. Tubuh akan mula membakar 'muscle'(otot) untuk menggantikan makanan. Ini menyebabkan kadar metabolisma tubuh menjadi rendah. Bila anda tidak tahan berlapar, pada kebiasaanya anda akan makan dengan lebih banyak. Pada masa ini, walaupun tahap pengambilan makanan anda telah kembali ke paras normal, tetapi metabolisma tubuh masih lagi rendah. Ini menyebabkan ia tidak membakar kalori pada tahap yang sama lagi
2. AMBIL SESUATU YANG PAHIT SEBELUM MAKAN
Minumlah kopi dan kumur beberapa saat sebelum makan. Cara ini menyebabkan tekak merasa pahit dan menghantar isyarat melalui otak bagi menggalakan rembesan enzim dan asid HCL. Kekurangan enzim dan asid HCL di dalam perut boleh menyebabkan ketidakcekapan penghadaman.
3. MINUM 8 GELAS AIR SEHARI
Air mengurangkan selera makan anda secara semulajadi dan membantu badan memetabolisma simpanan lemak di dalam tubuh. Sebelum makan makanan yang berat-berat, cuba minum air, pasti anda tidak akan makan dengan banyak.
4. ELAKKAN MINUM MINUMAN YANG BERGAS
Minuman bergas biasanya mengandungi 7-8 sudu gula dan tidak baik untuk kesihatan tubuh.
5. KURANGKAN PENGAMBILAN GARAM
Pengambilan garam yang tinggi menggalakan penangkungan air. Mengurangkan pengambilan garam bermakna badan anda menangkung sedikit air. Ini bermakna anda kurang berat yang disebabkan air.

6. AMBIL SARAPAN PAGI
Anda juga boleh menurunkan berat badan dengan pengambilan sarapan pagi. Menurut satu kajian, mereka yang tidak mengambil sarapan pagi lebih cenderung untuk gemuk berbanding dengan mereka
yang mengambilnya. Bagaimana ia terjadi? Sarapan pagi menstabilkan hormone dan paras gula di dalam darah. Kadar metabolsima juga meningkat untuk membakar kalori.
7. MAKANLAH DENGAN PERLAHAN-LAHAN
Nikmatilah makanan dengan perlahan-lahan dan jangan gopoh. Kerana apabila kita makan secara perlahan-lahan, tubuh akan menghantar isyarat menunjukan kepuasan.
8. KUNYAH MAKANAN KEPADA CEBISAN LEBIH KECIL
Kunyahlah makanan kepada cebisan lebih kecil sebelum menelan kerana dengan cara ini ia lebih mudah dihadam.
9. KEKERAPAN
Biar makan kerap dengan kuantiti yang sedikit daripada makan hanya sekali, dua tetapi dengan kuantiti yang banyak.
10. SAMPINGAN
Jika anda terasa ingin makan snek atau makanan ringan, beruslah gigi anda atau kunyahlah gula-gula getah. Rasa mint atau berangin di mulut akan membantutkan selera anda.
11. Kurangkan pengambilan marjerin, butter dalam makanan anda. Kalau boleh, usah ada di dalam peti ais anda.
12. Apabila makan di restoran atau gerai, pesanlah air limau nipis atau jus oren kerana minuman masam menggalakan pembakaran lemak. Mintalah minuman yang kurang gula.
13. Buah-buahan dan sayur-sayuran adalah sumber terbaik untuk vitamin, mineral dan serat dan kandungan lemak yang rendah.
14. Jangan timbang berat badan anda setiap hari kerana anda tidak akan nampak perubahannya. Jika anda minum banyak, dan waktu itu anda timbang berat badan yang pastinya meningkat, mungkin anda akan berputus asa untuk berdiet

15. PENGAMBILAN MAKANAN BEREMPAH
Sesetengah rempah seperti cili, biji sawi, didapati boleh membakar kalori. Penambahan lada hitam bukan sahaja meningkatkan penghadaman, ia juga meningkatkan pembakaran lemak.
16. PILIHAN BIJIRAN DAN KEKACANG
Bijirin penuh adalah sumber utama tenaga. Bijiran dan hasil bijirin banyak mengandungi karbohidrat kompleks, protein, vitamin, mineral dan sedikit lemak.
17. SIMPAN SATU DIARI
Simpan satu diari makanan boleh berpengaruh besar dalam proses penurunan berat badan. Rekodkan dalam sehari, berapa kali anda makan dan berapa banyak, tahap kelaparan yang memerlukan anda makan, dan perasaan anda ketika makan. Diari makanan boleh membuatkan anda peka kepada keinginan makan anda. Setelah beberapa lama membuat catatan, perhati dan kenal pasti di mana anda boleh membuat atau perbaiki tabiat pemakanan anda kepada yang lebih sihat. Diari ini juga boleh membuatkan anda lebih fokus dan lebih komited terhadap pelan diet anda. Mulakan diari makanan anda dan rajin-rajinlah membuat catatan.
18. TUMPUKAN PERHATIAN
Ramai orang lebih berjaya dalam penurunan berat badan dalam jangka masa panjang apabila mereka menukar motif mereka daripada untuk kurus kepada untuk kekal sihat dan segar. Tukarlah fikiran anda untuk memikirkan dan memilih makanan apa yang boleh menyihatkan tubuh badan.

19. CARA MEMASAK
Cara memasak paling baik untuk mengurangi jumlah kalori dalam makanan adalah merebus memanggang atau mengukus. Khusus untuk sayuran, anda boleh menumisnya dengan sedikit minyak(misalnya satu sudu minyak masak). Hindari minyak atau lemak haiwan.
20. PEMILIHAN
Ketika memilih piring makanan, ambilah piring yang rata dan bukan piring cekung. Ambil sayuran dahulu untuk memenuhi piring, kemudian baru nasi dan yang terakhir, lauk dagingnya. Jika ingin tambah, hanya sayuran yang boleh anda ambil. Jangan lupa, makanlah di meja makan dan jangan di sebarang tempat apa lagi sambil menonton tv. Sebab, makin menarik program tv, semakin banyak makanan ringan yang anda habiskan!
21. BERJALAN
Selain memberi peluang makanan untuk turun, kebiasaan berjalan-jalan sesudah makan akan membantu menghabiskan sebahagian kalori dari makanan itu. Setiap 25 langkah anda berjalan satu kalori akan diguna. Lebih-lebih lagi anda menaiki tangga. Tentu saja semua ini harus dilakukan dengan santai kerana perut anda baru saja terisi.
22. RANCANG PERBELANJAAN
Khusus bagi kaum wanita, yang juga perlu diperhatikan adalah tabiat berbelanja dan memasak. Seelok-eloknya, tidak berbelanja semasa perut kosong. Rancanglah perbelanjaan sesuai dengan keperluan. Jika ingin membeli makanan, kunjungilah dahulu gerai buah dan sayuran. Gerai makanan segera harus anda kunjungi paling akhir sekali jika memang benar-benar memerlukannya.
23. LAKUKAN LATIHAN
Untuk mengempiskan perut, gerakan punggung yang ringan tetapi lama akan lebih efektif. Latihan dapat dilakukan dengan alat seperti untuk permainan hula hoop. Gerakan ini mungkin boleh disamakan dengan gerakan penari gelek, dangdut atau hula-hula yang memiliki perut lebih kecil dan cantik.

24. Kurangkan pengambilan gula kerana setiap satu sudu gula mengandungi 32 kilokalori.
25. Beberapa aktiviti fizikal yang mudah untuk langsing
i. Jalan cepat. Gunalah kasut yang cukup selesa dipakai agar kaki tidak melecet dan sihat
ii. Gunakan tangga untuk naik ke tingkat atas. Jika terlalu tinggi,naik tangga untuk beberapa tingkat,kemudian sambunglah denagan menaiki lif
iii. Renang adalah latihan menyeluruh. Berenang dengan laju dengan nafas yang dalam
iv. Bersenam atau peregangan, sangat baik bagi otot-otot dan sendi-sendi yang kaku. Melenturkanotot dapat melancarkan peredaran darah
v. Tunggang basikal dan kayuh perlahan-lahan tetapi dalam tempoh yang lama. Ini dapat mencantik dan merampingkan peha.

Developing Independence In Our Children

by: Russell Turner

Few things about raising my children scare me more than balancing the need for security in today’s world and teaching them to grow up to be independent women. Independence is a vital and exciting part of growing up. Allowing them to develop pride in their competence, experiencing challenges and surviving, experimenting with risks and their own way of doing things all help them gain more control over what happens to them. These are all essential if our children are to grow up to become independent responsible adults. It is critical that our children have new freedoms and responsibilities, as and when they are ready to cope with them.

The problem is the outside world has become a very dangerous place. We, as parents are naturally concerned about giving our children greater freedom to play and travel without adult supervision. Because of these very real dangers, instead of encouraging our children to go off on their own and experiment, giving out responsibility and freedom gradually, we supervise, chaperone, contain, and watch them like hawks. Fear of things like traffic accidents and molestation mean we drive our kids to school and friends’ houses. We sometimes discourage them from playing in the front yard never mind the street or the park down the block.

When our children are safely indoors, it frees us from worry and gives us a wonderful feeling of relief. To add virtue to our self-interest, we tell ourselves it is in the best interest of our children. When that child has diabetes, it’s just one less time that our child, and their condition, is out of our direct control. But we have to ask ourselves, is it really in the best interest of our children? Might we be losing a proper sense of balance between security and independence? When we issue constant reminders of the “dangers of strangers” we get in the way of our children’s willingness and ability to go places by themselves, even when it’s a place we are willing to let them go.

We often give our children mixed messages about how capable they are or should be. We sometimes do it backwards. When they are little we give them lots of independence and choices about things that may give them too much control over what they would like to do. This gives them a fair amount of power before they really know how to manage it. Now I’m sure this doesn’t pertain to your household so take a look at some of your friends. You watch how their toddlers act and wonder who’s running the asylum. Now when our children approach and reach adolescence, a time when they need to feel confident and be taking back some of that control, we tell them it’s a mean cruel world out there. This in effect tells them that they can’t be trusted at a time in their lives when that’s just what we should be doing.

The single best way to acquire the skills needed for independence and coping is through experience. Experience also builds common sense and lessens fear. For example, if we walked more with our children when they were young by the time they reached adolescence they would have developed “road sense” and a healthy attitude toward traffic. If we are out and about more with our children when they are young they would develop a better sense of what is normal and what is strange behavior and be able to react more confidently and sensibly. Allowing ourselves and our children to confront these situations in a controlled manner keeps them in proportion. Not confronting them only makes them scarier. Staying indoors and riding in a car are not the best way to acquire life skills.

Balancing Rights and Responsibilities
Independence is all about gaining self-reliance and responsibility. When we give our children more responsibility, we should also add more rights to go along with it so they learn that both are part of growing up and can be proud that it’s happening. Any time we give our children more rights, we should also add more responsibility to balance everything out. It will help them from becoming self-centered. A good time to add these might be birthdays or other events that acknowledge their increasing maturity. This way, responsibilities are not resented, but accepted with pride as signs of growing up. Getting started doing this is fairly easy. Make a list of tasks you think they can be responsible for. Feeding the dog, doing the dishes, or whatever you think is appropriate for their age. Balance these new responsibilities with new rights. A later bedtime, more allowance, whatever you think is fair. Then step back and give them the opportunity to accomplish their task. Don’t make approval conditional on success especially early on. The old college try is often a great teacher. Don’t hover over them while they are doing it. Leave them to their task as a sign of trust. Don’t have too high expectations. And finally, let go! Gradually step back and allow them to increase their independence.

This whole concept may take a little while for everyone to master, our children and us. However, Independence is a critical life skill for our children. It is our responsibility to teach it to them. Our right for accepting this responsibility is to spoil our grandchildren.



About the Author Russell Turner, USA info@mychildhasdiabetes.com http://www.mychildhasdiabetes.com Russell Turner is the father of a 10 year old diabetic daughter. After she was diagnosed he soon discovered he could find all sorts of medical information on the internet. What he couldn't find was how to prepare his child and family for living with this disease. He started his own website for parents of newly diagnosed diabetic children http://www.mychildhasdiabetes.com

A "Good Enough" Parent?

by: Russell Turner

I have written in the past, that helping our children develop self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-control all contribute to the development of self-esteem. While these are critically important skills for our children to have it is equally important for us as parents. The reason for this is the effect that proper self-esteem has on our parenting and so much of our lives. It effects the quality of our relationships, our willingness to try new things, and how we confront life’s disappointments. Our personal self-esteem directly effects how we behave towards others. Some of those "others" are our children. When we think about how we act when our self-esteem is either high or low, we get a sense of which direction we are traveling as parents. If we look at low self-esteem we can see the pain we can cause. Then take a look at our actions when we have proper self-esteem, and we realize how good we feel and how that translates into good feelings for our children. Diabetes makes our children feel bad enough, both physically and mentally, they don’t need us adding to their burden.

When we feel good about ourselves we tend to create a positive atmosphere. Which in turn creates feelings of security, happiness and contentment in those around us. When we are feeling low or critical about ourselves we start to use power and control to make us feel better and that causes similar feelings in those we love. Sometimes it seems that life has a way of trying to lock us into a negative cycle by us passing some of our less positive attitudes to our children. When we are aware of our feelings, and understand how to manage them, we have the opportunity to stop ourselves and change the message we passing along.

When we feel good inside we always notice the good our children do and are quick to praise and reward that behavior. Behaviors that include kindness, or taking the initiative on a task, effort, or just plain using their heads. What is important is the fact that we noticed and commented on the behavior. This gives our children positive feedback. It also increases their motivation to continue that type of behavior and they may look for more opportunities to display it. Also, when we acknowledge their actions it attaches some importance to them.

Being aware of our feelings helps us not only to recognize what we expect from our children, it also helps us to enforce it consistently. Consistency shows commitment, and commitment provides a feeling of security for our children. All of this together promotes self-confidence in them. When we are emotionally strong we can give our children the chance to make their own choices and gain a sense of what’s appropriate. This helps them to develop self-reliance. By assuming our children are competent but giving them a safe space to set limits, experiment and make some mistakes, we show trust and help our children to develop self-control.

Children who feel approved of, are aware of their skills and talents, are trusted and respected, are confident and independent, are children with good self-esteem. By being aware of our behavior and understanding how to manage and adapt it we give our children the proper foundation for a successful happy life.

The beauty of being a "good enough" parent is we don't have to be a perfect parent. There is room for mistakes. As long as we are doing enough things right and demonstrate our love, mistakes don't really matter nor do any harm. We can never be perfect but we can be good enough!

About the Author Russell Turner, USA mail to:info@mychildhasdiabetes.com mychildhasdiabetes.com Russell Turner is the father of a 10 year old diabetic daughter. After she was diagnosed he soon discovered he could find all sorts of medical information on the internet. What he couldn't find was how to prepare his child and family for living with this disease. He started his own website for parents of newly diagnosed diabetic children