Children at Their Best ─ Understanding and Using the Five Elements to Develop Children's Full Potential for Parents, Teachers, and Therapists

The authors describe an exciting new way of understanding a child's development by looking at how the Five Elements of Chinese thought can explain patterns of behaviour. They list the problems that can occur if a child's elements are not in balance and presents approaches and activities to help them become more balanced, happier and more resilient.

Karin Kalbanter-Wernicke initially trained as a child physiotherapist and went on to study shiatsu in Japan for several years. In 1985, together with her husband Dr. Thomas Wernicke, she founded an institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine just outside Frankfurt, Germany. Karin teaches baby and child shiatsu internationally and is a Founder of the German Shiatsu Society. She has written several books including Baby Shiatsu, published in English by Singing Dragon. Bettye Jo Wray-Fears is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) and licensed massage therapist. She trained in Shiatsu with Karin in 1985, founded the Shiatsu Massage Institute in 1997(Florida) and has taught the 5-Elements at Karin's Institute since 1991. She is an integrative teacher and family-child therapist combining her background in traditional psychotherapy, human development, eastern bodywork and mindfulness Buddhist practices. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.