Everyone who has used acupuncture on children will agree that children are generally more sensitive to treatment than adults. This manifests in several ways. First, one has to be more careful about which treatment one applies and how one does it. Second, we often see very quick responses to treatment. The first issue involves both the need to regulate the dose of treatment and how one applies that treatment to children. The second issue relates to sensitivity, and requires the use of techniques of assessment, so that one can determine whether or not enough has been done in order to minimize the risk of over-treatment. If one does not understand these issues well, one will find it very difficult to treat children with acupuncture. I suspect that this is one of the main reasons why many, if not most, acupuncturists do not treat children, or find it difficult.

In order to address this important theme properly, we need to examine a number of issues:

Judging the appropriate dose for patients—and a model for doing this

Understanding how this manifests in babies and children (0–18 years)

Applying each treatment method differently, so as to be able to regulate the dose of treatment delivered

Assessing changes in the patient continuously so that one can more precisely judge that enough has been done, both regionally and globally during treatment

Recognizing and correcting overdose of treatment