parenting

[PsychToday] Punk Music Isn’t “Bad”

July 30, 2015
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Early in my professional career as a music therapist, a colleague asked me what I thought about her teenage son’s music choices. He had started listening loud, punk-type music and my colleague was wondering whether or not she should be worried. I assured her that, although this was not a particular area of expertise for […]

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Mommy Mondays: The No-Guilt iPhone-Wielding Parent

July 13, 2014
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My phone is a pretty constant presence in my hand. I use it to check email, take pictures, share pics to Instagram, post updates on Twitter and Facebook, reference my grocery list, listen to audiobooks, text, make phone calls, look up passwords, check the weather, play Words with Friends…it basically has a function in almost […]

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[PsychToday] Can Moving Together Rhythmically Combat Toddler Selfishness?

July 2, 2014
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Take a moment and think of all the ways we interact rhythmically with children. We rock. We bounce. We dance. We walk. It seems the developmental benefits of this intuitive, simple play may extend farther then we thought. New Research: Motor Synchrony and Prosocial Development Researchers at McMaster University conducted a series of studies to […]

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Mommy Mondays: Why the Word “Good” is Bad

March 17, 2014
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I think it’s time I removed the word “good” from my parenting vocabulary. As a therapist you learn not to use the word “good” to reinforce a client’s behavior or action as that suggests there is a “bad” way to act or behave. So why don’t I apply that same principle to parenting? Just the other […]

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Mommy Mondays: 9 Things I Did Right as a First-Time Mommy

September 3, 2013
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I had kids early compared with most of my friends. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but now my circle of peers are beginning to have their own children, many of them for the first time. One advantage of this wave of new babies is that it has prompted me to reflect […]

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Mommy Mondays: Pondering the Yins and Yangs of Parental Imaginings

March 13, 2013
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It’s only Wednesday and I have already experienced extremes in the continuum of emotions related to being a parent. On Monday, I had a lovely conversation with a fellow music therapist who recently watched her 20-something daughter perform in a professionally-produced play. This was the yang—the excitement and wonder of envisioning the possibilities for my […]

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Mommy Mondays: How Parenting Helps Me Clarify What’s REALLY Important

February 11, 2013
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People—yours truly included—often talk about the challenges parents face. It’s true that the constant monitoring, middle-of-the-night feedings, and never-ending energy can be exhausting, but the perks of being a parent far outweigh the challenges. One of those perks is having the opportunity to analyze and clarify what’s really important to you. As a parent, there […]

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Mommy Mondays: I Need My Kids, Too

December 3, 2012
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I’ve always known that kids need their parents. It was common sense to me, really. The ways in which they need their parents may look different over the years—for food, shelter, clothes, health, learning, emotional support, etc.—but regardless of how it looks, kids need their parents. Want to know what I didn’t know? How much […]

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Mommy Mondays: Birthday Reflections on Being a Mommy

November 5, 2012
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This week is a big week in our home as we celebrate not one, but TWO kiddo birthdays! It’s been a pretty incredible 6.5 years and I feel awestruck at the amazing journey these two souls have taken me on. As I sit and reflect on what these past mommy years have been like for […]

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