Dreaming

November 12, 2009

A recent article in the New York Times discusses new research by Dr. J. Allan Hobson, a sleep researcher at Harvard, which argues that the main function of REM sleep (when most dreaming occurs) is physiological and not psychological.  The brain is likened to a machine that uses what we might experience as dreams to […]

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The case for nerds

November 11, 2009

I like nerds.  I must like nerds or risk self-loathing.  I’m not sure if I can claim full-nerd status, as I’ve never played Dungeons and Dragons and was more of an invisible/trouble-maker/outsider in high school (I secretly wanted to run with the nerds, only I was too insecure about my smarts to believe they’d accept […]

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Tough Love, effective love and just plain love

November 10, 2009

In a recent article in The Guardian about “Tough Love” (http://tiny.cc/7TYmU) it was found that both laissez-faire and authoritarian approaches to parenting fell significantly short of “Tough Love,” for raising well-adjusted kids.  However, the version outlined by the researchers of “tough love” seemed to mean engaged parenting and appropriate limit-setting.  Now when I think “tough […]

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Anne

November 9, 2009

I came home from the memorial service and the sudden ability to stop moving forward allowed the gloom of death to penetrate the surreal veil that had hung over the day up until that moment.  A fast-falling dusk descended like a shroud over Los Angeles and my heart. I lay in bed and yearned to […]

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Couch koans

November 8, 2009

We really don’t do our kids homework for them, but we do generally try to be sounding boards and impromptu teachers when they need, and we are able—and this usually distills down to sitting with them as they re-confront the question at hand and try to puzzle through (and how quickly they get to things […]

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You’re glowing. Literally… So be sure to shine on your kids

November 7, 2009

A recent study by several Japanese scientists found that, “The human body literally glimmers.”  It turns out that the light the body gives off is of 1000 times lower intensity than the sensitivity of our naked eyes. They found this by making a rather fancy camera that could pick up the bioluminescence of the body—a […]

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Fool’s Gold

November 6, 2009

Parenting is great because it often challenges us to take an interest in what we do not feel consciously interested in (i.e. violent video games, baseball, Pokémon, elaborate and interminable board-games, etc.).  Part of me feels such things are a waste of time, and part of me feels like there’s just not enough time while […]

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GABA GABA Hey, do a little yoga today

November 5, 2009

While I have personally found that yoga is a great way to be a better parent—gaining a sense of community, enhanced calmness, focus and overall well-being, there is a growing body of evidence to support the use of yoga for relief of depression, anxiety, insomnia and overall stress reduction.  In the November issue of Monitor […]

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What does it really mean to be “Passive-Aggressive?”

November 4, 2009

The term “passive aggressive” seems to be used more often than it’s clearly understood.  One way to think about someone being passive aggressive is when the other may appear to be polite and non-confrontational, but they at the same time somehow provoke us and push our buttons and we find ourselves getting very angry.  With […]

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Ants

November 3, 2009

While helping behavior in animals is well documented, actual rescue behavior is extremely rare.  Instances of rescue in dolphins (helping distressed others to the surface to breathe) and one incident involving capuchin monkeys just about totals out the observed instances… that is until several scientists working in collaboration were able to document rescue behavior in […]

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