Sparkler Parents

Episode 33 - Empathetic Observer of Our Own Experience

May 02, 2023 23:23 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MB

Today we are going to take a DEEP DIVE into the sensations of the present moment and begin to cultivate what I have been calling being an "Empathetic Observer Of Our Own Experience". We do too much judging of ourselves and others and this exercise that you are about to do will help gain experience with merely naming the experience/sensation without judgement or evaluation. After you watch or listen to this Podcast episode, spend 3-5 minutes journaling about your experience.What did you notic...

Episode 32 - Brain-Based Parenting Book Club; Ch 4. - A Caregiving Formula (Acceptance)

August 11, 2021 14:10 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MB

This episode we review PACE, which stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. We talk a little more about playfulness and then dive acceptance. QOD: Describe a time when you miscued with your child. In that moment were you able to stay playful and accepting, or not? Jump on over to the FB Group to start a discussion. https://www.facebook.com/groups/441951513098677/

Episode 31 - Brain Based Parenting, Chapter 4 - A Caregiving Formula

July 09, 2021 14:20 - 8 minutes - 8.09 MB

This chapter introduces the PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) acronym. We talk about Playfulness and how that can help get you as the parent back into a parental state of mind so that you can better read your child's cues and want to engage more (release of dopamine). Join the discussion in the FB group, Sparkler Parents Podcast. https://www.facebook.com/groups/441951513098677/

Ep 30 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 3: Stressed Out Parenting

June 12, 2021 13:17 - 16 minutes - 15.6 MB

If I threw 100 tennis balls at you all at once, how many would you catch? I know that we would like to think we could catch at least 1 or 2, but in reality, the answer is none...in fact, I think I would turn around and just let all of the pummel me in the back. So, stress, can be adaptive, if we have the resources to manage it, but when the stress is too great, we go into survival. When this happens as a parent, it can feel very confusing, because everything just keeps going wrong and any...

Episode 29 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 3 Blocked Care

June 07, 2021 14:36 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MB

There were some viewers/listeners who requested a YouTube Format, so this is it. You can still catch the podcast version too outlets like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. This episode continues to Chapter 3 of Brain Based Parenting and it discusses Blocked Care. The question of the week to discuss here in the comments or on FB is: What are your resources to buffer stress and challenge in your life so that you can stay in the present moment with your child?

Episode 28 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 2 - The Parental-Child Reading System

May 19, 2021 18:56 - 8 minutes - 7.45 MB

Let's dive in to Chapter 2 a little more. So far we have learned that innately we, as parents, have different neurochemicals in our brains that help us connect to our children. These chemicals help strengthen pathways to build a strong attachment to our child first to orientate to the child, then be motivated to spend time and care for our child and today we talk about our ability to read/attend to non-verbal cues that tell us as parents that our child needs something...but what? And I woul...

Episode 27 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 2 The Parental Approach System

May 11, 2021 15:18 - 10 minutes - 9.31 MB

What is the Parental Approach System and why is it important to me? This is the idea that we are biologically engineered to want to have experiences with our kids. But I know that some parents find this difficult. What about when you rarely feel this way? This is a warning sign that there is too much stress on your system. Practicing silent sitting or a guided meditation can be PART of the solution at buffering your stress. How do you feel when you can take even just 2 minutes to yourself...

Episode 26 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 2 The Five Domains of Parenting

May 03, 2021 14:03 - 9 minutes - 8.36 MB

Join the Discussion at the FB Group! Sparkler Parents Podcast Share an example of a time when you did not use your executive brain while parenting? I used to do this a lot more related to behaviors my children did or if my husband was about to arrive at home and one of the kids just made a big mess, I would yell, where as, if that same mess was made 30-45 minutes earlier I may not have yelled at my child the same way. What changed? The context changed. The fact that I just cleaned up and...

Meditation #8 - I Spy (Sensory Edition)

April 28, 2021 20:07 - 3 minutes - 3.31 MB

This is not truly a meditation, but rather a way to develop an awareness of our senses. We have 10! In this game, 7 of the senses could be used including: sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell, proprioception and vestibular. Have a few items prepared and start the game off with SIGHT, I spy with my little eye.... Then allow you child to take a turn. Move on to as many senses as you feel are appropriate. Get creative with essential oils, noises and things to see in the room. But you can als...

Episode 25 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 1 (cont'd)

April 28, 2021 19:55 - 8 minutes - 7.81 MB

This podcast episodes pulls in a little bit of the discussion from the FB group, Sparkler Parents. Please join us over on FB. Also we round out Chapter 1 with the concept of neuroception.

Meditation #7 - Heart Center

April 28, 2021 19:07 - 9 minutes - 8.8 MB

This meditation to to help open your heart to allow loving energy to come in and flow back out to your child(ren), family members, neighbors, neighbors' kids and on and on. Check out Parents Thrive! This is a valuable resource of parents' stories around birth, anxiety and depression and realize that reaching out for help is a sign of strength. If you are a parent who is struggling, connecting to other parents, friends, family is a good thing. You do not have to have all of the answers, bu...

Episode 24: Brain-Based Parenting Chapter 1

April 27, 2021 19:11 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MB

This was a long chapter, but it lays the foundation for everything else that we will be discussing and learning about in this book. Some key take-a-ways included: We as parents are really striving to help our children be parents themselves one day. So all of the experiences of our child's early childhood will help shape the way the world in viewed in the future and how well our child develops the ability to self-regulate emotions, but also attune to others in their lives. This process is ...

Episode 23 - Book Club Edition: Brain-Based Parenting #1

April 26, 2021 14:30 - 8 minutes - 8.03 MB

Welcome back Sparkler Parents. After about a 2 week hiatus, I am back. Over the next 8-9 episodes we are going to explore together a book that was required reading for my infant massage certification that I hold. I will admit, I did not read the book! But over the past 3 years since I received the infant massage instructor certificate, I have picked up a lot of this information info from other places. In fact, this podcast is based a lot in information from this book and I had not even re...

22 - Vision Quest

April 12, 2021 19:29 - 9 minutes - 8.6 MB

We often think our children’s vision is based off of how about they can see the letters and the page or at a certain distance we don’t often think about how well our children’s eyes are working together as a team. But in fact this is as important as how well the eyes are working individually since it is teamed vision that allows for depth perception, understanding contours of faces and different expressions. We naturally try to compensate when the information coming in from the environment do...

Sing, sing a song

April 06, 2021 14:42 - 8 minutes - 8.01 MB

Are you sick of Baby Shark, Daddy Finger or Wheels on The Bus? Check in with your child when they sing a song or listen to music, because even if you aren't "feeling" the song in the moment, it might just be the ticket to strengthening your connection. Some ideas to create connections with music include: 1) just humming the tune. Humming can help you activate your vagus nerve and can actually help your slow your breathing and heart rate. 2) Make up your own lyrics. 3) Leave off the endings w...

Episode 20 - Love and Laughter

March 26, 2021 19:29 - 6 minutes - 5.96 MB

Love and logic is usually what we are going for as parents, but I often feel that love and laughter creates more connection. The logic part comes naturally the more connected we are to our kids. When our children sense our love and are relaxed, there no longer is resistance...or at least less resistance. Leave a comment or a message about how you use laughter to build connections with your kids and in the meantime, check out this curated list of jokes to get the laughter (or at least a co...

Episode 19 - Drawing our kids closer - Cultivating creativity through drawing and coloring

March 25, 2021 17:39 - 7 minutes - 7.23 MB

Connecting with our kids is not always a serious matter. This week we will explore how to have fun, be creative and laugh together. Checkin out a few resources to get the creative juices flowing! Online Cartooning Workshops for kids and adults https://sarahjanevickery.com/ Take the 3 Marker Challenge https://youtu.be/RaYy7Nu7L18 Cartooning tutorial https://youtu.be/xudklRk8aM0

Meditation #6 - Creating Self-love and Compassion

March 17, 2021 20:39 - 9 minutes - 9.16 MB

This is truly time just for you. You are worthy of love. You are worthy of self-love. You are worthy of other people's love. You are able to give love to others.

Self-compassion is more than just for your benefit

March 17, 2021 20:11 - 6 minutes - 6.11 MB

As Sparkler Parents we are working toward cultivating present moment awareness with our children. But there are other parts of our day when we may not be directly interacting with our kids, but they are listening, watching, observing us and our responses to situations. They feel our stress as much as they feel our joy and excitement. If we can grow our own ability to recognize and name our own suffering, we can then learn to extend our own selves a hand, just like we would do with a frien...

Episode 17 - Can you please repeat?

March 12, 2021 14:56 - 5 minutes - 5.08 MB

This episode cover s a couple of tools that we as parents can use, but so can our children to help create some space for our emotions without reacting out of anger or fear. I also wanted to share with you the idea of a Share Journal. Check out this little video tutorial and download the PDF's to print. https://youtu.be/yGkE_P5Fd0M PDF only: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZRA_SUEhrHiCdzW-m0dLDvejvW0KwXyS/view?usp=sharing

Episode 16 - Wave of Emotions

March 11, 2021 13:32 - 7 minutes - 6.51 MB

Emotions are very similar to playing in the ocean. Both Susan David and Joan Rosenberg speak to psychological flexibility in their books (Emotional agility and 90 Second to a Life You Love) and this concept is very important for us as parents as well as for our children.

Balloons in the sky - Meditation #5

March 06, 2021 21:13 - 8 minutes - 7.73 MB

This meditation is great for adults and kids alike. You will be be invited to move your body during this practice, so you want to make sure that you have enough space. Lie down so that your feet are flat against the wall or the side of a couch. If you need to, you can do this lying in your bed or sitting a chair with your feet against the floor. Begin to notice your breath...

Phone a friend

March 04, 2021 18:29 - 1 minute - 1.63 MB

This is a quick little PSA to make an intention to reach out to a friend. Whether you text, call, Skype or get together in person, make that connection and I promise, you will be so happy you made time for yourself and that other person. If you would like to learn more about me or listen to some a longer episode, link to Angela Marciano’s interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/i9FIOKzM9l8

Meditation #4 - Same and Different

March 03, 2021 19:58 - 8 minutes - 7.42 MB

This is a meditation that involves you focusing your attention (and intention) on your hands and fingers. We will be using different hand mudras or seals to practice motor control of opposites. You will hopefully experience how it is easier to control the same movement (finger flexion or finger extension) as compared to opposites or 2 fingers flexed and the others extended. This is a good experiential practice to also consider for our children with emotions. Before the child can control or ...

Perfectly Imperfect

March 03, 2021 00:29 - 7 minutes - 6.61 MB

The strive to fit it to a group over leads us to act outside of our values. The longing to feel recognized, appreciated, valued can drive to to thoughts, behaviors and habits that are really about trying to make other people feel comfortable at the expense of our own well being. I grew up believing that being perfect was the only way to be. That if I did not do it correctly, or the right way, I would not be accepted. I went out of my way as a child and even as an adult to do everything fo...

Meditation #3 - Rainbow Reach

February 27, 2021 14:00 - 5 minutes - 5.43 MB

This is a meditation/game to play with your kids. I have played this game first as a swim instructor to help kids get used to putting their faces in the water, but now as a pediatric physical therapist this game is perfect to teach kids about their senses, especially, sight, touch and proprioception. I love this game and so do the families I work with. Thank you for listening. Reach out to me at [email protected] with any questions, comments or suggestions. I truly would l...

Laughing isn't always funny

February 26, 2021 13:32 - 7 minutes - 6.65 MB

What is your sense of humor and how to you help foster a healthy sense of humor within your child? Looking for signs of engagement and signs within your child's body that the joke is perceived as funny is important. Plus thinking about our child's developmental age and whether or not the child is even able to understand the difference between reality and a joke, or an even higher level of humor sense as sarcasm. But just as tickling isn't always funny for the child, sometimes, sarcasm cros...

The Last Love Language - Physical Touch

February 24, 2021 14:53 - 8 minutes - 7.63 MB

Physical touch means a lot to me as a physical therapist, but some kids (and even some adults) do not like physical touch. In order to help create safety around positive, safe touch we need to be able to figure out what safe touch feels like for our child. This episode goes over 3 different types of physical input that could be sequenced together as a formal massage to your child's arms, legs, feet, hands, back chest and belly. If you would like to download the below PDF there are more in...

Mediation #2 - Creating Safety in Your Space

February 22, 2021 16:52 - 5 minutes - 5.53 MB

This meditation is just over 5 minutes long. It aligns with the Root Chakra and creating a safe container for yourself and being within your environment, no matter where you find yourself right now at this moment.

The Power of Gifts

February 22, 2021 16:31 - 8 minutes - 7.42 MB

Gifts, both giving and receiving, can be an effective love language for many. At the same time, when the gift is given with an expectation (even named) of something in return, it is no longer a gift. This is perceived by the receiver as not being genuine or even just as something that is now expected and deserved. The other thing that happens is sometimes the receiver does not perceive that they are worthy of the gift. This is masking an underlying anxiety and challenge with self-worth. Chi...

Meditation #1 (all meditations will be listed under Season 3)

February 22, 2021 01:07 - 2 minutes - 2.17 MB

These meditations will be listed as such. My hope for you is that you will begin to try some silent sitting a few minutes each day. You may be ready to move on to more time. Using Insight Timer app or even meditations that you can find on YouTube are often 6-20 minutes in length. Where as it would be ideal to consistently reach the 10 minute mark 1-2x/day, you may not find that comfortable or feasible just yet. Do know that these shorter meditations are training your brain none the less....

JOY vs ANNOY List part 2

February 21, 2021 16:26 - 8 minutes - 7.93 MB

This is the second part in a series of 2 episodes looking at ways to create more space to allow joy into your life. Again another self-care and buffering activity to be able to be ok right now in this moment, but also realize that we have other options. We as parents have a lot of stress. And these stressors may or may not be able to be changed, but we can (and must) build in buffers and resources for ourselves in order to maintain a balance. This is another experiential episode. Please ...

JOY vs. ANNOY part 1

February 20, 2021 13:00 - 4 minutes - 4.47 MB

Let's have some fun! Looking for little things that bring us joy and noticing what might be slowing sucking joy out from our lives is a good practice. Also, it allows you to dive deeper underneath the actual experience and relate to the emotion being felt. Once we acknowledge the emotion, we can think about building connections to help us buffer uncomfortable emotions or perhaps make some changes to change perspective or cultivate a different environment to yield a different outcome. Check...

Breathe with me

February 19, 2021 14:00 - 6 minutes - 6.25 MB

We learn through our experiences. In this episode we will explore linking a known experience of breathing to focus in on how well we are able to stabilize our mind amidst distractions, like random thoughts, children yelling, the T.V., the dog barking and yes, even the "ding" from your phone. Noticing your current ability for focus and stability is an indication of how well coordinated you are in the moment and what types of things pull you out of this focus. It did not take much to pull me...

Coordination within our environment

February 18, 2021 15:39 - 6 minutes - 6.37 MB

Often I feel we, collectively as humans, forget that we don't always have control. And in reality, gaining control over a situation, emotion, another person isn't accomplished by demanding it. Yes, this will work in the short term, but it takes too much energy and effort to sustain. Gain control is a matter of coordination of the information coming into our bodies from external and well as internal stimuli. How well are you listening to this information? Does that idea even feel strange ...

Quality time and space

February 18, 2021 03:15 - 5 minutes - 4.71 MB

Moving through the Love Languages, we come to a pretty obvious one of "quality time". 10 minutes, 1-2x per day per child is what I strive for with my own three children. Some days I do better than others. We have also implemented alternating dates with either parent once per month. So this month my sons will each have a date with me and my daughter will have a date with dad and then next month we switch kids. On the flip side of quality time is quality space for our kids to process emot...

Practicing empathy with our children

February 16, 2021 19:18 - 6 minutes - 5.61 MB

Brené Brown speaks a lot of empathy and compassion. Tara Brach speaks about loving kindness. These are big concepts that connect all of us as human beings. These tools will also help strengthen the love and connection between our children, but it is HARD to do. What makes hard things easier?.....PRACTICE As parents we may feel like we have to have the answers now. We may fear what will happen if we don't do this right or if we let. our "child get away with that." Practicing empathy wit...

Moment of gratitude paired with acts of service

February 15, 2021 16:18 - 5 minutes - 4.72 MB

Set your intention for this week. My intention is to focus on how important acts of service are to my kids, even when I think they can do whatever they are asking help with on their own. There is actually a reason that my child and your child asks us for help, because at that moment they are needing more connection. At that moment they are perceiving something is getting in their way of being successful. So we can start with that. In that movement when you and I are feeling angry, frust...

Words of encouragement challenge

February 13, 2021 16:32 - 4 minutes - 4.31 MB

Valentines Day is tomorrow, but everyday we should be finding ways to tell our children, multiple times per day how we value them, why we are proud of them and specific reasons why we love them. This is important for us as parents to acknowledge out loud all of the things that we love about our kids. Plus it is so meaningful for our children to hear words of encouragement and feel valued as a member of the family unit as well as an individual person.

Weekly recap and noticing your breath

February 12, 2021 17:37 - 5 minutes - 5.07 MB

Let's recap the intention that was set for this week. How well were you able to align your actions with what you valued? What is 1 thing you might be able to do next week to bring you closer to the desired change? Take the last 2 minutes to notice your breath and feel how connecting with your breath through the day can also help facilitate more present moment awareness.

Amazing and Open - tools for self care

February 11, 2021 15:56 - 5 minutes - 4.76 MB

I get it you don’t have enough time to exercise there’s too many things going on in your life if you don’t have a enough time to dedicate to journaling or meditation. But for sure you have enough time to stop and pause and notice how you are feeling in the moment. This is a step in the process of self-care. Reach out to me with questions comments or things to share! [email protected]

Compassion as a Sparkler Parent

February 10, 2021 16:37 - 5 minutes - 5.35 MB

Sparkler Parents are right there in the moment with our children. This is whether the situation is fun, sad, happy, angry, silly. Not everything is going to work out the way we want it to. We know this is true, but do we always create the space for our children to feel the sadness or do we sometimes try to rush them back to happy? Being aware of what we as parents have as levels of tolerance for different emotions will help use create space for our own children to grow their tolerance too.

STOP and take in some AIR - Tools to use

February 09, 2021 14:36 - 5 minutes - 4.98 MB

Check out my self-control book I made for our kids...it may be useful for you too! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wbejj0c5uESY84quPmVK5gXv9tcSkz_u/view?usp=sharing Video on how to put the book together. https://youtu.be/5fvON6Ztggc S: Stop what you are doing T: Take a full breath to create some space between impulse and action O: Observe what is really going on P: Proceed from a place of love and kindness with ourselves and our children and take in some A: Acknowledge your child ...

Setting an intention for the week

February 08, 2021 16:02 - 4 minutes - 4.14 MB

Take less than 5 minutes to listen to this episode to help you create an intention for your week. If you are looking for some ways to play with your child check out this playlist on my YouTube Channel : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG8sRZMlEDZD8EiB_3_YYUAlGkXuhdKMs

Intro To Sparkler Parents

February 07, 2021 17:27 - 2 minutes - 2.14 MB

Podcast Update - This Podcast is changing. As of 2/7/2021, it will now be made up fo 3-5 minute episodes on creating Sparkler Moments with your child. This podcast will often tips, strategies and solutions to help parents stay in the present moment and become Sparkler Parents. The moments with our children are fleeting. There is a start and a stop and we will miss the connection when we are always focusing on gaining control. When we, as parents are focused on what needs to get done next...

Wired to Breathe

October 27, 2020 02:27 - 52 minutes - 48.9 MB

The American Lung Association once used the catchphrase, "If you can't breathe, nothing else matters." This is very true, but besides the obvious reason as to why breathing matters, have you ever considered its relationship to movement and postural control. In this episode, Vincent Leddy, PT and Carole Blueweiss, PT speak with me about yoga, breathing and how it is all related to our function. Along the way, we will dip our toe into concepts from Mary Massery, Anat Baniel and Svetlana Masg...

Panel Discussion #2 - Vicki Mackinder, OTR and Christine Robenalt, P.T. Discuss Sensory Regulation and the Therapist-Parent Dynamic Pre and Post Mommyhood

February 08, 2020 02:01 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MB

Sensory experiences and Sensory regulation are hot button topics. Vicki and Christine break it down a little and provide some additional resources. Then they have a discussion about what changed for them as therapists after having kids of their own and how this impacted their relationship with the parents they work with. email [email protected] to be featured on this podcast Check out the FB groups, Peds Therapy Collective and Pets Therapy Collective - Global, to partici...

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