Empathy

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Why I’m OK If My Son Never Says “I Love You” My 9-year-old son has never said "I love you." I honestly never gave it a second thought until I realized I was being told "I love you" multiple times daily by my 5-year-old daughter.	How We Can Make Sense of Child Behavior: An interview with Barbara Probst We want to celebrate our child's unique traits, but sometimes their differences can be worrying.
I Can Help Protect Our Planet By Raising My Children to Care Absolutely the greatest contribution I can make toward Earth's stewardship is to raise children who care. It's not enough to say we care for the planet: We must live it and model it to our children, and I've learned that this is best done... read more	Want To Raise A Creative Child? First, Believe You Are Creative! Then Open Up 15 Minutes Of Your Day We tend to believe that only a few people are genuinely creative, that they are born knowing they are creative and that they go through life with that creative spark undimmed.
Seek Progress Over Perfection with Ourselves and in Parenting Perfectionism is probably the biggest creativity block I run across. When we speak of perfection, we actually are reaching for an unattainable goal, because as human beings, we aren't perfect.	Growing Up Different is OK! What Autism Has Taught This Mom About Raising Her Daughter One of the hardest challenges with raising a special needs child is trying to keep people, including us as her parents, from attmepting to force her into being a "typical" child. Jackie is different.
I Love You When You're Angry I never felt like I could get angry as a child. My parents sure did, but I got the message loud and clear that I was supposed to keep the peace, be good, and above all, never ever lose my cool.	Are You A "Problem Parent"? Happy, confident, caring children grow up in an atmosphere of flexibility and trust, supported by respectful and realistic parents who do not see challenging behaviors as indications that there is a problem with their children.
Falling in Love with Our Children is Scary: 3 Tips to Make It Easier Love opens us up, wide open: no armor, no defenses. We're naked and vulnerable when we're in love. Love is powerful. It's not just cupids and chocolates and diamonds.	Blog Entry 7 More Parenting Resolutions for the Year has been updated. 7 More Parenting Resolutions For The Year January is when I look to the future, reflecting on the positive changes I'd like to make in my parenting. Here are my top 6 parenting resolutions for this new year.

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Journal Studies

Predictors of Maternal Sensitivity to Infant Distress

Leerkes, E. M. (2010). Predictors of maternal sensitivity to infant distress. Parenting: Science and Practice, 10(3), 219-239.

A mother’s emotional goals predicted her sensitivity to infant distress more so than her own emotional reaction. In addition, her prenatal ability to detect an unfamiliar infant’s distress was associated with more maternal sensitivity with her own infant.

Breastfeeding, Brain Activation to Own Infant Cry, and Maternal Sensitivity

Kim, P., Feldman, R., Mayes, L. C., Eicher, V., Thompson, N., Leckman, J. F., & Swain, J. E. (2011). Breastfeeding, brain activation to own infant cry, and maternal sensitivity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52(8), 907-915.

Breastfeeding changed the mother’s brain, activating brain regions associated with empathy, greater maternal sensitivity, and mother-infant bonding.