Podcasts by Sparkler Parents

Episode 33 - Empathetic Observer of Our Own Experience from 2023-05-02T23:23:50

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". W...

Episode 32 - Brain-Based Parenting Book Club; Ch 4. - A Caregiving Formula (Acceptance) from 2021-08-11T14:10:26

This episode we review PACE, which stands for Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy.  We talk a little more about playfulness a...

Episode 31 - Brain Based Parenting, Chapter 4 - A Caregiving Formula from 2021-07-09T14:20:05

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 ...

Ep 30 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 3: Stressed Out Parenting from 2021-06-12T13:17:32

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...

Episode 29 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 3 Blocked Care from 2021-06-07T14:36:29

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 con...

Episode 28 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 2 - The Parental-Child Reading System from 2021-05-19T18:56:05

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 chemi...

Episode 27 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 2 The Parental Approach System from 2021-05-11T15:18:43

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 par...

Episode 26 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 2 The Five Domains of Parenting from 2021-05-03T14:03:13

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 rel...

Meditation #8 - I Spy (Sensory Edition) from 2021-04-28T20:07:42

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, pr...

Episode 25 - Brain Based Parenting Chapter 1 (cont'd) from 2021-04-28T19:55:19

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 from 2021-04-28T19:07:04

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 Pare...

Episode 24: Brain-Based Parenting Chapter 1 from 2021-04-27T19:11:55

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 ...

Episode 23 - Book Club Edition: Brain-Based Parenting #1 from 2021-04-26T14:30:04

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 ce...

22 - Vision Quest from 2021-04-12T19:29:47

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 tog...

Sing, sing a song from 2021-04-06T14:42:55

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 ...

Episode 20 - Love and Laughter from 2021-03-26T19:29:14

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...

Episode 19 - Drawing our kids closer - Cultivating creativity through drawing and coloring from 2021-03-25T17:39:44

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 ju...

Meditation #6 - Creating Self-love and Compassion from 2021-03-17T20:39:33

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 from 2021-03-17T20:11:58

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...

Episode 17 - Can you please repeat? from 2021-03-12T14:56:39

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 ...

Episode 16 - Wave of Emotions from 2021-03-11T13:32:45

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...

Balloons in the sky - Meditation #5 from 2021-03-06T21:13:24

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 dow...

Phone a friend from 2021-03-04T18:29:32

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 ...

Meditation #4 - Same and Different from 2021-03-03T19:58:44

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.  Y...

Perfectly Imperfect from 2021-03-03T00:29:31

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 real...

Meditation #3 - Rainbow Reach from 2021-02-27T14:00:11

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 ther...

Laughing isn't always funny from 2021-02-26T13:32:32

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 a...

The Last Love Language - Physical Touch from 2021-02-24T14:53:27

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 nee...

Mediation #2 - Creating Safety in Your Space from 2021-02-22T16:52:19

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 no...

The Power of Gifts from 2021-02-22T16:31:51

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 gif...

Meditation #1 (all meditations will be listed under Season 3) from 2021-02-22T01:07:43

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 ...

JOY vs ANNOY List part 2 from 2021-02-21T16:26:50

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...

JOY vs. ANNOY part 1 from 2021-02-20T13:00

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...

Breathe with me from 2021-02-19T14:00

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, lik...

Coordination within our environment from 2021-02-18T15:39:56

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...

Quality time and space from 2021-02-18T03:15:33

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 ...

Practicing empathy with our children from 2021-02-16T19:18:39

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...

Moment of gratitude paired with acts of service from 2021-02-15T16:18:44

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. &...

Words of encouragement challenge from 2021-02-13T16:32:23

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. Th...

Weekly recap and noticing your breath from 2021-02-12T17:37:42

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 th...

Amazing and Open - tools for self care from 2021-02-11T15:56:10

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 t...

Compassion as a Sparkler Parent from 2021-02-10T16:37:53

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 ...

STOP and take in some AIR - Tools to use from 2021-02-09T14:36:15

Check out my self-control book I made for our kids...it may be useful for you too!

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Setting an intention for the week from 2021-02-08T16:02:15

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 playl...

Intro To Sparkler Parents from 2021-02-07T17:27:51

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, s...

Wired to Breathe from 2020-10-27T02:27:34

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, ...

Panel Discussion #2 - Vicki Mackinder, OTR and Christine Robenalt, P.T. Discuss Sensory Regulation and the Therapist-Parent Dynamic Pre and Post Mommyhood from 2020-02-08T02:01:43

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 ...

Panel Discussion #1 - Mona Ready ECSE and Christine Robenalt, P.T. from 2019-11-06T04:32:51

Mona and Christine field a couple of questions from the Peds Therapy Collective FB Group.  We also discuss a great resource for feeding challenges with children from My Munch Bug LLC and Me...

The need for everyone to be calm and alert for new learning and listening. from 2019-10-21T15:36:28

We ask our children (our patients or our own) to have a calm body and listening ears, but do we have this same expectations for ourselves? Sign up here to appear on this podcast. https://www.sig...

Emotions in Action - Part 1 from 2019-10-12T23:55:56

This is the episode for the child and parent to listen together. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.f...

Peds Therapy Collective’s growing vision. from 2019-10-10T15:46:09

Re-thinking the focus of this podcast, the FB group and where to go from here. Sign up genius https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D44AFAA23A5FD0-healthcare --- This episode is sponsored by · An...

Introducing Peds Therapy Collective from 2019-10-09T13:51:33

https://mailchi.mp/18664bae9963/mnricourseinfodenver --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app