Kindness Cure (8:53)

Tara Cousineau, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, meditation teacher, well-being researcher, and social entrepreneur.  She is affiliated with the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at Cambridge Health Alliance in Somerville, MA. Usually, when we look for healing, we head to the drugstore, doctor’s office, hospital or the outdoors.  But what is healing started with you being kind?   Tara Cousineau explains in her new book, The Kindness Cure, how the science of compassion can heal our heart and world.  

 

How Cohabitation Affects Families (54:26)

Laurie DeRose, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, Research Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, and Director of Research for the World Family Map Project. She focuses her studies on global family demography and children’s living arrangements. Living together outside of marriage has become one of the more common ways to start a family in the US and the rest of the world. In fact, 40% of births in the US now occur outside of marriage. And as some scholars believe, family stability is more important than marriage when it comes to the well-being of children. But recent evidence has shown that marriage itself is strongly associated with family stability. Dr. Laurie DeRose shares the research.

 

Kids Need to Play Outside (1:40:05)

Sandra Russ, Ph.D., from Case Western Reserve University's Department of Psychological Sciences.  She is the author of “Pretend Play in Childhood: Foundation of Adult Creativity.” Have you ever stood in the doorway and just watched your child play out a story? Whether they’re playing with puppets or Barbies or action figures, it can be quite entertaining. But kids don’t just play pretend to keep their mind off of adult things, it is actually a vital part of their development. Watching your kids play can give you a lot of insight into your kid’s mind. Dr. Sandra Russ teaches us the importance of imaginative play and how we can foster it for our children.