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Why crying is one of the best things you can do for your relationship
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If you really want your first date to work out, a good solution would be to cry. Cry hard. Why? It turns out it may make you more attractive. - photo by Herb Scribner
Next time you go on a first date, make sure you bring your heart with you, and put it on your sleeve.

Thats because a new study has found that crying or showing deep emotional responses during a date can actually make you more attractive.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that theres a link in the brain between understanding ones emotion and personal attraction, meaning that someone will be more attracted to you if they can understand your emotions.

"Humans interacting with other humans must be able to understand their interaction partners affect and motivations, often without words," the study said.

To find this, researchers from three different German universities ran two experiments. In the first, researchers showed 19 male and 21 female volunteers videos of women experiencing fear and sadness. They were then asked to choose which emotion was shown and identify how confident they were about their selections. The volunteers were then asked to enlarge the picture of the woman in the video to assess how attracted they were to her, and were asked a few questions about the woman.

In the second experiment, the researchers had a new group of volunteers watch women in the videos while undergoing fMRI imaging to measure brain activity.

The researchers combined both sets of data to see if there were any patterns. They saw that the reward centers in the participants brains lit up when they watched the videos of women who they understood more.

So in addition to physical attractiveness, people are attracted to other people due to their own feelings of similarity to another person, which gives them a feeling of understanding, or connectedness, according to Medical Xpress.

But expressing emotion isnt always easy for people, especially when theyre on a date or spending time with their partner. This can actually be problematic for a relationship, too, according to Margarita Tartakovsky of PsychCentral. She said some partners maintain feelings of sadness and worry for their partner, which makes it harder for their spouse or partner to fix any issues that plague the relationship.

If youre not authentically experiencing, expressing, and learning from your emotions, then that erodes trust, security, intimacy and closeness, Jared DeFife, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist and relationship coach, told PsychCentral.

This is why some couples will engage in specific discussion-based activities to make sure their voices are heard. Ive written before about how marriage audits and marriage performance reviews are both used by couples to share their grievances and emotional struggles in a relationship.

But sometimes that isnt enough. Daters sometimes need an extra push for them to share their emotions.

This is where music can be a fairly influential medium.

As Fast Company explains, one of the many ways music connects with our brains is through helping us work with our emotions. It allows our brain to cope with and think about our different emotions, even allowing us to be emotionally stable.

This means that sometimes we can understand the emotions of a piece of music without actually feeling them, which explains why some of us find listening to sad music enjoyable, rather than depressing, according to Fast Company. Unlike in real life situations, we dont feel any real threat or danger when listening to music, so we can perceive the related emotions without truly feeling them almost like vicarious emotions.

Its no secret that your relationship or dating experience will go through a wealth of emotions. And theres no shortage of musical tracks to describe each of those events. So weve put together a playlist below of 15 songs that accurately describe the emotional moments you may experience throughout a relationship.

1. The first date "We Found Love" by Rihanna

It can be awkward, it can be hectic and it can also be one of the best nights of your life.

2. The second date "It's Gonna Be Me" by 'NSync

Youre still unsure if things are going the distance.

3. The third date "This Kiss" by Faith Hill

It looks like this is going to work out. Tonights the night to seal that big kiss.

4. When youre finally official "It's Not Unusual" by Tom Jones

You did it! Youre official. Time to celebrate.

5. When you meet the parents "Stealing Cinderella" by Chuck Wicks

Uh-oh. Parents are coming.

6. The ex factor "Behind These Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson

The ex is in town. So what are you going to do?

7. The stability "Still Into You" by Paramore

Youre coasting along in the relationship, and you're still in love with your partner.

8. The breakup "Break Up In A Small Town" by Sam Hunt

Ah, the breakup. It happened. And of course you still have to see him or her around. Thats never fun.

9. The back together "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey

Your plan to win him or her back worked, and youre together again. Lets celebrate for a second time.

10. The engagement "Marry You" by Bruno Mars

Youre getting married. And you got engaged to this sweet tune.

11. The bachelorette and bachelor party "House Party" by Sam Hunt

Get together with some friends and have a good time!

12. The wedding "Marry Me" by Train

Tearing up yet? That first date gave birth to a beautiful relationship.

13. The wedding celebration "The Way You Look Tonight" by Frank Sinatra

Its a special moment, one youve been waiting for your whole life. And this song will surely set the mood.

14. The start of a family "Holiday Road" by Lindsey Buckingham

Familys on the way! Youve got be psyched for all those family road trips.

15. The forever after "Forever Young" by Alphaville

Retirement, some vacations to the islands and long days full of errands will fill up the rest of your days. And you couldnt be more excited about it.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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