Studying Toddlers Yields Happier Adults

March 20, 2024 by Pat Lynch, Editor-in-Chief

Terrible twos, temper tantrums, and grocery store meltdowns are usually the first things that come to mind when people think of toddlers. But pediatric emergency medicine physician and researcher Dr. Hasan Merali has long thought toddlers are among the best people in our society and adults could do well to learn from them. They can teach us how to lose weight naturally, sleep better, build stronger friendships, improve teamwork, be more productive, have more fun, and live a more fulfilling life. Dr Merali says toddlers act kindly toward strangers, are eager to work with others to solve problems and demonstrate extraordinary dedication and perseverance. These are all traits that many of us aspire to have in order to improve both our personal and professional lives. These extraordinary youngsters can be impulsive, but with this comes a remarkable ability to take risks and ask questions—two qualities that can help us enjoy life more.

Hasan Merali, MD, is an associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University and a pediatric emergency medicine physician at McMaster’s Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario. He received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on child injury prevention in low- and middle-income countries. He has published more than 25 peer-reviewed journal articles and his writing has been featured in Science, the Boston Globe, NBC, CBC, and Popular Science. Dr. Merali lives in Oakville, Ontario, Canada with his wife and their toddler daughter.

Filed Under: Health, Science Tagged With: advice, author, awareness, empowerment, happiness, healing, Healing From Within, Internet, internet radio, joy, on-demand radio, online, online radio, pat lynch, personalgrowth, podcast, radio, radio for women, relationships, Seek Reality, self-confidence, speak up, well-being, wisdom, women, women's radio network, women1994, Womens Radio, WomensRadio

About Pat Lynch, Editor-in-Chief

Pat Lynch

In 1969 at the age of 25, Ms. Lynch, having already served as the Press Secretary for a U.S. Senator and Congressman, founded her first advertising agency in Atlanta, Georgia, becoming the first woman to begin an advertising agency single-handedly in the South. By 1977, she had been listed twice in The World’s Who’s Who of Women, in the International Who’s Who and Strathmore’s Who’s Who. She and her agency gained a reputation for introducing media, particularly radio and television, to industries, which had never considered using them to deliver their advertising messages. One such industry was real estate (both residential and commercial). Her clients have included Turner Outdoor, Coco Cola, Miller Lite, Citizens Trust Company, LPGA, Pulte Builders, K&B, Ryland Homes, and a longer list of regional and national builders and developers, real estate investment trusts and banks, as well as local, regional and national political candidates, issues and referendums.

In 1996 in the Bay Area of California, Pat Lynch began Women’s Online Media and Education Network. In 1998, other doors being slammed shut, she began WomensRadio.com, to “give women a greater voice!” WomensRadio® became the first site to stream for women and is possibly one of the longest continually streaming sites on the Web. The audience was, and is, filled with “women leaders,” women 40-65+, most of whom can be identified as “Cultural Creatives,” as defined by researcher Dr. Paul Ray. In 2005, the company introduced a new audio production tool for the Web, AudioAcrobat®, that is now the state-of-the-art Web-based media tool for on-demand audio and video streaming and podcasting. This service provides audio and/or video streaming in emails, documents, social media and websites. Today, it is the tool of choice for thousands of users in some 150 countries and powers WomensRadio®.

Pat Lynch contributes her time and experience to many not-for-profits. When the City of Atlanta had experienced a season of multiple killings of young people, a time when the economy was also in a slump, the city was looking for a number of ways to create community and give kids at risk a brighter outlook. She volunteered her time and helped to create the largest party for young people that has ever been conducted. With only three months to pull together all the details, “It’s Time,” was an all-day event hosting some 10,000 kids in Piedmont Park, the largest park in the city. All the transportation to the event, all the food, all the cooks and servers, all the entertainment, all the prizes, everything – was provided for free! Mayor Andrew Young and Gerri Elder, Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, created a special plaque of appreciation which was presented to Ms. Lynch for her work in creating and conducting this event. Eight years later, she and her team created a major media event, The Rock 'n Roller Derby that brought the first rock 'n roll bands to the largest park in Atlanta, for the benefit of the City.

She has also worked tirelessly for other not-for-profits, largely in publicity and/or fund-raising for such organizations as Cerebral Palsy Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy, American Heart Association.

While residing in California, she served on the boards of the Fresno, CA Court School PTA as President, Fresno Habitat for Humanity and the Fresno Ballet where she helped to raise funds to produce the first new Nutcracker in over 20 years. In the Bay Area, she served as the Media Chair for the California Women’s Agenda, was a member of the Women’s Leadership Alliance of the Bay Area, the National Council of Women's Organizations, and was on the Board of Directors of the Afghan Coalition and Afghan Women’s Association International.

Since then, she has served on the Board of Boardroom Bound (www.boardroom-bound.biz) and the National Women’s Political Caucus (www.nwpc.org) where she served as National Board Vice President of Communications. In 2015, she helped Co-found Basin and Range Organics, the new Nevada-based, USDA Certifying Agency and served as Secretary of that Board. While located in Reno, she served for two years as Secretary for the Reno/Sparks NAACP, volunteered on the Mayor’s Operation Downtown and was part of The Women’s March, OFA and other progressive organizations including the launch of Indivisible Reno.

Ms. Lynch attended Stuart Hall in Staunton, VA, and is an Alumni of The University of Tennessee, School of Journalism. While attending, she participated in many organizations on campus, including election to AWS (Associated Women Students), the school paper and Alpha Xi Delta Sorority. She is in the process of publishing her first novel, “Merger,” and is working on its sequel. Currently, she is creating a new virtual conference, “CreativesConnectLive,” to launch in the Spring of 2021.

She is a frequent speaker on the value of “speaking up” and creating new communication bridges to the future. She can be reached at womensradio@gmail.com