I’ve been reading Free-Range Kids at the recommendation of Sylvia-Rachel. Author Lenore Askenazy, head of the Free Range movement, is one of the Forward 50 Influential Jews of 2009 and was interviewed this week by both Time Magazine and CNN. The premise of her book and blog is that parents stifle … [Read more...]
Mothering Alone vs. Co-Parenting
August 28, 2009 by
I received this thoughtful email from a young mother with three children aged 4, 2 and 3 months: I really enjoy all your advice and tips. You help me appreciate that all mothers go through more or less the same ups and downs and we can provide so much support for each other. I was wondering if … [Read more...]
Empathy, Mother-Guilt, Shabbat, Career Skills, Anger, and Idleness
May 20, 2009 by
RaggedyMom showed me this CNN story about developing children's social maturity. In a fourteen-year study, the preschool children of mothers who described a picture using emotional language showed more empathy and better social skills when they got older. It is important to encourage children to … [Read more...]
Tips on Staying Home and Staying Sane
May 18, 2009 by
"I don't want to put my baby in daycare, but I'm worried that I will go crazy if I stay home all day. " How is it possible to stay home with your baby and not end up in the loony bin? Below I list the strategies that helped me the most. I believe they can be helpful for employed mothers, and fathers … [Read more...]
Stepping Off Your Teen’s Emotional Rollercoaster
April 30, 2009 by
A reader writes: I had 3 sons when my oldest daughter was born. When the boys became teens everyone told me, "Just wait till your daughter reaches that age." I was worried about mother/daughter issues, clothing, boundary issues, surliness, rebellion. Now she is 12 and what I've gotten instead is … [Read more...]
Teaching Compassion to Children: Start When They Are Babies
April 28, 2009 by
We all want our children to be compassionate, but teaching this in our individualistic culture can be challenging. Here are my thoughts: Show compassion for your children from when they are babies. A person can only be compassionate if he has experienced compassion from others. We comfort babies … [Read more...]
Around the World in Eighty Clicks: Why I Love Being a Mother
April 2, 2009 by
I was flattered to be asked to participate in "Around the World in Eighty Clicks," founded by Katherine at Her Bad Mother and David at It's Not a Lecture. The idea is for bloggers from eighty different countries to give five reasons why they love being mothers. Like Katherine, I don't love … [Read more...]
Working Parents and School Vacation in Israel: Proposal
March 23, 2009 by
Next week begins the three weeks of school vacation for the seven-day Passover holiday. The organization Working Parents for Change is working for the government to have fewer vacation days from school and more activities for children during the summer holidays. You can find the Hebrew proposal on … [Read more...]
How Do Parents of Large Families Manage? Meet Tal and Talia
November 3, 2008 by
On Orthonomics a guest post about Orthodox homeschooling generated the following comment by "l": One problem that parents encounter is that in families where there are both older and very young children, the toddlers and infants often require many hours a day of the parents' care and leave little … [Read more...]
Ten Lessons for Our Daughters
May 29, 2008 by
My older sister, a long-time fan of this blog, sent me some suggestions for raising Orthodox girls (but they could apply to anyone) and challenged me to add a few of my own. Hers are marked with an asterisk.*Be educated and self-confident enough to know that you can support yourself if necessary.*If … [Read more...]
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