Current research on the topic of empathy in children points to likelihood that infants as young as 6 months have the ability to demonstrate empathy.  Whether or how empathy develops as the child grows is a whole different story. Here we go again, nature vs nurture. A... Read more...

I’ve just returned from a funeral. A friend’s husband, father of five, died way before his time was up.   And it was a five Kleenex affair. My mirror neurons, the ones that make you match the emotions of others, were hard at work. (You know when someone yawns,... Read more...

The mother unwrapped the straw, poked it into the little box, and handed the drink to her toddler as they walked out of the grocery store. The sliver of straw paper slipped from the mother’s hand. I doubt that she even noticed it. Rolling my grocery cart back... Read more...

The viral video of the two boys emoting after seeing The Odd Life of Timothy Green made my blood boil. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aFV1r45sAQ  In the video two boys, perhaps 7 and 9 years old, are crying as they try to discuss the movie they had just seen, and the... Read more...

Olympic fever is starting to rise, and here is the good news:  There are enough benefits to watching the Olympics as a family that you can throw your standard TV rules out the window.  Beyond sheer entertainment, there’s much to be learned by watching the games on... Read more...

There isn't a school around that doesn't step up the giving spirit as Thanksgiving and the winter holidays approach. Mini vans are jammed with cans of corn and candied yams to replenish the city's depleted food pantry shelves. Bags upon bags of gently used clothing are distributed... Read more...

(Posted for the second time...that;s how important this one is!) “You will not believe this story,” began the email from a client who had just returned from family services for the Jewish New Year.  She described the mother and three children sitting next to her own family. “She... Read more...

Young children notice difference. As they try to make sense of their world, they pay attention to regularity and irregularity, what is familiar and what is not.  And there is no judgment involved, just recognition of difference. Truth be told, most people notice difference.  It’s no big... Read more...

 Every year my friend Freida gives me a surprising gift.  Far out pop-up books, foodstuffs from the Homeboy Industries-Homegirl Catering and Kitchen, DVD’s of documentaries I might have missed. But this year’s is the best: Of Thee I Sing: A letter to my daughters by Barack Obama.  I... Read more...

“You will not believe this story,” began the email from a client who had just returned from family services for the Jewish New Year. She described the mother and three children sitting next to her own family. “She was knitting!” (Yes, you read it correctly,... Read more...