The thought of getting a driver’s license is thrilling to teens. To most parents, it’s terrifying. Attached to the little paper that brings wheels and freedom to your child is an expanded list of worries for you. Not only are all the other drivers on the road a colossal safety hazard, but, in addition to merely operating a car, your distractible teen has to learn how to manage driving. Today’s technologically advanced vehicles come equipped with every distraction imaginable. Did you know that … [Read more...] about Your Kids are Watching You…Drive
Parenting
The Un-Resolution
I don’t like New Year’s resolutions. They scream failure. It doesn’t start that way. But inevitably the best laid plans… Two weeks into that new diet, that exercise routine, that tidy bedroom, and it’s back to square one and self-flagellation. Oh well, maybe next year. That doesn’t mean there aren’t many things I could or should change about myself. In fact, the list is embarrassingly long, and it would take many New Years to work my way through it, failure after failure. Recently I watched … [Read more...] about The Un-Resolution
Holiday Envy
Let’s face it, Christmas is everywhere. Even in cities heavily populated by Chanukah celebrants, Christmas rules, as the streets are dressed in sparkles and twinkle lights and red and green and fa la la. It’s no wonder that cries of “I want to have a Christmas tree!” fill Jewish air space. The omnipresence of Christmas trappings fuels what is known as the “December Dilemma.” Many a Jewish parent recalls lusting after Christmas trees as a child, and that memory is enough to push her over the … [Read more...] about Holiday Envy
The Habit of Giving
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 throughout the city. All good, all much needed. But is that enough? Are these yearly drives going to teach our kids the habit of giving and sharing? Will they actually make them care about other people, animals, the … [Read more...] about The Habit of Giving
Be the Person You Want Your Child to Be
(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 was knitting!” (Yes, you read it correctly, knitting.) “And when she was done knitting, she pulled out her Blackberry and began texting.” I queried as to her guess of the ages of the children. Elementary and middle … [Read more...] about Be the Person You Want Your Child to Be
Want Some Cheese With That Whine?
How amazing is it that all kids seem to whine at some time or other? Seriously, how is it that they all use the same tone? Is that capacity just part of the factory-equipped model of child? Truth be told, it kind of is…the capacity, that is. Children whine at different ages for different reasons. No one can say exactly when whining will start, but it can even be as young as 18 months. It is interesting that early talkers seem also to be early whiners. The toddler whiner often feels … [Read more...] about Want Some Cheese With That Whine?