parenting
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Welcoming a New Child Into Your Family
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How to build connection, trust, and warmth from the first time that new son-in-law or daughter-in-law is at your table. There’s a shift in a family that doesn’t happen at a bris or a baby naming: it happens at the wedding. B”H, someone new is sitting at your table, not as a guest and not…
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Mommy is Davening, but What Are the Kids Doing?
Keep your kids busy (and well fed) all day so you can concentrate on the davening. The men and teens may be out of the house all day, but as a mom of little kids, you have a double task when Yom Kippur comes. Your kids will need you and want you, but you also…
Filed under: Crafts & Activities -
Helping Our Children Embrace the Gift of a New Year
The message to our children: Don’t look back. Think of the possibilities and look forward to being the person you truly want to be. Rosh Hashanah is a serious time. We stand before Hashem, reflect on the year that has passed, and think about the choices we have made. We speak about teshuva, repentance, taking…
Filed under: Parenting -
Protecting Our Children While Preserving Their Innocence
The best way to bring up the subject of personal privacy and safety with our children is naturally, in the context of our everyday lives. For many years, the idea of teaching young children in our community about personal safety felt uncomfortable. Parents wanted to preserve their children’s innocence, maintain tznius, and shield them from…
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The Maybe Game
There are few things we want more during Elul than to be judged favorably. As we stand before Hashem, we hope He sees more than what is visible on the surface. We hope He sees the effort behind the struggle, the intentions behind the mistakes, the victories no one noticed, and the quiet battles no…
Filed under: Inspiration -
A Parenting Toolkit for Your Highly Sensitive Child
Is your child having a meltdown? These are strategies that work. “Overdramatic.” “Rigid.” “Impossible.” Have these words ever been used to describe your child? Maybe, if you’re being honest, you’ve wondered the same thing yourself. When parenting feels like a constant struggle, it’s easy to assume something is wrong. People may tell you, “You have…
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How to Deal with “But Ma, Everyone Has It!”
The right response to our child when dealing with love, limits, and pressure. This is a Seminary-style example that pertains to so many areas in life. I once got a call from a mother, Chavy, who was completely overwhelmed. Her daughter, Bracha, was getting ready to go to seminary. What should have been an exciting…
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The Summer Parenting Trap
We Were Supposed to Bond. So Why Does More Time Together Often Lead to More Conflict? When summer begins, many of us imagine something very different from what actually happens. We picture slower mornings, family outings, popsicles on the porch, and quality time with our children. Then, three days into summer, we’re wondering how it’s…
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How Do I Help My Child Handle Rejection?
We often try to make them feel better in ways that don’t really help. This is what does. “I’m never going on the bus again!” – This was Miri’s tearful declaration to Mom. “ Yael called me ‘stupid’ because I caused my team to lose the spelling bee and then everyone started laughing. I HATE…
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What a Cardboard Box Can Teach a Child About Joy
Happiness is always here, right inside of us. For a long time, I thought about how children first learn happiness—not as a mood, but as a skill. Long before children can articulate what they feel, they are already learning how to think. And what they learn to notice, becomes a bigger and bigger part of…
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