Parenting Our Children

Understanding the hot-cold empathy gap can help those in shidduchim comprehend how their actions might influence their dates.

Asperger’s Syndrome was first described in the 1940s by Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger, who noticed that he had many patients who were deficient in social and communicative skills even though they had normal language development and cognitive abilities. Professionals still debate as to whether Asperger’s Syndrome is “high-functioning autism” or whether it is its own disorder completely. Regardless, in 1994, Asperger’s Syndrome was added to The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as a separate disorder from autism.

However, for some children, the split between home and school can be severe and potentially debilitating.

My heart breaks for how you must have felt sitting there struggling to keep your smile in place while your sister shared her happy news.

In the previous two columns, we focused on phonics, sight-reading, comprehension and fluency. While phonics and sight-reading are different approaches to reading instruction, comprehension and fluency measure the level at which a student reads.

Unconditional love means that you love your children and even as you set high expectations for them, you understand that they will make mistakes and you will love them regardless. Children need to understand this as well.

“Is there something I can do to make my kids smarter?” Some parents are surprised to hear my answer, “Yes, yes, and yes!

Most experts agree that with specialized coaching, a person’s social “intelligence” can be significantly raised.

The reality of the situation is that if your child is asking you for help that means that he has not figured out a way to master the situation on his own.

One of the most important lessons I learned is about the interaction between academics and social skills

What might be making your daughter so quiet in the classroom? It is possible that your daughter suffers from selective mutism.

A lot of people have heard about dyslexia, a learning disability that concerns reading.

Textbooks can allow teachers to have a basis for their curriculum, but it is not a curriculum in and of itself.

This scared her immensely. After all, she was terrible with numbers.

As Bnei Yisroel passed through the land of Ya'azer and Gilad in the "Ever HaYarden" (land East of the Jordan River) they noticed that the land was very fertile and quite suitable for grazing animals.

Through your courage in sharing and your friend’s compassion, you have created a powerful connection to somebody outside of your shame.

Some of the anxiety associated with math comes from the need to be perfect, to always get the right answer.

For both parents and teenagers alike, adolescence can be a very hard time. Unfortunately, when family life gets rough, communication tends to break down. And when it does, parents need to restore their ability to relate to their teenagers by learning about the rules of communication.

He recognized me before I recognized him. We were in Yerushalayim on different sides of the street. He was six foot two waving and yelling my name. “Noach, Noach, Noach Schwartz, the social worker! It’s me Yechiel Klein! Don’t you remember me?” He was wearing a hat, white shirt and suit and looked like a regular bochur from the Mir or Brisk. He did not look like the Yechiel I had met ten years earlier at a clinic in Boro Park.

If you feel that someone is misrepresenting your purpose or intent, use a contrasting statement.

Our 12-year-old son is not doing well in his 7th grade local yeshiva class. We are considering moving him to another local yeshiva in mid-year, as things are rapidly deteriorating. We are not asking for specific advice, as you do not know him or us. But can you share with us what questions to ask and answers to give when making this difficult decision? Names Withheld

The warm parenting style indicates to children, “I love you and will take care of you” and the firm parenting style lets children know, “I expect something from you.”

We all have small parts of us that don’t showcase us in the best light. Bits and pieces that when highlighted detract from our positive qualities.

Q: What does twice exceptional or 2e mean?

A lot of this unique and personal language that you develop with your child happens until around the time your child starts sixth or seventh grade.

In last week’s column, two parents asked how to better motivate their children (a 12-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy) to improve their davening. In the response, we discussed four prerequisites for inspired tefillah – for adults – and some of the ramifications as they pertain to the chinuch of our children.

In our culture of conspicuous consumption, it is not unusual for children to ask for everything they set their eyes on. And, if we are fortunate enough to have the funds to buy them all that their hearts desire, we tend to think, “I can do it, why not?” There are, however, importance values that our children can learn when we set limits.

I think a major problem within the "single" community is the pressure to get married ASAP.

Suppression and avoidance might seem to be the easiest answers. “Let’s go back to checking our emotions at the door.” But this attitude is counterproductive.

Along with higher than average intelligence, gifted children often have stronger than average emotions.