Parenting Our Children

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule and some kids are resilient and are able to form a positive sense of self regardless of the way in which they were parented.

Now, watching her daughter’s forlorn profile through the window, Miriam thought, Riki was once a good, happy kid. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m going to find a way back to that place. There has to be a way.

“We know from human history and the latest learning science that success comes from the combination of academic knowledge and the ability to work...

The reason behind this is that when we ask our brains and bodies to make drastic changes, our fight or flight response kicks in and we become paralyzed.

I once received a call from a forty-seven year old distraught mother whose seventeen-year-old son Moti had changed his style of dress, wearing jeans and refusing to wear a hat. She explained that he had gone through a difficult time in school and was now hanging around the house instead of studying in yeshiva. He was also mixed up with the wrong crowd and was associating with at-risk teenagers late at night on the street. She was very concerned as she had an older son who had gone "off the path" and was worried that Moti was going in the same direction. She believed that Moti could be helped if he would be willing to talk with someone.

Girls tend to do more of the “mean girl” syndrome. The bullying is more underhanded and veiled. There is taunting and verbal abuse... On the other hand, with boys, you see more of the physical bullying: hitting and using physical aggression to intimidate.

We do a lot of talking to ourselves without even realizing it – and some of the stories that we tell ourselves can either help us bounce back or force us deeper into the struggle.

By some counts, roughly thirty percent of people fall into the introverted temperament end of the spectrum.

With time, this loop becomes more and more automatic. The cue and the reward become interconnected until your brain anticipates the reward as soon as it hears, sees, or touches the cue.

The goal of coaches is to provide children with a safe environment to practice their still emerging communication skills.

While those who suffer from SAD syndrome generally begin to feel the effects once we change the clock and the days get shorter, these symptoms have been intensified by Covid-19 and the way that the pandemic has changed our life.

Why is it that one youth involved in a trauma or difficult situation seems to bounce right back with little effect on his daily functioning while another youth seems to take forever to get back to his usual self?

Parents often come to my office worrying about phonics instruction – occasionally because teachers do not completely explain the mechanics and at times because of myths that permeate the world of education.

We all have physical needs, we all have relational needs, and we all have aspirational or spiritual needs. When we understand that about each other, we can easily understand each other.

Ask your daughter what the cause of her anxiety is – social, academic, or separation from you.

I have started wondering – which fears are normal and which are not? Is there a way to alleviate irrational fears?

He argues that all humans have “common needs” – around thirty of them.

Demystification is actually a wonderful tool for helping children overcome their learning disabilities because it enables children to understand how they learn.

For adults, this twelve-step guide can certainly be helpful in building new pathways in the brain to create resilience. But, what can you do for children?

The alarm clock rings and Chaim pulls his pillow over his head to stifle the screeching noise. Mornings are Chaim’s least favorite part of the day; they always end in someone yelling. In truth, mornings are difficult for most of us, but particularly so for those who struggle with basic skills that are labeled “executive function” skills.

It’s the magic ingredient that adds a measure of oomph to the day.

Susan David begins her book Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life with the following story: A well-regarded captain stood...

In the first two parts of this four-part series, we discussed the need to validate someone who is mourning the loss of a loved one. Utilizing a Rabbinic illustration, we presented the story of Rav Yochanan ben Zakai when he sat shivah for his son. The focus was on his receiving consolation: why he received comfort from his one student, Rav Elazer ben Aruch, and not from his other four students. Now let us move to a Biblical backdrop as we continue.

Many psychologists and educators theorize that girls are less likely to be diagnosed with ADHD because their symptoms differ greatly from those of boys.

Pay attention to what your daughter is learning in school. Are women represented? See if there is a way to incorporate more positive role models.

Kriah teachers continually search for ways to combat tedium and monotony in reading practice.

“You miss 100% of the shots you don't take” – Wayne Gretzky, Hall of Fame Hockey Player “I can’t seem to focus.” “For as long as...

Our schools are immersed in standards, educational assessments, and prescribed curricula. All of these things are ultimately good – they help create standardized and measurable learning goals.

Kaboom! That's what we experience when there is an explosion. And that's exactly what we feel like when we are dealing with an "explosive" child. For those of you who don't understand what I'm talking about, consider yourselves blessed. But those who know exactly what it means for a child to "explode" for no apparent reason understand what a tremendous challenge this is. It's like living inside a simmering volcano. As one frustrated mother put it, "We are in a perpetual state of crisis."

From Ecclesiastes we learn the expression "there is nothing new under the sun" and when you read history you see how true this is. From cults to politics it seems as if nothing is really ever new. That also includes technology. While a certain invention or discovery can be classified as new, we often find it in nature much earlier. Arctic fish used anti-freeze in their bloodstreams long before people put it in their cars. There are airplanes, but birds flew much earlier; there are satellites, but the moon was there earlier. Whales are better than submarines and as for nuclear fusion; the sun and stars had that worked out long before we did.