OUDepartment of Public Relations

December 16, 2004

An OU National Program Comes to Toronto:
Positive Parenting Conference to Focus on Children of All Ages

The Village Shul
1072 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto

Sunday, January 9
5:00 p.m. – 9:45 p.m.
Registration begins at 4:30 p.m.

An interactive evening focused on strengthening practical parenting skills for children of all ages will be held at The Village Shul on Sunday, January 9, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. as part of the Orthodox Union’s highly successful international Positive Jewish Parenting program initiative.

OU Executive Vice President Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb will deliver the keynote address at the event, which will include a buffet dinner. Rabbi Weinreb has years of experience as a clinical psychologist working with young people, in addition to his work with families in the rabbinate.

The OU is presenting the program in cooperation with two local organizations, Torah in Motion and the Jewish Family Institute. At the dinner, Rabbi Jay Kelman of Torah in Motion and the Beth Jacob Congregation will deliver welcoming remarks. After Rabbi Weinreb’s keynote address, there will be a question and answer session with the panelists, providing participants with an opportunity to address issues that pertain specifically to them. Rabbi Ahron Hoch of the Jewish Family Institute and The Village Shul will give the closing remarks.

The OU’s Positive Parenting workshops have been held all over the North America. Each program is specially tailored to its host community. “Workshop topics are developed in consultation with community synagogues to reflect and address specific communal needs,” explained Rabbi Moshe D. Krupka, OU Executive Director of Programming.

The program in Toronto will feature both local and internationally renowned mental health professionals who will give workshops specifically focusing on raising children from early childhood through the teenage years. The sessions will focus on the unique needs of the Orthodox community.

Workshops, divided into two sessions, will include:

  • “Sibling Rivalry” and “Setting Limits: What We Allow, What We Forbid,” with Norman Blumenthal, PhD;
  • “Instilling Positive Values in an Age of Materialism” and “Time Management for Today’s Family,” with Rona Novick, PhD;
  • “Talking to your Teens about the Hard Stuff” and “Building a Lifelong Relationship with your Child,” with Jerry Lob, PhD;
  • “Do I Need a Help, or is My Teen Just Being a Teen?” with Rabbi Nosson Westrich, M.D.;
  • “HELP! I Have Children,” with Sarah Chana Radcliff, M.Ed.;
  • “How to Talk and Listen to your Teens,” with Jeremy Cohen, MSW and Rabbi Nosson Westrich, M.D.;
  • “Body Image, the Media and Your Teen,” with Adrienne Gold, and
  •  “Facing Each Day with a Positive Attitude,” with Ellen Schwartz.

“Raising an Orthodox child in this day and age is a great challenge with many complex issues,” declared Frank Buchweitz, OU Director of Special Projects and the coordinator of the parenting programs. “The practical workshops will be ‘how-to’ lessons on addressing daily issues impacting upon families,” said Mr. Buchweitz, who will introduce Rabbi Weinreb as the keynote speaker.

For advance registration, contact either Torah in Motion at 416-633-5770 or the Jewish Family Institute at 416-785-1108, ext. 204. For more information about bringing the OU’s positive parenting programs to your synagogue or school, contact Frank Buchweitz at 212-613-8188.

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 275,000 products manufactured in 68 countries around the globe.

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