“Teach your child according to his ways.” – Proverbs “No child is hopeless….Any child who is told that he is a failure is deprived of his dignity and loses respect for himself.” – Alfred Adler Anyone who has children has fallen into the trap of labeling children and placing them in roles. Somehow it gives

You may have heard about it from your pediatrician or pharmacist.  And it’s true.  There is a shortage of Infant’s and Children’s Tylenol and Motrin and children’s antibiotics to treat common sicknesses like ear infections and strep throats.  Medications  for ADD/ADHD are in short supply. What’s happening? Presently, we are in one of the most

It is that time of year again. Chanukah, one of my favorite holidays. Of course, for most children, the focal point of the story of Chanukah is the brave and daring Maccabbis. This is a great opportunity (after you’ve lit the candles, fried the latkes and eaten your donut) to highlight the character trait of

As Jews we are familiar with the trait and acts of gratefulness. Being grateful means noticing the good in your life, in the world around you and being thankful for it. We are called Yehudim- The root of the Hebrew word is Hodah- thankfulness. It is ingrained in us. Most of our prayers involve some

It’s that time of year again. Rosh Hashanah, the time we, as Jews, reassess our values and goals is right around the corner. This is the perfect time to create a mission statement for your family. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen Covey, is one of the most popular self-help books. In

It’s that time of year again.  Camp is l-o-n-g over and now is “Bayn HashMashos.”  The lack of structure is not an easy time for most families.  How much time can Daddy and Mommy take off from work?  Thankfully, it’s not open-ended.  School begins imminently.  And there’s much to be done. Each school has its

Polio, the highly infectious disease that attacks the nervous system and can lead to spinal and respiratory paralysis, and, in some cases death, is making a comeback? The question mark is deliberate. Polio was eradicated in this country. Years ago. Since 1979, no cases of polio caused by the wild poliovirus have originated in the

The second temple in Jerusalem was destroyed because of sinat chinam, baseless hatred of one another. It is during this time of year that we take extra care with one another and try to shower each other with chesed, kindness. By doing this, we are making an effort to move to the other end of the

So often, our parenting seems to happen in a blur. This seems to be even more true now, in the midst of the winter. We are tired, our kids are tired, and then we say the wrong thing and find ourselves embroiled in a power struggle, yelling or just totally exasperated with our kids. As

“For a righteous man can fall seven times and rise…” (Proverbs, 24:16) Teaching all kids to persevere and keep trying aids them in all areas of life. However, the ability to keep trying when we don’t initially succeed is a must for children who struggle in school. We all know stories of successful people who