parenting Archives

I lost my son yesterday. It was only for 10 minutes, but still. We were at the apple orchard, and I had stopped to take a picture of my youngest daughter by the morning glories. When I looked up from… my phone, my son had gone. There were hundreds of people around — kids and carriages and grandparents and stands with kettle corn, pre-picked fruit, and pumpkins. It was chaos, and I had no idea where he was. Here’s the thing: My son isn't a toddler. He's 12 years old. But he is visually impaired,… >> Read More

tragedy

4 Steps for Talking to Kids About the Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

Sivan Zakai

As a mother of three children in elementary school, I want to make my home into a fortress of safety. I dream of barricading the doors, shuttering the windows, and cuddling beneath the blankets, my… arms tightly wrapped around my kids. I’d like to shield them from all harm — including the pain of being an American Jew at the time of the deadliest attack on Jews in the history of this country. But as a scholar who studies how American Jewish children understand and process the world around them,… >> Read More

tantrums

That Time My 4-Year-Old Locked Me out of the House. On Purpose.

Michelle Dickstein

Last Friday morning, my 4-year old locked me and her twin sister out of the house. This wasn’t an accident — she did it on purpose. Here’s how it happened. Every morning, I round up my… three little ladies and usher them out the door at 7:45, so my eldest daughter can catch the bus to school. The stop is just across the street, but we must leave the house by then. As the bus pulls away, I buckle my twins in their car seats and drive them to pre-K before… >> Read More

challah

There’s a Recipe for Challah but Not for Raising Children

Debi Lewis

As my teenage daughter was crocheting one evening, I sat on her bed. As we chatted, I mentioned offhand that I don’t measure the flour for my challahs. She curled herself over the perfect rows… in her lap. “What?!!” she exploded at me. “The challah you make all the time, that everyone loves, that’s famous with all of our friends? The best challah in the world, and you don’t have a recipe?” I explained that I do have a recipe, and that I follow the instructions, mostly, but the amount of flour… >> Read More

Advice

My Daughter’s Friends Can Be Total B*tches and I Told Her So

Sarah Tuttle-Singer

Yesterday, when I picked my daughter up from her afterschool program, she said, "Oof. It's you." I said, "Wow, that really hurts my feelings, and makes me feel very small." She tossed her long… brown hair and said, "Whatever." I told her again, “That really hurts my feelings and makes me sad.” We all have different ways of being with our kids. Many parents hide their feelings to protect their children. I don’t. One afternoon, my kids were being so awful that I just sat down in the middle… >> Read More

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