All the Jewish parenting news you probably missed this week.
-We’re all still reeling from Jared Loughner’s deadly massacre in Tucson last week. As parents, it’s tempting to think about how Jared’s parents failed him though this sort of finger pointing may miss the point. (More on what the Talmud can teach us about this here.) It’s also an interesting time to revisit a fascinating piece in O Magazine by Susan Klebold, the mother of the young Columbine shooter whose shooting rampage left 13 people dead. (O Magazine)
-Go figure. I never really thought of Jews as being the happiest people around. But according to new data, Jews rated the highest on something they call the the Well-Being Index. Perhaps all the kvetching is good for the health after all. We’re closely followed by the Mormons, which makes me wonder if they also have a propensity to kvetch. Or is just that having all those wives keeps them happy? (Don’t get me wrong, we love the Mormons. Mayim Bialik’s husband used to be one.) (NYT)
-The anti-helicopter mom, Lenore Skenazy, (we’re publishing your piece soon Lenore, I promise!) wants to know why we’re all so darn scared of men. In the Wall Street Journal, she says that by treating all men as predators of our children, we’ve become pretty sick. Sick stuff indeed. (WSJ)
–Why are Chinese mothers superior? Author Amy Chua raised quite a hullabaloo when the Wall Street Journal ran an excerpt from her provocative new book. If Jewish mothers thought they had the market on being pushy and overbearing, they haven’t seen anything yet. (WSJ)
