Explaining Death to Children (Plus Notes on 9 Av)

In honor of the nine days of mourning leading up to the commemoration of the destruction of the Temple on 9 Av, which we observe this Sunday, I share this email from a reader. A very close friend of ours died about a month ago and last week our rabbi's adult son died.there has been talk of funerals … [Read more...]

Helping Kids Cope with Rocket Attacks from Gaza

        Update:  Mommy from Beersheva responds. Thirty-nine rockets were volleyed on southern Israel last night from Gaza. One Israeli was killed, and several are hospitalized with light injuries. This picture, by Yogev Shlomovitz  of Ynet, and shows a rocket … [Read more...]

Guest Post: Easy and Inspiring Sukkah Decorations

Wondering how you are going to decorate your sukkah*? Your worries are over! Please welcome Mara Strom of Kosher on a Budget for today's guest post on Sukkah crafts. And be sure to check out her site. I love Sukkot. Really, truly love it! I love watching my husband and sons build our … [Read more...]

Child Put in Foster Care When Parents Refused to Offer Junk Food

This is for the many parents of children who do not grow according to charts, and have been told over the years to feed formula instead of breastfeeding or to give a child cornflour, Bamba or other high-calorie, low-nutrient food so he will gain weight. The Daily Mail reports on a child put into … [Read more...]

Teaching Compassion to Children: Start When They Are Babies

We all want our children to be compassionate, but teaching this in our individualistic culture can be challenging. Here are my thoughts: Show compassion for your children from when they are babies. A person can only be compassionate if he has experienced compassion from others. We comfort babies … [Read more...]

Frugal Strategies for Young Families that Pay Off as Your Children Grow

As my family grew from a small to a large one with six children, I developed efficient ways to save money. Items that are small expenses with two small children become big ones as the family grows. Below I present ten money-stretching strategies for young couples with a growing family. It takes … [Read more...]

Nine Moons

Today we went to the Poleg Nature Reserve near Netanya. The big attraction is this sand dune that the kids can roll down: Two kids stayed there to dig a hole while the rest of us went down to the beach. As we approached, my five-year-old said, "I see tisha yarchei leida." I guess those kites do … [Read more...]

Working Parents and School Vacation in Israel: Proposal

Next week begins the three weeks of school vacation for the seven-day Passover holiday. The organization Working Parents for Change is working for the government to have fewer vacation days from school and more activities for children during the summer holidays. You can find the Hebrew proposal on … [Read more...]

Keeping Kids Interested in the Seder

Received via a community email list:We'd like to keep our 4- and 6-year-olds alert and excited for as long as possible during the seder. Acting out parts of the haggada has been suggested but we're drawing a blank on how to do this realistically yet without delaying the proceedings too much. Has … [Read more...]

Rabbi Metzger: Child Abuse Not a Charedi Phenomenon

On Thursday morning, Rabbi Yona Metzger, the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, was interviewed on Reshet Bet (Channel Two--a government channel) for the program Inyan Acher (another matter).As of now it is available on the IBA website. If someone knows how to link directly I would appreciate it.The … [Read more...]