By Jennifer Rudo As a mom of a 7th grader and a 10th grader, I worry about the pressure for kids to pick a life path when they are so young. Some of these kids don’t even know what they want to eat for breakfast, but we as a society expect them to choose a …
By Jacki Post Ashkin, LCSW-C So, your child is entering his senior year in high school. Top dog. Big man on campus. The finish line is in sight. Congratulations! Now hold on to your proverbial hat. This year is a rollercoaster ride of milestones, deadlines and transitions that will test your nerves and your relationship …
Senior Moments (High School, that is) for Parents Read More »
To My Child, I am letting you go to Senior Week, but that doesn’t mean I won’t worry. I know you want me to start treating you like an adult by giving you some space and some trust. But I also know that sometimes people your age think that nothing can ever happen to them; …
By Susan Kurlander, Health Educator Alcohol, a legal drug for those of us over 21, is part of our lives whether for ceremonial/religious, cultural, social or, in some cases, medicinal reasons. How many of us have put a wine-soaked piece of gauze in our son’s mouth at his bris to help quiet him? How many …
By Debra K. Waranch, LCSW-C Judaism teaches that our bodies are God given, and that they need care and nurturing. It is against Jewish values to abuse, change, harm, or mutilate our bodies in any way, and yet Jewish families are increasingly struggling with eating disorders. What is causing our daughters, sisters, wives, brothers and …
The Mask of Hunger: Eating Disorders in the Jewish Community Read More »
By Rachael Abrams, LCSW-C I have a vivid parenting memory where my barely 4 year old and I hosted a playdate for a little boy and his mother. As it often does, the conversation turned to the kids and specifically, the various extracurricular options available to even the youngest of children. After rattling off the …
by Jacki Post Ashkin, LCSW-C As I read the news reports in the days that followed the senseless shooting at Columbia Mall, what stood out to me most was the revelation that in shooter Darion Aguilar’s journal, he wrote about feeling unhappy, and that he thought he needed a mental health professional but never told …
Columbia Mall Shooter: Could He Have Been Helped? Read More »
By Myra Strassler, LCSW-C Have you ever found yourself sounding like a parrot, repeating to your child what your parents told you, instead of what you really wanted to say? Maybe you’d promised yourself you would never say that kind of thing to your children. Did you later wonder, “Who said that?” “What was I …
By Howard Reznick, LCSW-C For some of us the hardest part of being a parent is to say “No” — and not feel guilty. We risk disappointing our children. What if they get angry or hurt and won’t speak to us “ever again”? Who really likes being the “party pooper” or the heavy, anyway? And …
As a Parent, Knowing When to Hold and When to Fold Read More »
By Joan Grayson Cohen, Esq., LCSW-C I was devastated when I learned that on September 9, twelve-year-old Rebecca Sedwick went to an abandoned concrete plant in Bartow, Florida, climbed a tower, and threw herself off to her death. Rebecca had been bullied and harrassed for months by as many as 15 girls who sent her …
