By Jen Rudo Everything – and yet nothing – has changed. In March 2020, when COVID forced both professional closures and personal distance, we had to act quickly. Every aspect of our Jewish Big Brother Big Sister (BBBS) program – which has …
Connecting From Afar: How JCS Mentors are Staying on Track During the Pandemic Read More »
By Deborah Hamburger Around the winter holiday season, my office typically resembles a miniature FAO Schwarz. Puzzles and Lego sets get stacked on top of my filing cabinet; dolls are arranged on my windowsill; board games are piled in the corner next …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
