Do As I Do

By “Devorah” As the child of BT parents who got a strong dose of ‘flaming BT-itis’ when I was a teenager; and the wife of a BT, I’ve had the good fortune, if you can say that, of experiencing Baal Teshuva parenting from both sides. That doesn’t mean I have a 100% fool proof knowledge [...]

The Danger Of Lowering Our Expectations

In a recently letter to the editor of Jewish Action, Dr. Bernard H. White of Dallas, Texas, responded to an editorial by Dr. Simcha Katz, in which the OU president recounted the story of a young man who, although the product of a prominent Jewish day school and high school system, confessed to feeling “ignorant [...]

A BT’s Recipe For Raising Good Kids in an FFB World

I recently met the grown son (20-ish) of a very talented rabbi and educator. The father is an overt ba’al teshuva, and the son a regular bochur who attends a top mainstream Israeli yeshiva. To me the boy seemed to have inculcated the best of what the FFB-and BT-worlds have to offer. As a BT [...]

High School Life

Recently we had two freshman boys join us for Shabbos lunch. They attend are both “out of towners” who attend a boy’s yeshiva in the area. I listened to my 6th grade son ask them questions about dorm life, the daily schedule, what’s expected of them with school work, and what they do in their [...]

Dr David Pelcovitz on Your Child’s Uniqueness – mp3

Dr David Pelcovitz on Your Child’s Uniqueness can be downloaded here.

Hallel’s Excellent Adventure

Reprinted from JewishMom.com. “Umm, well, you see Morah Achinoam…” “Hallel needs to take two weeks off from school in January in order to travel to Canada to ‘discover her roots’…” A “Masa Shorashim.” That was the embarrassingly lame white lie I invented in order to justify Hallel’s upcoming two-week absence from 6th grade. But “discovering [...]

Safe Children, Safe Communities

Let’s not mince words. The future of our charedi community is quite literally in existential danger as the tension in Beit Shemesh plays itself out in the international media. On a purely pragmatic level, this disturbing publicity has already placed the charedi community in Eretz Yisroel at greater risk of losing its financial aid to [...]

Mother’s Prayer

By Anonymous This story is just so perverse I thought it best to say in verse. I’ve got a daughter, aged 23 Already grown up, you say to me. I raised her right at least I tried. Sent her to Bais Yaacov to bring me pride. But the long blue skirt she threw away And [...]

Groundbreaking New Children’s Book Released: LET’S STAY SAFE!

Groundbreaking New Children’s Book Released: LET’S STAY SAFE! Let’s Stay Safe, published by Mesorah Publications, is the newest breakthrough from Project YES, a division of Agudath Israel of America Community Services. According to Artscroll, “It may well be the most important picture book that a parent will share with his or her young child.” We [...]

Does Anyone on the U.S. Supreme Court have Kids?

Does anyone on the U.S. Supreme Court have kids? How about grandkids, nieces, nephews, even neighbors with kids? I wonder. In it’s final decision before adjourning for summer break the court struck down a California law intended to protect children from playing with video games that depict murder, maiming, rape and other forms of violence. [...]

Teleconference: Tantrums and Sibling Rivalry: Maintaining Harmony in Your Home

Upcoming Live Teleconference… Tantrums and Sibling Rivalry: Maintaining Harmony in Your Home In this program presented by Rabbi Avraham Mifsud and Rabbi Yitzchak Shmuel Ackerman, LMHC, you will learn effective strategies to deal with tantrums and sibling rivalry. When harmony is disrupted it affects the whole family; call in to hear how you can develop [...]

Every Parent’s Worst Nightmare

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly accurately described it as, “Every parent’s worst nightmare.” Nine-year-old Leiby Kletzky of Boro Park, Brooklyn finally convinced his mother that he was old enough to walk home alone from day camp. It was only seven short blocks to their home, and she had gone over the route with him beforehand to [...]

Expanding the Backyard

One of the things that initially excited me about find beyondbt.com was that the website/community allows me to interact with fellow Jews who are growth-oriented and get advice from others. As a parent of a boy entering 6th grade, a daughter entering 4th grade, and a daughter entering kindergarten I am always looking for eitzos [...]

Speaking to Your Kids About Personal Safety – mp3 and article

Here is the audio file of Rabbi Horowitz talk on “Speaking to Your Kids About Personal Safety” in Queens last night. The practical tips are from the article below from Rabbi Horowitz’ website. In the broadest sense, I think that the time for fathers and mothers to begin protecting their beloved children from sexual abuse [...]

This Cannot Go On

By Chaya Houpt Around the time Y.B. and A.N. turned two, they started to Talk. Not just words, but sentences, and then plans and games and conspiracies. Where they had previously been mostly indifferent to each other’s presence, suddenly they were partners in crime. They would stay up for most of the night, chatting and [...]

Dr. David Pelcovitz – Three Keys to Raising Your Children

On Moetzaei Shabbos, December 25th, Dr. David Pelcovitz, one of the foremost child psychologist gave a lecture to over 500 men and women at the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills. You can download the shiur here. Dr. Pelcovitz is the son of the former long time Rabbi of the White Shul in Far Rockaway, [...]

Parenting and Drinking Responsibly

“It is an Aveira to Get Drunk on Purim,” was a direct quote from Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky shlit’a, who took precious time from his busy schedule and shared his da’as Torah with hundreds of participants worldwide last week during a Project Y.E.S. conference call, titled, “Purim Parenting: Keeping Our Children Safe and Sober.” I had [...]

Question of the Week: Is Different Always Better?

Rivka writes: I have, thank G-d, children of varying ages. I often find that I’m placed in a situation where I have to approve/disapprove or allow/permit certain activities that my children’s friends are engaging in. For example, we do not permit our children to attend movies. From time to time, my 11 year old will [...]

Making Exceptions

Getting from the house to cheder — or rather the two separate chedarim that my sons attend — always takes time. Shmuel is like a seven-year old Wordsworth — constantly stopping to marvel at the wonders of nature (and the neighborhood); while Pinchos, five, comports himself like a young Newton, always pausing to ask how [...]

Vaccinating Our Children Against Prayer

I am writing this column on the train – the one AFTER the one I was supposed to catch, as I experienced that forlorn feeling when I rushed as fast as my legs would carry me, my briefcase, coat, umbrella, and take-home kosher pizza for the kids from my business meeting in Manhattan to the [...]

Popular Posts

• The Books in the Dumpster
• Do BT Parents Risk Kids Off the Derech?
• Mother’s Prayer
• Parenting, the BT and the TV
• An Exchange of Letters With My Daughter
• The Nachas of a BT Parent
• Embarrassment and Truth
• How Does One Determine Appropriate Parental Control?