Jewish Parenting
Perfect Chanukah gift for kids?
Sharon Duke EstroffDec 06, 2012
As every parent and grandparent knows, kids have an incredible tolerance for repetition. They can watch the same Phineas and Ferb episode again and again without...
Teaching your kids about money
Sharon Duke EstroffOct 25, 2012
WHEN my son was in first grade, he told me he wanted a Wii game console for his birthday. Jake, I replied, intent on giving my son perspective on how […]
First day of kindergarten
Sharon Duke EstroffAug 16, 2012
Preparing a child for the first day of kindergarten is among the most bittersweet tasks of our parental careers. But wistfully tracking down the coolest Batman or Barbie...
Power Tools — helping kids cope with terror
Sharon Duke EstroffJul 26, 2012
It was a tough week on the news ticker for parents. First came the heinous attack on an Israeli tour bus in Bulgaria, followed only days later by the incomprehensible...
Send homesickness packing this summer
Sharon Duke EstroffJun 28, 2012
ITS a situation as sticky as a freshly roasted marshmallow. Your child, whos been looking forward to attending overnight camp since you signed her up this fall,...
Making sense of your child’s test scores
Sharon Duke EstroffMay 31, 2012
Coloring inside the lines didnt carry high stakes when we were kids. But for our children growing up in the era of No Child Left Behind coloring in […]
A Jewish Mother’s Day confession
Sharon Duke EstroffMay 10, 2012
WHEN I was eight, I had names picked out for all of my future offspring (a dozen baby girls). At 13 I had my own babysitting business. After grad school, […]
Raising resilient kids: A Purim lesson
Sharon Duke EstroffFeb 25, 2010
WHAT is causing 21st-century kids to morph into what researchers have called bubbles apt to burst at the slightest smattering of adversity? Experts believe the...
Must our kids shoot 3-pointers?
Sharon Duke EstroffSep 18, 2009
A FEW years back, I had an epiphany in the JCC bleachers. It was the playoffs in the second grade basketball league, and I was having a hard time concentrating
Age-old parenting lessons for new school year
Sharon Duke EstroffAug 20, 2009
The back-to-school season is, for all intents and purposes, a period of pure parental mayhem. From tracking down the coolest Batman or Barbie backpack on the block to...