Let’s face it: the day-to-day realities of parenting can be messy. Fortunately, Jewish tradition offers timeless wisdom, values, and guidance to help parents of all faiths and backgrounds. The new book The Joys & Oys of Parenting: Insight and Wisdom from the Jewish Tradition begins with the concept of shalom bayit (a peaceful home) and offers practical ideas, advice, and inspiration for raising children into confident, kind, responsible adults.
A discussion guide at the end of the book provides a framework for engaging parents in small, ongoing groups. Discussion groups can be safe spaces in which we learn about raising children, share and test ideas, and help each other based on our varied experiences. They allow parents - as well as grandparents, foster and stepparents - an opportunity to reflect on their own current practices and come away with new ideas from other parents, centered around and inspired by ideas from this book.
Each section of The Joys & Oys of Parenting applies problem-solving techniques to just about every parenting challenge.This third in a series of excerpts by the authors – Maurice J. Elias, PhD; Marilyn E. Gootman, EdD; and Heather Schwartz, MA - offers tips on how to move from oy to joy.
Wisdom: Foster Resilience
At some point in childhood, we learn that life isn’t all fun and games – there are challenges that we must face, after which we continue to seek joy. It is important to show our children that we don’t simply give up when we experience a hardship, that we have tools available to us to get through those stressful situations. These tools include behavioral skills, like drawing boundaries, as well as emotional strengths, such as maintaining a positive attitude. Often we must be honest with our children and let them know that though we cannot solve every problem that life throws their way; we can support them with coping mechanisms and with laughter. Try the following to encourage your child to practice resilience in daily life.
The Joys and Oys of Parenting is available for purchase at Amazon.
