goodenoughparent

Every Castle is a Prison, Every Prison is a Castle

The movie “The Last Castle” tells the story of an army prison, and how a disgraced general joins the ranks of the prisoners only to lift their spirits and bring them to believe in themselves and their honor again. In the very first words spoken by the hero, played by Robert Redford, I found aContinue reading “Every Castle is a Prison, Every Prison is a Castle”

The MTS-5, or: Balancing Challenge and Fun in games

Over the past year, Max (he’s 10 years old now! how time flies) has become very fond of chess. He’s a huge fan of games of all sorts – he’s also in Little League, which is not very common in Israel – but chess has become one of his favorites as of late. For me,Continue reading “The MTS-5, or: Balancing Challenge and Fun in games”

Stairs and Sonic: The Copy Game

It’s the Climb When you’re kid is diagnosed with developmental issues, it also has some upsides. One of them is close monitoring and guidance by professionals, funded by the state, who help work through the early developmental challenges. It’s usually a hassle to go to – Michelle, G-d bless her, took Ray to 95% ofContinue reading “Stairs and Sonic: The Copy Game”

Censorship: A guide out of it

Censorship in todays world is more challenging than ever. A kid in a small town fifty years ago was not bombarded with information like our kids are, nor was information of all kinds so easily accessible to him. Once you might have just needed to verify your son didn’t buy the wrong magazine and hideContinue reading “Censorship: A guide out of it”

How to handle a Living Room Dance

I hope you dance? It happens all the time: Abby will sit or stand somewhere and belt out, singing a song that popped into her head. Or perhaps she’s in the mood to dance, spinning around or lifting her legs in impossible angles and to impossible heights. It’s really fun for me to watch whenContinue reading “How to handle a Living Room Dance”

Telling your kid – and the world – that he has ASD

It was another day like any other in the Israeli spring. The sun was shining, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The only hint that it was spring and not summer was that the air wasn’t boiling up from the pavement. And on this day, Ray walked into his 3rd grade class,Continue reading “Telling your kid – and the world – that he has ASD”

Ray & COVID-19 Meltdowns

Meltdowns are never fun. If your kid has had one of these, I probably need not explain why this is. But for the uninitiated, let me quickly introduce the phenomenon. As defined here, meltdowns are cases when your child is “so emotionally overwhelmed by unpleasant feelings that [they] can no longer control them or hideContinue reading “Ray & COVID-19 Meltdowns”

Preach vs. Practice

Confession time: Our house is almost always a huge mess. My kids leave stuff around the house all the time, and forget to put it away. Same goes for their rooms. As a result, lots of annoying stuff happens – people can’t find toys or books, cloths get stepped on and possessions are crushed andContinue reading “Preach vs. Practice”

Beyond PotatoLad (or: how to encourage healthy eating)

When I approached the task of getting my kids to eat healthy, I was pretty calm about the whole thing. I had a plan: I’d let Michelle handle it. It made the most sense. Michelle is a very balanced cook and eats a wide variety of foods. She is very detail-oriented, and tracks what everyoneContinue reading “Beyond PotatoLad (or: how to encourage healthy eating)”

How to fight, and do it right

Before I begin, let me say a few words: This is not a post about teaching your kids how to handle a school bully. This is about showing them how to fight with their siblings – in a constructive way. Now that I’ve said those few words, I think we can start the post inContinue reading “How to fight, and do it right”