Why I’ve Stopped Taking So Many Pictures of My Baby

By Courtney Naliboff for Kveller

When my in-laws came this spring to meet Penrose, they brought with them a DVD containing several months worth of baby videos of my husband. They were taken in 1981, when household-use video cameras were new on the market. His grandparents and aunts feature prominently, as does his mother, and of course, my husband, baby Bill. His father is behind the camera, being directed by his grandfather. The videos capture the family sitting around, happy together, and there’s lots of loving footage of tiny Bill, who looks so much like Penrose it’s uncanny.

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The Hardest Part of Moving to Israel With Kids

Abbey Onn for Kveller

My son’s first words to me when he woke up this morning were: “Mom, I want to sleep in our real house.” He uttered this sentiment while sitting amidst blankets on the floor of my parents’ living room, his toys strewn on the couch in front of him and upwards of 10 suitcases framing the room around him. We are five days away from moving from Brookline, MA to a town just north of Tel Aviv in Israel, and my son wants stability.

In the last three weeks, we have moved out of our apartment (AKA our “real house”), spent a few nights with my parents, and then flew west to not only escape the nine feet of snow in Boston, but to say goodbye to friends before we make this move. Aviv and Maya, my 3.5-year-old son and newly 2-year-old daughter, slept on planes, in cars, in cribs, in trundle beds, on hotel floors, in bed with us, and even midway through meals.

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Studying our History to Build a Jewish Future

By Saul Kaiserman, ejewishphilanthropy

The most important thing you can do for your children, writes New York Times columnist Bruce Feiler, is to tell them true stories about your own family. The more children know about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem, and the greater their resilience in the face of stress. By sharing our childhood memories and the stories of our parents and grandparents, we teach our children that they are part of something larger than themselves, something intergenerational and ongoing. As our children discover that they, too, can be story-tellers, they learn how to make sense of the confusing and sometimes unpredictable world around them.

Stories of redemption – family narratives that tell of overcoming setbacks and recovering from failures – are the most beneficial, according to psychologist Dan McAdams. We help our children to be courageous in the face of adversity when we let them know that although we have had both good and bad times, we have always persevered. Telling stories about the times when we endured hardship without losing hope gives our children confidence in themselves and their capacity to succeed. Further, McAdams’ research shows that those who have both this sense of personal agency as well as intimate, caring relationships are most likely to demonstrate a concern for and commitment to promoting the well-being of future generations.

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Husband’s Dysfunctional Family

My husband’s a gem, his family is not. We’re expecting our first baby and they want to be in our lives more often.

by Emuna Braverman for aish.com

Dear Emuna,

My husband is a walking miracle. He is kind and thoughtful, a man with principles who is very serious about his commitments. I feel very blessed to have found him. The reason he is a miracle is because the rest of his family is so unlike him. His parents and siblings do not possess those character strengths and all very unhealthy emotionally. We get together for family celebrations but in general we don’t spend a lot of time with them. Now I am expecting my first child and I know they are all going to want to be in our lives more often. I really don’t want that and I especially don’t want them around the baby. What should I do?

New Mom to Be

New Mom in Waiting,

All parents and especially new moms are very protective of their children, especially the first. I know many women who wouldn’t even let their own mothers hold their first child that now thrust the second or third into her arms as soon as she walks in the door! Reality – and practicality – have taken over.

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