What Mama is Reading
I read quite a bit but don't share much of it here. However my two latest are special, most notably because they are non-fiction.
The first is Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsibility. Abba and I both read the original version back when Froggy was a tiny bit. Since our persective and needs had changed I thought it was time for a reread, especially since the authors has updated the book. The book is an easy read with engaging antidotes. It is written from a Christian perspective but applicable to any person who wants to raise a mensch.
We chose this model of parenting because it complemented our beliefs and worked well with Attachment Parenting. It is based on love and all actions are done in a calm, loving manner. Some of the suggestions seemed silly to me especially the first time I read it before I was dealing with the situations but unlike many other discipline books none ever seemed to harsh for me.
The basic concept of the entire method is choice and consequences. It is about allowing the child to own their own mistakes and to reap the unpleasant consequences of their bad choices. This is how the child learns responsibility. The goal is to have the child learn to make good choices while the consequences are still small rather than as a young adult when the consequences are substantial.
In the week or so since I have finished my refresher course, I have improved ability to parent effectively and seen an amazing increase in Froggy's attempts to be responsible as well as a significant decrease in the battles between Froggy and myself.
The second book is The Sabbath World by Judith Shulevitz. I was introduced to the book through my book club at shul. The concept was intriguing, since like most families that try to be observant but do not live within a walled community, we struggle with outside influences running contrary to our vision of Shabbat.
The book was extremely hard to start. It reads like a doctorate dissertation. I continued to slog my way through and am very grateful that I did.
The book explores the historical changes in Shabbat from different perspectives. It was fascinating to see the development of the Sunday sabbath within Christianity. The book is extremely well researched with a detailed bibliography. I learned a lot of history through reading this. I would love to talk with an observant Christian who has read the book to get their perspective on the accuracy. There are several places in her description of Jewish theology and practices where she oversimplifies things or overgeneralizes.
The first is Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsibility. Abba and I both read the original version back when Froggy was a tiny bit. Since our persective and needs had changed I thought it was time for a reread, especially since the authors has updated the book. The book is an easy read with engaging antidotes. It is written from a Christian perspective but applicable to any person who wants to raise a mensch.
We chose this model of parenting because it complemented our beliefs and worked well with Attachment Parenting. It is based on love and all actions are done in a calm, loving manner. Some of the suggestions seemed silly to me especially the first time I read it before I was dealing with the situations but unlike many other discipline books none ever seemed to harsh for me.
The basic concept of the entire method is choice and consequences. It is about allowing the child to own their own mistakes and to reap the unpleasant consequences of their bad choices. This is how the child learns responsibility. The goal is to have the child learn to make good choices while the consequences are still small rather than as a young adult when the consequences are substantial.
In the week or so since I have finished my refresher course, I have improved ability to parent effectively and seen an amazing increase in Froggy's attempts to be responsible as well as a significant decrease in the battles between Froggy and myself.
The second book is The Sabbath World by Judith Shulevitz. I was introduced to the book through my book club at shul. The concept was intriguing, since like most families that try to be observant but do not live within a walled community, we struggle with outside influences running contrary to our vision of Shabbat.
The book was extremely hard to start. It reads like a doctorate dissertation. I continued to slog my way through and am very grateful that I did.
The book explores the historical changes in Shabbat from different perspectives. It was fascinating to see the development of the Sunday sabbath within Christianity. The book is extremely well researched with a detailed bibliography. I learned a lot of history through reading this. I would love to talk with an observant Christian who has read the book to get their perspective on the accuracy. There are several places in her description of Jewish theology and practices where she oversimplifies things or overgeneralizes.
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