by orthomom

Interesting discussion going on over at the WSJ’s blog The Juggle, about how much time spent with the kids is enough:

By my calculations, I spend probably an average of an hour with my daughter during weekdays, and my husband spends about two. We usually spend full days with her on the weekends. Is it enough? If I added another hour each day would that guarantee her more self-esteem or ensure she doesn’t do drugs as a teenager? When it comes down to counting hours, it’s difficult to know.In terms of the amount of time we spend with our children, how much is too little?

Predictably, judgment with a soupcon of armchair psychoanalysis rears its ugly head in the comment thread:

I’m sorry, I don’t understand why this is even a question. No, one hour a day is not enough. I could see if you were asking, “I spend one hour a day exercising (reading, studying)…is that enough?” But this is parenting, not a hobby.
I suspect our blogger Sara is asking these questions because she really wants to quit her job and go be with her daughter, but won’t until enough people convince her it’s the right thing to do…!
Comment by Pammy

Sweet. I will note that all judgment aside, once kids are in grade school and are getting assigned even a moderate amount of homework - and probably much more than that, with the dual curriculum assigned in Yeshivas and Jewish day schools - one hour a day is simply not going to cut it.

On the topic of Jewish schools, A Mother in Israel has some incisive observations on the cycles that a new school goes through that ring all too true of schools over on this side of the world. Seems so familiar that she could be describing my son’s school. Or my daughter’s. Or the Jewish high school I went to eons ago.

The 92 St. Y has a new regular feature on their blog where they answer parenting questions.

Shifra’s girls get a Shabbos morning crash course in sex ed - sort of:

On Saturday morning while drinking my instant coffee (blech) and contemplating the stack of dishes in my sink from the night before, I caught site of a plump midsized raccoon wandering around the back of my yard. Since it was daytime I was a little concerned. Aren’t raccoons nocturnal? Could this little fellow be rabid? Soon he was joined by another buddy and the two of them traipsed around my yard and the neighbors yard, up and down trees under fences and behind our garage. By this time my kids were up and watching with fascination as their cereal grew soggy in their bowls. Suddenly my younger daughter called out. “Mommy! The raccoons are fighting!!” Alas, this was not the case. They were, in fact, mating. When I told this to my older daughter she hopped up from the table and with her hands alternately over her ears and eyes yelped “ew eww ewwwww!!! I KNOW what that means!!! EWWWWWW!!”
“What DOES that mean?” asked my younger daughter. “It means they aren’t fighting” I said.

Check the hilarity out.

Aidel directs us to Sister to Sister, an organization that provides assistance to divorced or widowed Jewish mothers. Aidel describes the help she herself has received from the organization here.

Posted on February 6th, 2007 Filed under: Uncategorized |