The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children
by Wendy Mogel
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 337)
Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
Parents, teachers, those who work with kids, religious professionals
Excellent book for parents, teachers, or anyone working with kids. Mogel discusses how indulged and unhappy today's kids are, and teaches us how children can be parented in a way that helps them to become more resilient and capable. Her goal is to help us produce children who grow into kind, responsible, ethical adults. Imagine that! She uses Jewish teachings as her foundation, and while I am Christian, I found that all of her wisdom had a universal relevance, and spoke to me in profound way...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is perhaps the best parenting book I have read to date, and I have read several. The author writes from an explicitly Jewish perspective and primarily addresses Jewish parents, but, even as someone of a different faith (Christian), I found her advice and perspectives very helpful. The section about talking about God with your children addressed the same sorts of difficulties I experience as a Christian parent. I appreciated the philosophical outlook on parenting the author presented: the e...more
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Read in June, 2008
Among other things, this book brings up the point that parents today tend to want their kids to excel at everything. While I don't have grand designs for my kids and I'm generally very good at not getting sucked into keeping up with the Joneses--and their kids!--it hadn't dawned on me how the more subtle expectations of kids have changed since I was growing up. This book is great at putting certain aspects of child-rearing into perspective for today's parents--and you certainly don't have to b...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
parents
A neighbor of a friend was given this book by her daughter's school and asked my friend to read it and let her know if it was any good. My friend in turn gave it to me knowing that I'll read almost anything put in front of me. Amazingly it was really really good. I've worked with kids for years and I find theories about how to raise them really interesting. I like the way this book was written as well as the ideas and explanations in it. Within the child rearing advice is the story of a woman's ...more
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Read in June, 2008
Much of what she writes resonates with me and echos much of the Jim Fay parenting advice, ie. allowing your children to learn through natural consequence while they are young, allow yourself to be the parent, don't do too much for your children, importance of chores, etc. However, I kind of choked on the last chapter. She leaves no room for the person who does not believe in god but values Jewish culture. She had no argument for the existance of god or suggestions for how to deal with the iss...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
parents
This was a fascinating read that gave me a lot of food to thought about parenting. I also learned a great deal about Jewish traditions that were so beautiful and rich. The parenting info meshed with other things I'm reading / hearing about letting our children experience some disappointment, boredom, longing, etc. It affirmed some of my parenting instincts and challenged others. BTW - she's at Town Hall in Seattle tonight.
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Read in June, 2004
recommends it for:
all parents
This is one of my favorite books about parenting. It's practices are related to Jewish teachings, but it is definitely a book for every parent, no matter their faith or lack thereof. It's suggestions seem to truly relate to the real world and are practical and common-sensical. And boy is it nice to feel so validated because you truly believe a child needs to listen sometimes just because you say so.
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Read in January, 2004
This book was an even better read the second time around. So many of the "blessings" are relevant to any parent of any religion. The author certainly takes things from a Jewish perspective and quotes Torah and rabbis, but the messages - the "blessings" -- are universal. I have already started applying some of the lessons to my parenting; we'll see how successful I am!
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
Parents, educatiors, mental health professionals
Well written. Insightful. This book was recommended to me by a mother and educator with a deep passion for raising well rounded children. She recommended it not because of any religious affiliation, but because the core messages address the challenges of raising children in a society full of complexity, expectation, and little patience.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
recommends it for:
people who like kids
Teaching children to respect adults is really important. Also, you might think you are building your child's self esteem by labling everything they do as perfect, but the best gift is to offer a consistent voice of support and a dose of realism.
This book shares jewish wisdom to help you think about the best way to raise children.
This book shares jewish wisdom to help you think about the best way to raise children.
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Read in January, 2008
I've read quite a few books on child rearing, especially as it relates to affluence. This book offered a few new insights I hadn't thought about before, such as, kids should learn to be around others with disabilities mental and/or physical and deal with handling awkward situations that may come from it.
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Read in February, 2008
There's nothing really new here--I think the precepts Mogel outlines are already 80% the way I was brought up and the way I am trying to bring up my own children. But it's still helpful to have it all codified and look at things like "because I'm your mother, and I said so" from a spiritual perspective.
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A little too spiritually based at parts (for my taste), but all-around, a fantastic manual for parents, teachers, and anyone shaping the lives of children and teens. Definitely something I will keep on my bookshelf for periodic rereading after I start poppin' out/adopting the next generation!
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As the mother of 2 small daughters, I embrace the many important lessons in this book and consider it to be the single best book about parenting I've read. For anyone who is striving to raise independent, competent children, (religious or not) this book is absolutely necessary.
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Read in January, 2008
I am reading this right now ... it is about child-raising, and it uses the lens of Jewish teachings but it is not "for Jews only." Mogel is a child psychologist who helps parents move away from letting their children run their lives and be come effective leaders in their homes!
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I loved this book. Great message, great advice. The book was nicely written, too. I should re-read it, because I remember it shoring me up for my kids' inevitable disappointments, and I think I need the reinforcement. For the record, I'm not Jewish.
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Read in December, 2007
I borrowed a copy of this but I really need to buy one so I can reread it many times. It is a fantastic perspective on child-raising. Despite being based on Judaism it isn't preachy, and is applicable to people of any religion.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
parents looking for some sound advice
The author painted a clear picture of how so many families get off track by allowing their children equal rights. That the 'parent role' has been greatly diminished and is also greatly missed.
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Read in March, 2008
Ripe with so many valuable lessons, I am reading this for my second time. I recommend it for anyone trying to raise self-reliant, compassionate and ethical children in this crazy world.
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Read in January, 2007
This became very popular in Southern California and my daughter Kim and I had severalb e-mail conversations about this book. It struck me as very sensible even for non-Jewish families.
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