by Ari Yares | May 12, 2026 | Emotions without Chaos
A parent asks: “How was school?” “Fine.” “What did you do?” “Nothing.” “Did anything interesting happen?” A shrug. Most parents who wonder why teens give one-word answers worry about the same things: Is...
by Ari Yares | Apr 1, 2026 | Jewish Time & Structure, Preventive Parenting
About twenty minutes into the Seder, a child leans over and whispers: “When is dinner?” This is not a failure. It is information. The child has been sitting, listening, and watching adults read from a book for twenty minutes. And they are a child. Planning a Passover...
by Ari Yares | Mar 22, 2026 | Jewish Time & Structure, Menu Planning, Preventive Parenting
Passover planning for families starts the same way every spring. Someone opens a notebook or pulls up a notes app and begins the list. Chametz to clear. Kitchen to kasher. Menus to build. Guests to confirm. Haggadahs to locate. The Seder plate that has somehow...
by Ari Yares | Mar 12, 2026 | Jewish Time & Structure
Every year, at some point during the Seder, an adult looks across the table and wonders: how do we keep the children engaged? It is the right impulse. But it is the wrong direction. The Passover Seder and children have more in common than most adults realize. It was...
by Ari Yares | Mar 10, 2026 | Parents as Systems, Preventive Parenting
Why Screen Time Limits Usually Fail (And What Actually Helps) “You have 30 more minutes,” someone calls from the kitchen. No one argues. Thirty minutes pass, and everything falls apart. The argument is not really about the phone. Instead, it is about the...
