by Ari Yares | Jul 9, 2026 | Parents as Systems, Preventive Parenting
Every summer, the same thing happens. School ends. The structure disappears. Parents look around at six or eight or ten unscheduled weeks and do what comes naturally: they start filling the space. The activity schedule. The camp. The playdates. The plan. The goal is...
by Ari Yares | Jun 11, 2026 | Preventive Parenting
Most families find this arrangement without looking for it. The child comes home from school and it’s after school screen time. Then the after-school meltdown stops. Nobody designed it. It just works. For about forty minutes. Then the screens come off. And...
by Ari Yares | May 19, 2026 | Preventive Parenting
A child gets off the bus, walks through the door, and falls apart. Not because anything bad happened. Not because of the homework that’s coming or the sibling who said something wrong. It just happens. The child who was reportedly fine at school is now crying...
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 | Jun 28, 2017 | Emotions without Chaos, Preventive Parenting, The Innovative Dad Blog
A parent described a moment many families will recognize. Her daughter came home upset about something that happened at school. Before the daughter had finished the first sentence, the parent had already said, “It’s not a big deal. She probably...
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...
