SAN DIEGO — The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute has put together a valuable resource for Jewish organizations and schools to distribute to parents of teens called Parenting in a Pandemic: A Guide for the Perplexed. The contributors include medical doctors, licensed social workers and scholars and covers a wide variety of topics.
The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute is the world’s largest provider and network of adult and family Jewish learning. It offers classes in 28 countries, across five continents using trained and certified instructors in 2,000 affiliate chapters. Working with experts to develop educational content, they offer courses in Jewish history, heritage and practice in a manner relevant to all audiences.
Stressing the importance of monitoring teens’ mental health during this difficult time, the booklet includes several chapters on suicide, what to watch for and how to create a positive environment and attitude to prevent it. There are fourteen selections with titles such as: “Checking in When Your Adolescent is Zoning Out,” “Finding Structure in Chaos,” “Managing Anxiety in Anxious Times” and “From Distressing to De-Stressing.”
The information is presented in an easy-to-understand format with practical ideas that any parent can use. In the chapter, “Three Simple Words Your Adolescent Wants to Hear,” it will surprise parents to learn that those words are not “I love you.” To foster listening to teens, parents are encouraged to say, “Tell me more, help me understand.” No judgment, no trying to fix anything, just listen and try to understand what’s going on in the teen’s mind.
Another chapter helps parents work through their own feelings of guilt leftover from childhood memories. “Guilt Has Got to Go” is the name of the article and the point is well made. Once you can identify and free yourself of the guilt from your past, you can focus on keeping your children from carrying their own guilt into their futures.
This booklet has excellent information for parents of both teens and younger children as well. Individual copies are available on Amazon via this link.
It is available to synagogues and Jewish organizations free of charge and can be customized and shared digitally or in print. For more information about this project, email Adina Posner via this email. To order print or customized copies for your organization, visit this website.
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Marcia Berneger is a retired elementary school teacher as well as a teacher at Torah school. She is the author of such children’s books as Buster the Little Garbage Truck, and A Dreidel in Time.