I was just having a conversation with my brother yesterday about how there are certain things that boys have to learn when they are growing up about being men and about defending themselves. It was interesting to see how our points of view differed on certain points because of our gender differences and it really made me think about the fact that it is extremely important for male children to have positive male role models in their lives. As good as our intentions are in raising our boys to be good men, he stated that there are just certain things that only a man can teach another man. This became apparent when our conversation turned to the topic of bullying and self defense. As a mother, my first reaction if my sons have issues like this in school is to alert the school authorities and to try to talk through the problem. My brother argued that this path does not always lead to a solution and that male children need to know how to defend themselves … [Read more...]
Stranger Danger
Most of you who live in New York have probably heard the news of the gruesome murder of 8 year old Leiby Kletzky. He disappeared recently while walking from his day camp alone for the first time to meet up with his mother on a street corner seven blocks away. On his way, he got lost after taking a wrong turn and reached out to a stranger to ask for help and directions. This stranger ended up taking young Leiby to his home, murdering him, and subsequently dismembering his body. I cannot begin to tell you how horrified I am by this heinous crime. Besides the obvious reasons why these news would be disturbing to anyone, I have an 8 year old son. Over the years people have told me that I am too watchful over my children and that I shouldn't worry so much about danger. I'm not sure if people are in denial about how many bad things still take place in society or if they have deluded themselves into having a false sense of security. In any case, I have never bought into this … [Read more...]
A Society in Crisis
A lot of news reports lately have centered around women who have engaged in acts that were not very motherly. One report spoke of a woman in her twenties who gave birth and dumped her baby in a garbage can because she did not want her mother to find out that she had given birth. Due to being dumped at such a vulnerable time, the baby will suffer brain damage for the rest of his life. Also, every single time I turn around I'm hearing about women who murder their children because they are mentally ill, because of a boyfriend, or many other sick reasons that could only seem logical in their demented minds. I don't want to spend a lot of time describing their heinous crimes because they disgust me and they don't deserve any attention for what they have done. What I would like to address, however, is the fact that some women have no business having children. It is not true that all women experience maternal feelings towards their offspring. As a society, I'm sure … [Read more...]
