simcha's postings about love, connection, parenting & personal growth
NPR invited poets from the far reaches of the globe to compose original works celebrating the Olympic Games. The verse below is by poet Ouyang Yu, who was born in China and moved to Australia in 1991. He is a prolific writer of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, literary translation and criticism in English and Chinese.
I am not a very good sleeper. Going to bed upset or overwhelmed can keep me up and tossing until 3 a.m. You might think, then, that I would welcome the imperative that one should resolve all disagreements before settling down for the night. Should I perhaps be heeding the wisdom in the New Testament verse — “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26) — often quoted as the source for this entrenched belief?
The following posting includes selections from Part 2 of psychologist and social sociologist Laurence Steinberg’s article in Psychology Today (Feb. 2011), that urges parents to talk to their teens about sex before they become sexually active. Part 1 offered some explanations why parents are reluctant to speak about sex.
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How can parents overcome their own hesitations and their young adolescent’s resistance? Here are some suggestions:
Psychologist, professor and social sociologist Laurence Steinberg, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned expert on the psychological development of adolescents. Steinberg urges parents to talk to their teens about sex before they become sexually active.
I include here his article on the subject that appeared Psychology Today (Feb. 2011), in two separate postings. Part 1 examines why parents are reluctant to speak about sex. Part 2 will look at how parents can overcome their own hesitations (and their young adolescent’s resistance) to talk to their young adolescent about sex.
In a recent New York Times article (6.30.2012), journalist and author Alina Tugend suggests that, at a time when young people are exhorted and expected to be exceptional, there may be something to say for the virtues of being unremarkable. The following is a selection from her piece.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the ordinary and extraordinary lately. All year, my sons’ school newsletters were filled with stories about students winning prizes for university-level scientific research, stellar musical accomplishments and statewide athletic laurels.
Excessive parental path-charting is one of my pet peeves. I work with so many clients who struggle with the consequences of such charting: unrelenting anxiety about not being exceptional, not being the best, not being good enough, not properly achieving the “shoulds” that lead to success. I explore with them what a successful life might look like for them, and the different ways they can get there.
Alison Gopnik, a leading researcher in the field of cognitive development, writes in the latest edition of the Smithsonian Magazine, that when children pretend, they’re not just being silly — they’re doing science.
Walk into any preschool and you’ll find toddling superheroes battling imaginary monsters. We take it for granted that young children play and, especially, pretend. Why do they spend so much time in fantasy worlds?
Excerpted from the New York Times opinion piece by Tim Kreider, 6.30.12)
If you live in America in the 21st century you’ve probably had to listen to a lot of people tell you how busy they are. It’s become the default response when you ask anyone how they’re doing: “Busy!” “So busy.” “Crazy busy!” It is, pretty obviously, a boast disguised as a complaint. And the stock response is a kind of congratulation: “That’s a good problem to have,” or “Better than the opposite.”