My latest piece is a book review of Brainstorm:  The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain.  I met the author Dr. Dan Siegel a few weeks back and have been putting his “inside-out” tips for helping teens thrive into practice in our home. Dr. Siegel is an expert in the correlation between mindfulness practices […]

Tags: adolescents, brain, concentration, downtime, friendship, meditation, mindfulness, play, sleep, teens

My son turned fourteen last week, and his birthday promised to be one enormous letdown. The year before we had celebrated his Bar Mitzvah, marking this 13th birthday, in grand style.  He surprised the congregation with a hilarious yet meaningful speech about the commandment “Though shalt not covet,” complete with him riffing off the Bruno […]

Tags: bar mitzvah, birthday, Chinese New Year, family, judaism, love, New York, stories, teens