Author - Noga

I don’t believe anyone can promise you a guilt-free parenting trip. But I can help you land on your feet, no matter what you’re going through internally when you feel you’ve wronged your kids. See how on today’s episode. My own first (and unforgettable) taste of mothering guilt took place when Alma, my oldest, was 18 months old. That afternoon, I buckled her in her high chair, and festively presented her with the large stringing beads I had bought that day. “I’ll first show you how what to do with the beads”, I announced to Alma, “and then you will do[…]

Fifteen years into being a parent and I still wonder, sometimes, whether freedom in my current reality is only an illusion. Maybe it’s even a lie I tell myself. Like Lisa, whose question I’m answering today, I make a conscious effort to experience more freedom because I want to feel like I choose to do the things that I do as a mother and homemaker. A low-quality picture of a middle-aged man holding a baby went totally viral online over the last two weeks. The picture, featuring Professor Sydney Engelberg, was taken here at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, my[…]

There are pros and cons in being a mindful-conscious-thoughtful mother. On the one hand, you don’t let the joys of raising children pass by you unnoticed. On the other hand, you don’t let anything less-than-perfect in your own behavior towards your children go unnoticed either! All too often this results in unnecessarily harsh self-judgment and feelings of inadequacy. (Is it only me?) Which brings me to Leah’s question, the star of today’s episode: “How do I avoid abandoning my parenting values in the midst of the stress when my baby is crying and dinner must be prepared?” That gives an[…]

This week I’m responding to a parenting question that really touched me. First of all, because it was sent in by a father. And second, because he describes the pain of not being able to help his children when they cry—a situation moms are so familiar with as well—that is the cause of feelings of guilt and incompetence. But let me ask you: if you’re in the midst of a challenging parenting situation, and you feel helpless, and you look helpless, are you really helpless? Wouldn’t parenting feel different if you stopped believing that you don’t know what to do?[…]