Convo

Convo Experts in mental health, relationships, families, and child development.

Rituals are important for instilling a sense of belonging in kids.Rituals can be simple, things like: One child lights t...
12/15/2025

Rituals are important for instilling a sense of belonging in kids.

Rituals can be simple, things like:

One child lights the candles.

Another pours the juice.

A parent leads the song.

Someone chooses the story.

By giving every child a role to play and a sense of responsibility, you reinforce the knowledge of where they belong: right here, with family.

I keep seeing Jewish moms on social media with tips and tricks to get the wax off and make the Hanukkiah like new each y...
12/15/2025

I keep seeing Jewish moms on social media with tips and tricks to get the wax off and make the Hanukkiah like new each year. I get it… the mitzvah of a beautiful table is a thing.

I prefer it like this, I think. Last year’s wax. All the years’ wax. A hanukkiah that I bought for a little boy who loved everything sports, his family, and Judaism; an almost-man now whose list of favorites is much the same. The memories we’ve created in a home that’s rarely perfect, or on time, but filled with love. We are messy—but not because we’ve given up, just because our energy is always drawn elsewhere. It’s not a choice exactly to leave the wax from year to year, but it’s never a priority either.

And honestly, I think I like it, looking at it now. The way I like a little clutter. A life that I can’t totally control and have to keep up with… to learn new lessons all the time.

I think actually this is part of what it means to be Jewish to me. A wax-filled menorah that does its job all the same year to year, bright lights in the window, and my family singing songs and telling stories of a people who never give up being exactly who we are. No matter who sticky the problems. Am Yisrael Chai 🩵

Wishing you a bright and meaningful Hanukkah.May each night bring more light, love, and connection—to your home, your fa...
12/14/2025

Wishing you a bright and meaningful Hanukkah.

May each night bring more light, love, and connection—to your home, your family, and the path ahead.

Here’s to honoring tradition, celebrating resilience, and nurturing joy wherever it shines.

Raise Maccabees who know who they are and what greater purpose they are meant for!

Chag Sameach 💙

12/13/2025

Getting your child to tell you about their day doesn't have to feel like an interrogation: create a conversational space instead.

In the latest episode of my podcast, Raising Souls, I talk about some common questions and concerns parents have about staying connected to their children. Find Raising Souls wherever you listen to podcasts!

High levels of psychological involvement with social media, persistent social isolation, and lower emotional intelligenc...
12/10/2025

High levels of psychological involvement with social media, persistent social isolation, and lower emotional intelligence, combine and promote more favorable attitudes toward violence.

How can we protect our kids?

Nurture children who are grounded in a strong sense of self, family, and community, and guide them to treat social media as a supplement to real-life relationships, not their core.

12/03/2025

"I'm stuck".

It doesn't mean you're giving up. Instead, it invites your child into the problem-solving process. It also gives them a roadmap for what to do when they, too, feel stuck.

Learn more about how to approach tricky situations and create patterns of collaboration with my podcast, Raising Souls – available on all podcast streaming platforms.

Not every conversation needs to be had, and certainly not every person at the dinner table is a true convo partner…there...
11/27/2025

Not every conversation needs to be had, and certainly not every person at the dinner table is a true convo partner…there to convo for good. Let me be clear: it is ok to avoid the wrong convo at the wrong time with the wrong person.
But we can’t avoid every conversation, and it seems like we are collectively doing just that.
Good conversation strengthens relationships and moves the world forward. Total agreement is not a prerequisite for conversation to be good. In fact, when a relationship is caring and both people are at the table to make the convo meaningful, disagreement can be exactly the right springboard for something new, something innovative, something unexpected. Try these tips to get the convo started!

If you’re not sure how to answer a question your child asks, start with this 👆Many parents worry they’ll say the wrong t...
10/30/2025

If you’re not sure how to answer a question your child asks, start with this 👆

Many parents worry they’ll say the wrong thing. But when you lead with your why, your guiding power behind your intentions and conversations, you don’t need the perfect words.

You just need honest, developmentally appropriate language, and a clear reason for showing up in the conversation.

And sometimes, you might not have those answers right away. That’s ok too. Being honest and revisiting the conversation when you’re ready is what matters.

Whether you’re talking about grief, injustice, family changes, or a scary event in the world, remember that the goal isn...
10/28/2025

Whether you’re talking about grief, injustice, family changes, or a scary event in the world, remember that the goal isn’t to fix your child’s feelings.

It’s to show them they’re not alone in them.

When my kids are having a hard time—when the tears are big or the disappointment feels endless—I often find myself comin...
10/24/2025

When my kids are having a hard time—when the tears are big or the disappointment feels endless—I often find myself coming back to one simple phrase:

“This too shall pass.”

It’s one of my favorite reminders, not because it magically fixes anything in the moment, but because it gently places the hard feeling in a bigger frame. It whispers: This moment won’t last forever. You won’t always feel this way. You are safe to feel it now, and it will change.

Time is one of the most powerful healers we have. But kids don’t have much experience with it yet.

Their world is mostly made of right now. If something hurts, it can feel like it will always hurt. If they’re sad or embarrassed or frustrated, it can seem like that feeling will never end.

But we know it will, and it’s our job to remind them of it gently.

They’re actually three separate things, though we often squish them together on the internet.This is how I think the phr...
10/23/2025

They’re actually three separate things, though we often squish them together on the internet.

This is how I think the phrase “big feelings” and “deeply feeling kids” came into the world.

🌟 Emotions are a source of information about the world around you; think of them like your spidey sense. They don’t immediately have names or necessarily come in with an explanation.

🌟 Emotionality is the range of emotions--think volume as well as variation. This is the closest idea to “big feelings.” Some people experience a wide range in the volume of their feelings--when they are excited, they feel VERY excited, and when they are sad, they feel VERY sad, while others are less excitable but also feel less sadness or anger.

🌟 Emotion regulation is the process through which people make sense of their feelings and do their best to adapt. Sometimes that means understanding what the information they are taking in is telling them and using it wisely, while other times that means managing the outward display of their feelings to fit the environment they are in.

Understanding the difference between these terms is the first step in understanding how to best serve your child’s needs. Emotion as a whole can feel overwhelming and oftentimes confusing, but breaking it down into its smaller parts will help you understand what your children (and you) are feeling.

Children are meaning-makers because finding meaning is how humans cope. They want to understand not just what happened, ...
10/17/2025

Children are meaning-makers because finding meaning is how humans cope. They want to understand not just what happened, but what it says about the world they live in. If we don’t give them a story, they will write one anyway. Let’s make sure the one they write includes hope, empathy, and a sense of agency.

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