Questions tagged [children-parenting]
Questions relating to children vis à vis their parents in Jewish law or Jewish thought. Also questions relating to parenting approaches and advice in Jewish thought.
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Are children adopted by Jews Jewish?
I was adopted around the time I was three months old by my parents who are both Jewish. I do not know what religion my biological mother was, in fact I have very little detail about her at all. I was ...
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If a woman converts to Judaism while pregnant, will her child be a Jew?
If a woman converts to Judaism while pregnant, will her child be a Jew once born?
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How does one explain God to little kids?
As I understand it, the ability to understand abstract concepts develops gradually in kids and is certainly not all there when they first start having conversations. This comes into play when kids ...
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How can I redeem a wasted youth?
I wasted my youth. I am 35 years old. I had a toxic relationship with my parents, especially my mother. My career never started, and I am still looking for a fresh start and finding it humiliating at ...
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Can a single-parent father be exempt from time-bound mitzvot?
Rabbis such as Abudraham have explained a woman's exemption from positive time-bound commandments (mitzvot shehazman grama) in terms of a woman's ongoing and preliminary role in supporting her ...
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Are there any sources that prohibit childhood vaccinations?
The consequences of depressed childhood vaccination rates in some American communities, in the form of a building measles outbreak, have been in the news lately.
All public schools and most private ...
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Is it okay to enjoy Christmas lights?
My daughter is always talking about how she hates everything Christmas, including the lights on the houses. I am trying to encourage her that she can like non religious things like the lights, so ...
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Is a convert obliged to honor his parents?
Is a convert obliged to honor his parents? I understand that a convert loses all halakhic relationship to his parents upon being "reborn." Therefore, does the mitzvah of kibud av va'eim still apply?
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Blessing the Children on Friday Night
I have noticed that many families (including my own) have the custom for the father to bless all the children on Friday night before kiddush.
When and where did this custom originate, and by whom, ...
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The custom of adding a candle for each child
Many people, including myself, added or will add a candle on Friday night for each child that is born. Where and when did this custom originate?
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Why isn't Peru URvu one of the 7 Noahide Laws?
The commandment to "Be fruitful and multiply" was given to Adam HaRishon. Why, then, is this not included in the Sheva' Mitzvoth Bnei Noaḥ?
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Does a fathers obligation to teach his sons a parnassah extend to his daughters too?
A father has an obligation to teach his sons Torah, a parnassah and to swim. To what extent do these obligations extend to his daughters too?
(edited to include my explanation from the comments)
As ...
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Promised to name son Shimon - now husband is Shimon?
A woman who desperately wanted to get married traveled to Meron, the burial place of Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai, and vowed that if she found her match, she would name her first son Shimon in his merit. ...
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The Mitzva of Peru U'Revu (Reproduction) - when does it start?
The first commandment in the Torah is Peru U'Revu, the commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" (Bereshit 1:28).
When does the obligation to fulfill this commandment begin?
Does the Mitzva of Peru U'...
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How does Judaism regard homeschooling?
The title quite says it. I'm specifically more interested in unschooling....
It is said in Ktubot, 50a, that:
אמר רב יצחק באושא התקינו שיהא אדם מתגלגל עם בנו עד שתים עשרה שנה מכאן
ואילך יורד עמו ...
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At what age should we start teaching the distinction between Midrash and Text?
At a very early age children learn the history of the world and the Jews through the enthralling stories found in many varied sources.
They learn that the world was created in six days; that ...
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Are parents responsible if their children damage in a store?
If a parent brings a child (defined as under 13 for a boy and under 12 for a girl) into a store, and that child damages an item, is the parent responsible to pay?
Would it matter if the child simply ...
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Height of a mezuzah and children:
If a child cannot reach the upper third of the doorway and he is the primary occupant of said room, may the mezuzah be affixed lower than the upper third?
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How can I make my Judaism more enjoyable?
I really enjoy being Jewish, most of the time, but let's be honest, sometimes it can be difficult to enjoy Judaism. Sometimes it's the little things, like having to wait those extra minutes to eat ...
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Infant seeing reflection in mirror
I have heard that some people do not allow a child to see his or her reflection in a mirror before they can speak (or say their name, possibly). Is there any traditional source for this practice?
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How do you explain tzniut to a little girl?
Some Jewish schools have attire guidelines starting in first grade. What is the best way to explain the concept of tzniut to a very young (say first grade) girl without explaining sexuality? Please ...
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Should one make a bracha on food if only a child is eating?
I think it is common to make a bracha (blessing) when giving a small child food so that they learn the common brachot and learn to say "amen". Is this appropriate to do if you are not eating the food ...
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Does a child own what he's implicitly given by his parents?
I assume that when a parent owns an object and a child uses it, it remains the property of the parent's absent any intent/declaration on the parent's part to grant it to the child (and absent an act ...
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Is it permissible to name one's child with a name from the opposite gender?
Is a person allowed to name a boy with a girl's name and vice versa?
I remember seeing that one musn't, although in Nach one finds these things a lot.
I understand it is not best practice for ...
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How do you motivate a teen who has no interest in Davening?
Recently I met a 13-year-old who simply has no interest in Davening (praying). What would be a way of motivating such a kid to Daven?
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Can a mother taste her own breastmilk?
Can a mother drink/taste her own breastmilk?
I know theres an issur for a non-baby to drink directly from the breast; but, what about from a cup?
Further, if it is indeed assur (even from a cup), ...
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Do the Nine Measures Apply to the Woman?
Nedarim 20b discusses nine mannerisms which a man should avoid whilst being intimate with his wife. The Talmud says that practicing these nine mannerisms can lead to having obstinate, rebellious ...
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Can a man miss tefilah with a minyan because his wife is overwhelmed with the children?
Assume a scenario where a man's wife requires extra help at home during a busy part of the day and requests that her husband skip minyan (and daven alone) in order to help her. (For example, let's say ...
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Should parents honor their children?
What responsibility do parents have to their children vis a vis Kavod? General Kavod HaBerioth? Some level of relational Kavod like spouses have or like children have to their parents, only to a ...
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Mitzvah for fathers to buy things for dating-age daughters?
I heard that men whose daughters are dating have a mitzvah to supply them with things that will help them, i.e. dresses, jewelry, etc. Is there a source for this?
user327
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Name two kids the same name?
Is one allowed to name two of his children (of the same sex) by the same name, so that the entire Jewish name of one child is the same as that of the other?
I have never heard of any prohibition. On ...
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Baby boy's MOTHER as the sandek(et)
I have recently come upon historical evidence of the mothers of baby boys serving as the sandek(et) during the brit milah.
From page 18 of The Orthodox Jewish Woman and Ritual: Options and ...
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Religiously sensitive guidance on when to tell your child about human reproduction
A boy in cheder who has no internet at home, no tv, etc, is not exposed to human reproduction in the way that others are. It's therefore up to the parents to explain to him how children are born. ...
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Giving gifts to non-Jews at Christmastime
Is it okay at Christmastime to give a gift to a boss or for kids to give gifts to teachers if they are not Jewish?
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How many children did King Solomon have?
King Solomon [1 Kings 11 (4)] “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines;”
How many children did he have? Three. The question is referred to at http://wiki.answers.com/Q/...
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Can a parent "victim" forgive a child due the death penalty?
There are two capital offences against parents: cursing a parent or striking a parent (and causing an injury).
If someone did this in front of 2 witnesses with a warning etc. so they were due the ...
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Is an asexual person obligated in Pru Urvu?
Asexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by the lack of sexual attraction towards people in general. Asexuals may or may not be interested in romantic relationships, but are not physically ...
user3318
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Must a couple get divorced if they have no children after 10 years?
I recall learning, but am unsure of the source, that a couple who has been married for 10 years but has no children either should get divorced. What is the source and reason for this? Is it an ...
user2110
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Are there unforgiveable sins?
If parents have committed atrocious sins against their children such as incest, physical abuse, drugging, etc. is it considered an unforgiveable sin?
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Is Ferberization okay?
Is there anything objectionable (in terms of halacha, hashkafa and middos) to using the Ferber method for training an infant to fall asleep on its own? There is an element of cruelty, and the ultimate ...
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Who should walk the Chosson and Kallah to the Chupa?
At the Chuppah in some weddings I've been to, the father and father-in-law escort the Chosson and the mother and mother-in-law escort the Kallah. In others, the mother and fathers each escort their ...
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Should one reprimand a child if the parent might be embarrassed?
I was at shul on Sunday, not during a service, but during a meeting. A parent and child were sitting in front of me. The small child's legs were far too short to reach the floor, and her feet were ...
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Could there be a Halachik issue with using a DNA kit such as 23andMe?
Besides learning fun facts about one's DNA and ancestry, there's a lot of good that can come out of using one. For example: people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent can learn if they're predisposed to BRCA1 ...
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Do the parents of a convert merit in the afterlife for their child's decision?
When my child was little, she wanted to know whether my parents, who are not Jewish, would go to Heaven. I explained to her that the righteous of all nations have a place in the world to come. But ...
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Matrilineal Descent
I have heard that matrilineal descent (i.e. having Judaism passed down through the mother) comes from the Roman period when women were raped by Roman soldiers and the babies were then said to be ...
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"There is a son born to Naomi"? But it's a grandson -- what's up with that?
In chapter 4 of Rut, after Boaz performs yibum with Rut and she bears a son, it says:
וַתִּקְרֶאנָה לוֹ הַשְּׁכֵנוֹת שֵׁם לֵאמֹר, יֻלַּד-בֵּן לְנָעֳמִי; וַתִּקְרֶאנָה שְׁמוֹ עוֹבֵד, הוּא אֲבִי-יִשַׁי ...
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Can a grandparent name a child differently than the parents?
We all know that Moshe Rabeinu had 7 names and was called Moshe which was the name Basya gave him. Recently I was in a Shul and there was a fellow there that had a grandaughter the previous week. The ...
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Is there a source for not buying things for a baby before it is born?
Is there any source for the custom to not buy things for a baby before it is born? I have heard that the reason is due to averting ayin hara, but I would like to know if there is any recorded source ...
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Why was Pharaoh displeased?
In Parshas Mikeitz (Beraishis 41), Pharaoh receives an interpretation for this two dreams from necromancers. Rashi (41:8) says that they told Pharaoh that “You will beget seven daughters, and you will ...
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Holding a child during bentching,kiddush,havdallah
Is there any reason to say that its problematic to hold a child during bentching and so on... because one is thinking about not dropping what he is holding,like by Shmoneh Esrei (96:1) one should not ...
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