“It Takes a Village”- New Parenting Service Provided by Neshamos
They say “it takes a village to raise a child”, that the neighbors, educators and community leaders surrounding your children have a profound impact and effect on the person they become. Though this is undeniably true, when all is said and done, it is usually the parents that have the greatest influence over their children’s happiness, well being and eventual futures. Thus, perhaps the saying would be more apt to say “it takes a village to raise a parent”.
Parenting is intuitive, a privilege, meaningful and rewarding. Parenting is also terrifying and overwhelming. It is simultaneously one of the most difficult and most important jobs one can ever do. Every stage along the way brings more questions and difficult choices that are ever intensifying as the world around us changes at an increasingly rapid pace. Today, the parents’ village is also of utmost or even more importance to the health and wellbeing of our children.
Neshamos, an organization dedicated to fostering strong mental and emotional health within our communities through resources and education, is launching a new initiative focusing on bolstering and supporting parents of young children (ages 0-6) with an email hotline. Neshamos recognizes that the early years of a child’s life are critical in them building strong, healthy foundations and proper intervention and guidance from when they’re young can curtail future potential problems.
Through this hotline parents will be able to reach out to our two experts via a website link containing a short questionnaire, and space to include any questions or concerns. Secure and confidential, these questions may range from how to assist your child through a tantruming phase, not wanting to go to school, fears and phobias or tips on how to self-regulate as a parent when life is chaotic. Our goal here is to assist you in any area that will help you parent your children optimally.
The forum to send your questions to is Neshamos.org/parenting, and you can expect a response within 3-5 business days.
The questions will be addressed and answered by Riki Eisenberg and Mushka Gopin. Riki has been working in early childhood education for 8 years and is completing her bachelors in education. She has been a lead preschool teacher for several years and completed workshops in the ‘Conscious Discipline’ methodology. She is always seeking to learn more from her peers and through her studies. Rikki follows the Reggio-inspired approach when teaching children. She loves the flexibility and art form it enables within children, and how it strengthens their independence and imagination.
Mushka holds a Master’s of Science in Education, and six years of experience as a high school teacher and principal. She is now passionate about teaching parents to consciously raise their children right from birth. Mushka has a unique approach that is based upon Montessori pedagogy and positive discipline. It weaves together developmental science, attachment theory, educational philosophies, and Torah Values in a practical way. Mushka shares real-life implementation of this on Instagram at @MotheringMindset, where she encourages and guides parents on how to parent mindfully and with intention. Mushka says that “To ‘mother’ is a verb: we can practice that skill and improve at it. Instead of default parenting or perpetuating practices that do not serve us, we can consciously educate and raise our children – right from the very start.”
There are no ‘perfect’ parents or ‘perfect’ kids. All parents doubt themselves at times and everyone makes mistakes along the way. Children thrive when parents are able to actively promote their positive growth and development though doing so can often be a daunting and overlooked task. This platform is designed to make it easier for parents to actively work on and improve their parenting via external support and resources. Receiving parenting support leads to an increased sense of empowerment, combats feelings of alienation and overwhelm and benefits not only the parents and child in question but the entire family unit. Parents do so much for their families, every minute of every day is spent thinking how to better the lives of their children. Therefore, carving time out for themselves and bettering themselves is the greatest gift one can give to their children.
