#1: Bringing Up Children in Today’s Generation: With Rabbi Zimmerman

In the first episode of Asking for a Friend, Mena Reisner sits down with Rabbi Zimmerman to explore the questions shaping today’s Jewish childhood. Why are so many more children anxious? Has therapy become too normalised? Should parents be concerned about the sheer amount of instant frum entertainment? What should we make of teenagers constantly travelling abroad? And how does a parent respond when a child says, “But everyone in my class has it”? A wide-ranging and honest conversation that opens the series by giving voice to the dilemmas parents think about all the time but rarely discuss openly.

 

Chapters:

[0:00:00] Introduction to Podcast and Purpose

[0:02:53] Resilience and Adversity in Modern Childhood

[0:07:21] Emotional Understanding vs. Emotional Determination

[0:09:06] Therapy - Purpose and Pitfalls

[0:10:10] Labels and Diagnoses in Modern Education

[0:15:31] Spoiled Generations and Parental Influence

[0:19:36] Responding to Religious or Educational Drift

[0:24:27] Navigating Teenage Trips and Social Pressures

[0:58:41] School Selection and Expectations

[1:05:36] Defining Success Beyond Traditional Paths

[1:12:54] Closing: Back to Basics

[1:14:01] Closing Remarks and Listener Invitation