It’s August and summer is more than halfway over. Many parents need to think about schools and school choices for the fall and preparation for the coming school year. Soon, it will also be time to start shopping for the kids and getting ready to take advantage of sales and no-tax weeks. In this issue we present some tips for wise spending. We also feature our Annual Fall School Directory and hope you will also visit these listings on our website, www.NYParenting.com. We have a new domain name, so please make note of it.
Sadly, the recent tragedy in Brooklyn that took the life of a young boy has us all thinking about child safety issues and how we can keep our children out of harm’s way. This terrible event shook every parent to the core and our hearts go out to the family of Leiby Kletzky of Borough Park. The entire community of New York reeled from the shock and the horror, and our contributing writer Laura Varoscak-DeInnocentiis, herself a mother of two young boys, has written a moving commentary on the subject of child safety and how we can teach our children to protect themselves from strangers.
I remember when my 10-year-old daughter was going to have to walk a few blocks by herself from a school bus to dance class. I thought I had prepped her well for this experience, but I still needed to satisfy myself that she had the kind of “intelligent strong street behavior” that I thought would be necessary for this walk. Without her knowing, I followed her and watched her body language and checked out her attitude and route. After all my conversations and instructions, I was satisfied that she was able to handle the walk — and that I could handle her doing it.
It’s not easy to let go of your kids and let them out there into the big world without you. We all have our hearts in our mouths until we see them safe and sound, which is why my mother never really slept until I was home from dates and socializing, even when I was in my early 20s. Now I am the same kind of mother and it’s hard to explain to my daughter why I can’t really sleep until she comes home. The maternal instinct is very powerful and distance, time, and separation don’t really ever change it.
I love being a mother. It’s an amazing thing, and publishing these magazines and our website is a glorious opportunity to connect with other moms, like me, who know that the miracle of our children is the “light of our lives.” Let’s all do our very best to keep our kids safe and sound.
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