MSI Press Blog

Excerpt from Courageous Parenting : Rules, Routine and Structure In a household characterized by a lack of rules, binding routine, or clear assignation of responsibilities, stopping deterioration in the parent-child relationship is very difficult. Parents and children alike find nothing to hold on to. How do you start creating order and structure when you are used to everything being vague and fluid? Many parents who followed our program were surprised to discover that order is a process that expands and spreads the moment you create a clear core that allows it to grow. It is like the formation of crystals in a liquid solution; sometimes, it suffices to introduce an initial crystallizing element for the liquid matter to start arranging itself, attaching, and forming a structure. Sometimes, the initial spark that sets the whole process in motion is the parents drawing a red line concerning one unacceptable behavior. The parents decide and announce the unacceptable behavior they ...

A nice review of Courageous Parents by Dr. Haim Omer was posted recently by Readers Favorite . "These suggestions can be used by counselors, therapists, psychologists, parents, and educators when tackling issues between parents and children in a mature and peaceful way." To read the full review, click HERE .  The Readers' Favorite book critique rated Courageous Parents a 5 (top level) on all elements: appearance, plot, development, formatting, marketability, and overall opinion. Click HERE for the details. To read more posts by and about Haim and his book, click HERE .

In a  current and a coming post, Dr. Haim Omer describes an adaptation of the new authority to kindergartens .  (The new authority is the core of his book, Courageous Parents.) This is part of a series about the new authority and anchoring function in early childhood -- how to resolve the most difficult problems that parents encounter with their children.  Read more about Dr. Omer and his book, Courageous Parents, HERE .

The continuity principle: How parents, teachers and social leaders can help children in times of Corona This post was written together with Dr. Rina Omer The continuity principle is a unified concept for coping with disaster and trauma formulated at the time of the First Golf War. Based on a review of the literature (Omer, 1991) the principle of continuity stipulated that "during crisis and disaster , one should aim at preserving and restoring functional, interpersonal and personal continuities, at the individual, family, organization and community levels." Functional continuity is the ability to go on functioning in spite of disturbances. Interpersonal continuity refers to the maintenance of contacts with family, friends, colleagues and any other circles to which one belongs. Personal continuity refers to feelings of sameness and coherence in our sense of self. For instance: for a 10-year old boy, functional continuity will comprise routines such getting-u...

The pent-up expectation has become availability: Dr. Haim Omer's much-awaited book, Courageous Parents , was released today! Just what today's modern parents need! The book is available from MSI Press webstore , Amazon , Barnes & Noble , other online booksellers. Brick and mortar stores can acquire the book. Read posts by and about this world-famous parenting expert from Israel HERE .

Dr. Haim Omer has alerted us to a new post of interest to parents: You're invited to read my new post "Some vital questions about our children's safety"  https://www.haimomer-nvr.com/post/some-vital-questions-about-our-children-s-safety .  This is the first in a series of posts designed to help parents exercise "vigilant care".  This is the parental attitude of keeping an ear to the ground, of creating the appropriate feeling that the child is accompanied by the parents.  Vigilant care has all the advantages and none of the disadvantages of "parental monitoring".  Whenever I lecture on my approach, I tell the people in the audience that if they want to keep one idea, one single tip of my approach, than it is that parents should learn how to exercise vigilant care.  This and the upcoming posts aim at helping parents foster this attitude.   Dr. Omer is the author of the forthcoming book, Courageous Parents . Available on pre-order ...

Along the years I've received requests for help from parents of children from the age of 3 to 62! Actually, in the case of the 62-year old "child", not the parents, but his sisters came for help, asking how they could protect their old and frail parents from blackmail, exploitation and abuse. Read the rest of the post HERE . Haim Omer is author of Courageous Parents .

Congratulation to Haim Omer for a very nice review of Courageous Parents by US Review of Books. According to the reviewer, " This is an extremely well-written book, offering advice that is clear, easy to understand, and well-attuned to the everyday realities of parenting. Omer provides practical suggestions on an impressive breadth of issues." Read the whole review HERE . Read more posts by and about Haim and his book HERE .

Parenting has its joys; it can also be demanding when all does not go as planned or hoped, as in this picture of parents with their son and two emergency room specialists, raising up (literally) their physically challenged daughter. MSI Press offers several unique books on parenting--for the everyday difficulties and the unique challenges. Take a look! 3 65 Teacher Secrets for Parent s by Cindy McKinley and Patti Trombly See posts by and about Cindy and Patti, including book excerpts, HERE . Courageous Parents   by Dr. Haim Omer Read posts by and about Dr. Omer, including book excerpts, HERE . How to Be a Good Mommy When You're Sick by Dr. Emily Graves Read posts by and about Dr. Graves, including book excerpts, HERE . Lessons of Labor by Julia Aziz See posts by and about Jula Aziz, including book excerpts,  HERE . Life after Losing a Child by Pat Young and Joanna Romer See posts by and about Pat  and Joanna. Noah's New Puppy by Ric...

Most children are naturally possessive and territorial. Shouts of "Don't touch my things!" "It's my money!" "Get out of my room!" are part of the daily soundtrack in many families. As the child grows, he has to learn that there are acceptable and unacceptable ways of clinging to what's his own. For instance, he has to learn that others also have a right to their property. He has to learn how to share. And he has to learn not to use his things in damaging ways. Many parents come to us because their children (whatever their age – the oldest "child" whose parents we treated was 62!) abuse their computer, their room and their money. Read the rest of the post HERE . Dr. Omer is the author of Courageous Parents .

  A dventurous, D aring, and Plunging H eadfirst into a D ilemma (ADHD or Superhero?)   A bowl of popcorn on my lap and remote in hand, I settle in on the couch to watch one of my favorite superhero movies. Who wouldn’t want to be a superhero? They are courageous in the face of danger, have awesome superpowers, get to be adventurous, and are good looking. However, my ADHD brain doesn’t like to pay attention very long. So, I get bored with the movie and go outside to ride bikes with my brother in the driveway. My brother and I decide it will be fun to tie one end of a piece of rope we found in the garage onto the back of my bike and the other end onto a shelf in our garage to see what would happen when I rode the bike out of the garage and into the driveway. Crash! Basketballs, baseball mitts, tennis rackets, fishing poles, golf balls, and miscellaneous sports equipment fly off the shelf and scatter all over the garage floor. Seeing a basketball bouncing out of the g...

Dr. Haim Omer, advocate of non-violent resistance and parenting expert, provides the following information about how to develop self-control in children. With everyone home these days, it seems like a good time to work on this -- and perhaps a necessary thing to do. Many parents said this is the best tip they received on how to develop self-control. The meaning is that the parent does not have to react immediately when the child provokes them or makes demands. On the contrary, reacting later is usually much better. The reasons are many: reacting later allows the parent to weigh their response, allows the parent to cool down and not act under pressure, and conveys a special kind of strength. It is not that you don't react immediately in some way. You do, but a central part of your reaction comes later. Of course you act immediately in order to protect your children. For instance, if there is violence between siblings, you step in between them! Some mothers say, "but ...