Developing your child's potential.

Is there a more important profession -- or a more challenging one -- than parenting? And has it ever been more difficult than in modern times, especially for Orthodox parents?

Think about it. The Constitution and the culture have laid successful siege to parental authority. Media “personalities” now stand on the pedestal that once belonged to parents. Working mothers struggle to be super moms and harried fathers wonder how to have a relaxed conversation with the frenetic young people who sleep at home, but usually seem too busy to spend much time there.

Ah -- but this depressing scene is not typical of Orthodox households, is it?

Perhaps not in such stark terms, but certainly no honest parent can claim to be immune to the inroads of society and its often unwelcome messages.

Instead of asking “where have we gone wrong?” let’s concentrate on how to do things right, and especially how the Torah and Jewish tradition counsel us to chart our children’s paths.

That is why two enormously wise and talented authors have given us this book. Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski M.D. is one of the country’s leading psychiatrists in the challenging area of mental health. Uniquely, he combines professional expertise with Torah knowledge and a rich family legacy of blending timeless values into everyday life. Ursula Schwartz, P.h.D., a psychologist, has earned her reputation as a superb mental health professional with unusual sensitivity to the predicament of Jewish parents in an inhospitable environment.

For parents, this exceptional book is nothing less than a treasure. It is filled with practical wisdom and advice. Every family, every teacher, every person who must deal with parents and children will be immeasurably enriched by it.

It is no exaggeration to say that it belongs at the top of every Jewish reading list -- and should be reviewed and pondered over and over again.