Powerful Parenting

The Chess Board

There’s a well-known idea that floats around a lot of the popular chochmas hagoyim or self-improvement books: if you want…

Danny Louis 2 days ago Powerful Parenting

I’ve Got Your Back

It was a hot summer day when a man came to Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt’l. He had traveled across…

Danny Louis August 10, 2026 Powerful Parenting

It’s Worth It

Rav Zev Leff once said that he has an issue with some methods used by some individuals involved in kiruv.…

Danny Louis August 8, 2026 Powerful Parenting

The Third Parent

Some friends I know closely were having quite a hard time with one of their children. Their son was anxious…

Danny Louis August 1, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Catch Them Behaving

I don’t know much about the Nurtured Heart Approach, or NHA, but here’s the basic idea: it’s a parenting model…

Danny Louis July 25, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Catch Them Behaving

I don’t know much about the Nurtured Heart Approach, or NHA, but here’s the basic idea: it’s a parenting model…

Danny Louis July 25, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Just One Cereal

A friend of mine, who we’ll call Yehoshua, was standing in the cereal aisle recently, one kid on each side,…

Danny Louis June 27, 2026 Powerful Parenting

The Feedback Loop

Someone once asked a certain leading talmid chochom, “How do I get nachas from my children?” His answer was, “When…

Danny Louis June 20, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Shtuyot

We were Shabbos guests at the home of some friends. Their three-year-old was buddies with ours, and it was nice…

Danny Louis June 6, 2026 Powerful Parenting

This Too Shall Pass

I have a friend who is a “real-deal” avreich. He loves learning, and he takes it seriously. Whatever time he…

Danny Louis May 30, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Lowering the Bar?

Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky once visited a school and noticed that the mezuzah on the doorpost was unusually low. Halacha mandates…

Danny Louis May 16, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Limitless

Rav Yitzchok Dovid Grossman once tried to find a suitable yeshiva for a troubled teenager. He found one, but the…

Danny Louis May 9, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Using Our “Big Heads”

Israelis have an expression: “b’rosh gadol.” Literally, “with a big head.” It’s what you say about someone who makes a…

Danny Louis March 21, 2026 Powerful Parenting

No Such Thing

In Hebrew, there’s a saying: “Ein yeled ra; rak yeled she’ra lo.” Loosely translated: There’s no such thing as a…

Danny Louis March 14, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Hard At Work

Have you ever seen a 4-year-old try to tie his shoes? It takes forever. Fumbling, concentration, starting over. The tongue…

Danny Louis March 7, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Been There Before?

I once heard a Rav talk about a certain 17-year-old girl he knew who was being turned down by every…

Danny Louis February 21, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Who Are You?

We’ve been writing this little column for too long without quoting the Chovas HaTalmidim. Time to fix that. The Chovas…

Danny Louis February 14, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Clarity and Follow Through

The Chazon Ish once saw a father yelling at his son for talking during davening. After davening, the Chazon Ish…

Danny Louis February 7, 2026 Powerful Parenting

The Art of Apologizing

It’s several months until Yom Kippur, so I figured we should start talking about teshuva. Have you ever met someone…

Danny Louis January 17, 2026 Powerful Parenting

Ten Minutes of Connection

Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky once took a ball out of his pocket in a doctor’s office and started playing with a…

Danny Louis January 10, 2026 Powerful Parenting

A Lesson from Rav Mordechai Perlman zt”l

I was privileged to have a relationship with the mashgiach of Yeshivas Ohr Somayach, Rav Mordechai Perlman zt”l, for many…

Danny Louis January 3, 2026 Powerful Parenting

The Fun Is In The Fight

Once upon a time, my wife and I went on a short, very, very overdue vacation. Naturally, we set up…

Danny Louis December 27, 2025 Powerful Parenting

You’ve Got the Job!

Chanukah is when Esav and Yaakov square off, on a deep level. It wasn’t just about the war,  of course.…

Danny Louis December 20, 2025 Powerful Parenting

When Rav Dovid Feinstein zt’l passed away, the Lower East Side lost one of its greatest giants. Thousands came to…

Danny Louis December 5, 2025 Powerful Parenting

Just What You Wanted

Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky’s daughter-in-law, Rebbetzin Itta Chaya, had three boys. Born back-to-back. A year apart. If you know, you know.…

Danny Louis November 29, 2025 Powerful Parenting

What Are We Supposed to Do Until Five?

There’s a peculiar Mishnah in Pirkei Avos at the end of Chapter five: “He used to say: At five years…

Danny Louis November 22, 2025 Powerful Parenting