David Altshuler, M.S.
(305) 978-8917 | [email protected]

Category: Parenting

Sit Down!

Look, I’m just going to come right out and say it: Telling your child that she should work hard so that she can be Number One is just stupid. Because, by definition, only one person can be first. It’s arithmetic. As easy as–forgive me–one, two three. If your child is

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Here Comes the Sun

Having carefully studied the ph levels of the dirt, I dug a garden plot in the yard with full sun and proper drainage. Having prepared the soil with the appropriate levels of fertilizer, I planted seeds according to the almanac, waiting for the most propitious day. The seed package said

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Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda

Much is made of Malcolm Gladwell’s “Ten thousand hours,” the thoughtful insight that to achieve proficiency, the equivalent of five years of full time work is a necessary condition–if not a sufficient one. The Beatles played clubs in Hambourg for ten thousand hours before appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show;

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Tommy, Can You Hear Me? Insights and Answers

“I’ve changed, Mom. I’m not going to smoke pot any more or play video games either. I just need some money until I can get a job.” Tommy pauses as if for dramatic effect then plays the card that has always worked in the past: “I can’t believe you don’t

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Tommy, Can You Hear Me?

“It’s all your fault, Mom. You are the reason I don’t have any friends. All of the other kids drive nice cars, but you gave me this lousy car to drive. The other kids make fun of me. If you would just leave me alone, everything would be OK.” “But,

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Pow! Smack! Oof!

Envision vicious combatants locked in a zero-sum game in which only a small number can survive and only one can triumph. Imagine the contestants scratching, clawing, and punching one another for any and every competitive advantage. “Omni contra omni” wrote Hobbs. “All against all.” No quarter asked or given. Winner

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No Hats on the Bed!

“No hats on the bed!” A woman screams at a visitor. “Get that hat off the bed! Now!” “OK,” says the man. “But, by the way, why? Why must I take my hat off the bed?” “Hats on the bed are bad luck! Terrible bad luck! Years and years of

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Chances Are

A buddy of mine explained the likelihood of getting a book of poems published. Consider all money spent in entertainment industry. Movies make up the vast percentage of expenditures; books are almost an afterthought. Of all the books that are published each year, most are non-fiction–calendars, cooks books, political biographies.

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Three Times Seven

Bob Blitzer wasn’t just a great math teacher; he was a good man: my first openly gay professor–and this was the early 70s–he was a force of nature in the classroom. He drew an inverted parabola on the board. “‘Y equals negative X squared’ looks like a missile,” he began.

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Copyright © David Altshuler 1980 – 2022    |    Miami, FL • Charlotte, NC     |    (305) 978-8917    |    [email protected]