My husband is one of the wisest people I know. I guess it's a good thing that I can say that after twelve years of marriage, huh? :-) Well, he's also a really talented psychologist and that makes for lots of very interesting discussions between us. The other night, he told me such a fascinating thing I thought I'd share it with all of you. We were discussing anxiety disorders, especially in children, and how they develop and are treated. Well, apparently, a research study involving monkeys showed that anxiety runs in families (talk about yichus, lineage!). Anxious momma monkeys are more likely to have anxious baby monkeys. And guess what! Anxious baby monkeys are more likely to be eaten!

But here's the good news: when the mother monkeys did not indulge their babies' anxious behavior and reacted by pushing them to face their fears instead of molly-coddling them, the babies actually recovered and raised their own survival rates!

I found this really interesting. As a parent, I often struggle with the balance between love and discipline; when to be soft, when to be firm. Oftentimes, the most loving thing to do is to not indulge a child's wish to be held, consoled, and enabled, especially when his or her behavior is potentially damaging. Of course, even when pushing a child to face fears, it's important that parents be supportive, encouraging, loving, and kind, but sometimes, as painful as it is, to give in would be to subject the child to emotional, physical, or spiritual danger.

Have you experienced this?