Judy Gruen

According to certain experts in academia, I have put my kids' entire emotional and educational futures at risk because I haven't made the family dinner an immutable, Norman Rockwell-esque fixture in our lives...

Even the best among us sometimes speak or act before we think, hurt those we love, and fail to live up to our own potential. If we can own up to our mistakes, however, we can deepen the relationships most important to us...

I had been looking forward to lolling around during the waning days of summer, eating runny sugar-free ice cream while my kids savored the premium scoops. But I was forced into aerobic action: running around like a woman possessed, surrendering my credit ...

In most ways I'm a classic Jewish mother. If I'm cold, I tell my kids to put on sweaters. But I depart from the stereotypes in one significant way: I really am not interested in hearing from my kids every day when they are away at camp...

At a certain point, I will run out of food. And then we, along with about 4,000 of our neighbors, start hitting the kosher pizza joints...

How can a mom who isn't fluent in Dodger talk have a conversation with a teen that will last longer than it takes to even utter the word "con-ver-sa-tion"? One night, as I watched one son laboring over a book of Talmud, I had an idea...

Both my grandmothers came from "the old country," and trust me, there is no word for "disposable" in Yiddish. In fact, through her judicious use, rinsing, and re-use of aluminum foil, one of my Bubbies only used two rolls of foil during her entire life! ...

Last month, columnist Judy Gruen announced her candidacy for President of the United States. This month, she reports from the campaign trail...

This election will not truly look like America, will not transcend the petty partisan politics of the past, without a Jewish mother candidate. Yes, running for president will complicate my schedule for the next many months, but who better to make ...

My agility with first and second-grade schoolwork preserved my young children's belief (so sadly short-lived) that my husband and I knew just about everything in the world. Ah, those were the days...