What is the parenting secret of Orthodox Jewish families?

[Anonymous]

I didn’t grow up orthodox but another strict religion.

There seems to be something about following a religion that makes people happier and grounded. Not all people, and yes there is abuse and women who aren’t happy. But in general, people seemed 10000x happier than the families I encounter in my life today.

Happier people have an easier time raising kids and the kids are happier too.

My unpopular opinion is that women working FT corporate jobs make for very unhappy families, and few women in ultra religious homes are working these types of jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t grow up orthodox but another strict religion.

There seems to be something about following a religion that makes people happier and grounded. Not all people, and yes there is abuse and women who aren’t happy. But in general, people seemed 10000x happier than the families I encounter in my life today.

Happier people have an easier time raising kids and the kids are happier too.

My unpopular opinion is that women working FT corporate jobs make for very unhappy families, and few women in ultra religious homes are working these types of jobs.

I think it makes them dumber and poorer. But please do travel to Afghanistan and tell us all about the happy women in Taliban religious homes who don't have to earn their own money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like Catholics, Mormons, and other religious groups with big families, they expect the older children (especially the older daughters, but sons too) to help. It’s a lot easier to handle a bunch of kids when the big ones change diapers, wipe noses, put on shoes, read books, etc.

+1. I saw a group at a playground yesterday and my first thought was "I bet they were really glad the first 2 kids were girls" because the older girls were doing a lovely job helping the little ones, while the two oldest boys ran around with sticks. Not that boys couldn't help, but the gender divisions are pretty strict with the way they are raised, so they wouldn't naturally be asked to.

Palm to forehead. This is what happens when the broader culture knows nothing of raising children.
Children- males and females, but most especially females- LIKE doting on younger children. It’s *natural* even if they are NEVER asked to. How do I know? I have five kids and was so afraid of the allegation of “parentification” that I hired au pairs. But the older kids WANT to help just like you WANTED to have children. It’s human and good to have a desiring toward care for the more vulnerable.

You're not the only one in the world with kids and not all kids are the same. I can assure you my oldest never wanted to help until he was 10 years old. He would argue literally every time I said "can you please go get x." We had a LOT of conversations about his role in the family and how he needed to help. Only in the last 2 years has the answer changed to "sure mom" when I ask him to do things. If I'd had 5 kids and expected him to help with diapers and such, I'd have had to resort to corporal punishment, which I'm not a fan of.

Obviously cultural expectations may make things different too, not just personality. But Orthodox families do tend to be quite gender-conformist. The average such family is not having their oldest boys help with diapers and cooking if there are girls around to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's up with all these posts about Other Children and how calm they are? What kind of hooligans are you around? Most kids I see are pretty calm.

OP sounds like a troll.

Curious why you think I’m a troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like Catholics, Mormons, and other religious groups with big families, they expect the older children (especially the older daughters, but sons too) to help. It’s a lot easier to handle a bunch of kids when the big ones change diapers, wipe noses, put on shoes, read books, etc.

+1. I saw a group at a playground yesterday and my first thought was "I bet they were really glad the first 2 kids were girls" because the older girls were doing a lovely job helping the little ones, while the two oldest boys ran around with sticks. Not that boys couldn't help, but the gender divisions are pretty strict with the way they are raised, so they wouldn't naturally be asked to.

At risk of being a gender essentialist … sometimes girls really like to interact with and mother their younger sibs. I wasn’t like that to an extreme but I definitely really loved taking care of my baby sister born when I was 12. And my 8 year old sister was extremely close to the baby and was constantly playing school etc.

Same. My parents were very anti gender roles and would have loved to dress me in unisex/boy clothing. I showed them! I only wore pink and dresses (still do). I was beyond thrilled to take care of my younger siblings (8 years younger). I was a nanny throughout high school and college. Sometimes it’s not how you’re raised, sometimes people just gravitate towards certain things. I see this with my own kids. I have one girl who is a tomboy and the other wants to be a princess. It’s nothing I did. Not all kids resent taking care of others, but I know some do of course. My son has lots and lots of chores and does the same ones as my girls. I’m not raising a boy who watches women work while he sits.

To answer op, I think the people who have large families know how to take care of them and also like kids. The same can’t be said for most moms. Also, none of those families practice gentle/permissive parenting. Even if they don’t spank, bad behavior is NOT accepted.

My permissive parenting friends let their kids do anything. The other day at a playdate my friends two kids started jumping on her couch and she let them. I told my kids no, don’t get up there too. The friend was shocked and said they weren’t hurting anything. Ffs. Kids need to learn how to respect everything.

As a non abusive Catholic mom of a big family, I agree with this. No gentle or permissive parenting of a large family. Privileges like screens and sweets and fun are EARNED not the baseline. Kids are brought up to respect the parents who are their natural authority (underneath God) and to contribute to the good of the family (God’s design and plan). My oldest who is 13 is a boy and he does not gravitate towards childcare or younger kids, but he is able to perform his role in the family to look after his younger siblings and guide them as God designed for him (due to his birth order).

Does that make sense? It’s a different way of looking at the world than secular culture which does contribute to child behavior imo. Plus, 90 mins a week of mass with no entertainment and only boredom and hymns and liturgy does help forge self control and self restraint.

I come from a big family and there was lots of permissive parenting in my family. I actually think it's incredibly common with big families if the parents feel overwhelmed -- they just give up. I also just got back from spring break travel and I can assure this tradition is alive and well in 2025 -- I saw a ton of families with 4 or 5 kids just letting their kids totally run amok in public spaces because they were so clearly overwhelmed. When you've got twin 8 yr olds, a 6 yr old, a 4yr old, a 1 yr old, AND you are pregnant, you are going to hit a point where you just DNGAF.

right. this is OP. My family was permissive when the wheels started to fall off after some big traumas. Like literally zero parenting except putting food on the table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, they’ve probably never seen a screen/ipad in their life. Unless their mom is “influencer”

They haven’t seen too many books in their lives either. They are not brought up like other American children. Education consists solely of religion information and the women are expected to marry at a very early age and produce many children.

OP here. I don’t think that is all orthodox families. the family I saw was IN a book store.

DP. There is a wide range within what’s grouped under Orthodox Judaism. Some of them, actually quite a few of them, are educated well enough to become doctors, lawyers and college professors. Many more are accountants, teachers, software developers, etc. That includes both men and women. And then there are some fringe groups that barely educate their boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t grow up orthodox but another strict religion.

There seems to be something about following a religion that makes people happier and grounded. Not all people, and yes there is abuse and women who aren’t happy. But in general, people seemed 10000x happier than the families I encounter in my life today.

Happier people have an easier time raising kids and the kids are happier too.

My unpopular opinion is that women working FT corporate jobs make for very unhappy families, and few women in ultra religious homes are working these types of jobs.

OP here. I think that if a culture prioritizes lots of kids then the mom has to be a homemaker for obvious reasons. But I heard from a relative who was formerly orthodox that the dads actually do a lot of hands-on work around the home. And living in a community where you have other moms around during the day is different from the isolation of secular SAHM in this area. In thinking about my own family, our healthiest time period was when the kids were little and my dad spent a lot of time doing hands-on care of kids and the house.

That said I still cannot personally imagine having that many kids! One was like excruciatingly hard for me - but I am in that culture of moms working FT and my exDH was useless at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t grow up orthodox but another strict religion.

There seems to be something about following a religion that makes people happier and grounded. Not all people, and yes there is abuse and women who aren’t happy. But in general, people seemed 10000x happier than the families I encounter in my life today.

Happier people have an easier time raising kids and the kids are happier too.

My unpopular opinion is that women working FT corporate jobs make for very unhappy families, and few women in ultra religious homes are working these types of jobs.

I think it makes them dumber and poorer. But please do travel to Afghanistan and tell us all about the happy women in Taliban religious homes who don't have to earn their own money.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t grow up orthodox but another strict religion.

There seems to be something about following a religion that makes people happier and grounded. Not all people, and yes there is abuse and women who aren’t happy. But in general, people seemed 10000x happier than the families I encounter in my life today.

Happier people have an easier time raising kids and the kids are happier too.

My unpopular opinion is that women working FT corporate jobs make for very unhappy families, and few women in ultra religious homes are working these types of jobs.

People who aren’t that smart are usually happier. And people who are super religious often aren’t that smart. They are able to believe in fantasies and suspend disbelief. Of course they’re happier than those of us who have a better grasp of reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like Catholics, Mormons, and other religious groups with big families, they expect the older children (especially the older daughters, but sons too) to help. It’s a lot easier to handle a bunch of kids when the big ones change diapers, wipe noses, put on shoes, read books, etc.

+1. I saw a group at a playground yesterday and my first thought was "I bet they were really glad the first 2 kids were girls" because the older girls were doing a lovely job helping the little ones, while the two oldest boys ran around with sticks. Not that boys couldn't help, but the gender divisions are pretty strict with the way they are raised, so they wouldn't naturally be asked to.

At risk of being a gender essentialist … sometimes girls really like to interact with and mother their younger sibs. I wasn’t like that to an extreme but I definitely really loved taking care of my baby sister born when I was 12. And my 8 year old sister was extremely close to the baby and was constantly playing school etc.

Same. My parents were very anti gender roles and would have loved to dress me in unisex/boy clothing. I showed them! I only wore pink and dresses (still do). I was beyond thrilled to take care of my younger siblings (8 years younger). I was a nanny throughout high school and college. Sometimes it’s not how you’re raised, sometimes people just gravitate towards certain things. I see this with my own kids. I have one girl who is a tomboy and the other wants to be a princess. It’s nothing I did. Not all kids resent taking care of others, but I know some do of course. My son has lots and lots of chores and does the same ones as my girls. I’m not raising a boy who watches women work while he sits.

To answer op, I think the people who have large families know how to take care of them and also like kids. The same can’t be said for most moms. Also, none of those families practice gentle/permissive parenting. Even if they don’t spank, bad behavior is NOT accepted.

My permissive parenting friends let their kids do anything. The other day at a playdate my friends two kids started jumping on her couch and she let them. I told my kids no, don’t get up there too. The friend was shocked and said they weren’t hurting anything. Ffs. Kids need to learn how to respect everything.

As a non abusive Catholic mom of a big family, I agree with this. No gentle or permissive parenting of a large family. Privileges like screens and sweets and fun are EARNED not the baseline. Kids are brought up to respect the parents who are their natural authority (underneath God) and to contribute to the good of the family (God’s design and plan). My oldest who is 13 is a boy and he does not gravitate towards childcare or younger kids, but he is able to perform his role in the family to look after his younger siblings and guide them as God designed for him (due to his birth order).

Does that make sense? It’s a different way of looking at the world than secular culture which does contribute to child behavior imo. Plus, 90 mins a week of mass with no entertainment and only boredom and hymns and liturgy does help forge self control and self restraint.

This sort of brainwashing is startling to me. I'd rather have a child that doesn’t get compliments on behavior than one who is stuck in a narrow "god given" box. I value free thought over obedience in general.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like Catholics, Mormons, and other religious groups with big families, they expect the older children (especially the older daughters, but sons too) to help. It’s a lot easier to handle a bunch of kids when the big ones change diapers, wipe noses, put on shoes, read books, etc.

+1. I saw a group at a playground yesterday and my first thought was "I bet they were really glad the first 2 kids were girls" because the older girls were doing a lovely job helping the little ones, while the two oldest boys ran around with sticks. Not that boys couldn't help, but the gender divisions are pretty strict with the way they are raised, so they wouldn't naturally be asked to.

At risk of being a gender essentialist … sometimes girls really like to interact with and mother their younger sibs. I wasn’t like that to an extreme but I definitely really loved taking care of my baby sister born when I was 12. And my 8 year old sister was extremely close to the baby and was constantly playing school etc.

Same. My parents were very anti gender roles and would have loved to dress me in unisex/boy clothing. I showed them! I only wore pink and dresses (still do). I was beyond thrilled to take care of my younger siblings (8 years younger). I was a nanny throughout high school and college. Sometimes it’s not how you’re raised, sometimes people just gravitate towards certain things. I see this with my own kids. I have one girl who is a tomboy and the other wants to be a princess. It’s nothing I did. Not all kids resent taking care of others, but I know some do of course. My son has lots and lots of chores and does the same ones as my girls. I’m not raising a boy who watches women work while he sits.

To answer op, I think the people who have large families know how to take care of them and also like kids. The same can’t be said for most moms. Also, none of those families practice gentle/permissive parenting. Even if they don’t spank, bad behavior is NOT accepted.

My permissive parenting friends let their kids do anything. The other day at a playdate my friends two kids started jumping on her couch and she let them. I told my kids no, don’t get up there too. The friend was shocked and said they weren’t hurting anything. Ffs. Kids need to learn how to respect everything.

As a non abusive Catholic mom of a big family, I agree with this. No gentle or permissive parenting of a large family. Privileges like screens and sweets and fun are EARNED not the baseline. Kids are brought up to respect the parents who are their natural authority (underneath God) and to contribute to the good of the family (God’s design and plan). My oldest who is 13 is a boy and he does not gravitate towards childcare or younger kids, but he is able to perform his role in the family to look after his younger siblings and guide them as God designed for him (due to his birth order).

Does that make sense? It’s a different way of looking at the world than secular culture which does contribute to child behavior imo. Plus, 90 mins a week of mass with no entertainment and only boredom and hymns and liturgy does help forge self control and self restraint.

This sort of brainwashing is startling to me. I'd rather have a child that doesn’t get compliments on behavior than one who is stuck in a narrow "god given" box. I value free thought over obedience in general.

Ah, ok. To each their own! Glad we all have the ability to live as we choose.

[Anonymous]

an abusive repressive religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t grow up orthodox but another strict religion.

There seems to be something about following a religion that makes people happier and grounded. Not all people, and yes there is abuse and women who aren’t happy. But in general, people seemed 10000x happier than the families I encounter in my life today.

Happier people have an easier time raising kids and the kids are happier too.

My unpopular opinion is that women working FT corporate jobs make for very unhappy families, and few women in ultra religious homes are working these types of jobs.

OP here. I think that if a culture prioritizes lots of kids then the mom has to be a homemaker for obvious reasons. But I heard from a relative who was formerly orthodox that the dads actually do a lot of hands-on work around the home. And living in a community where you have other moms around during the day is different from the isolation of secular SAHM in this area. In thinking about my own family, our healthiest time period was when the kids were little and my dad spent a lot of time doing hands-on care of kids and the house.

That said I still cannot personally imagine having that many kids! One was like excruciatingly hard for me - but I am in that culture of moms working FT and my exDH was useless at home.

When I had my first I read an essay by a mother of ten about how “one baby” is actually the hardest stage of all. I thought it was insane. Now I have five and I understand. She was right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t grow up orthodox but another strict religion.

There seems to be something about following a religion that makes people happier and grounded. Not all people, and yes there is abuse and women who aren’t happy. But in general, people seemed 10000x happier than the families I encounter in my life today.

Happier people have an easier time raising kids and the kids are happier too.

My unpopular opinion is that women working FT corporate jobs make for very unhappy families, and few women in ultra religious homes are working these types of jobs.

I think it makes them dumber and poorer. But please do travel to Afghanistan and tell us all about the happy women in Taliban religious homes who don't have to earn their own money.

+1

I’m a mom of 5… I went to Northwestern. Maybe that can give some parents pause when they make college choice the pinnacle of everything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t grow up orthodox but another strict religion.

There seems to be something about following a religion that makes people happier and grounded. Not all people, and yes there is abuse and women who aren’t happy. But in general, people seemed 10000x happier than the families I encounter in my life today.

Happier people have an easier time raising kids and the kids are happier too.

My unpopular opinion is that women working FT corporate jobs make for very unhappy families, and few women in ultra religious homes are working these types of jobs.

People who aren’t that smart are usually happier. And people who are super religious often aren’t that smart. They are able to believe in fantasies and suspend disbelief. Of course they’re happier than those of us who have a better grasp of reality.

Happy Easter to you as well!