The Jewish Community Center is welcoming three speakers during October who will each offer parenting advice.

The “Oys and Joys of Parenting” series kicks off from 10 to 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Marilyn Fox Building in Chesterfield, when Nancy Birkenmier from the Unity Sleep Medicine and Research Center will speak.

She will answer questions such as, “How do I know when a child has obtained the right amount of sleep?” “Is it important that children learn to sleep through the night?” “What is the family bed all about?”   She will discuss what makes a great sleeper, how to get a child to take a better nap, appropriate sleep routines and general strategies for sleep sanity.

This monthly parenting series takes place on the second Sunday of every month. A light breakfast will be served.  The cost is $8 for JCC members and $10 for the public.  Babysitting is available, but RSVPs are required. For more information, or to register, please contact Marianne Chervitz at 314-442-3454 or [email protected].

The two other parenting events take place on consecutive Wednesday nights from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Staenberg Family Complex in Creve Coeur.

On Oct. 12, Jenny Hoffman Mentle presents “Seeing the World Through the Eyes of Your Child.”  A licensed clinical social worker and therapist specializing in children and adolescents, Mentle is also an adjunct faculty member at Washington and Maryville universities. She will explain child development at various stages and how it affects behaviors parents see at home. This information will help parents make sense of how their child reacts in certain situations, and help manage their behavioral expectations.

On Oct. 19, parents can meet pediatric psychologist Dr. Milton Rubin. “In every household, children learn early how to work their parents. Their demands can be harsh and sophisticated,” says Rubin. “Either way, all parents are potentially victims and need to have the courage to ask, ‘Just who is running my house?'”  

The cost for each of these programs is $10 per person. Babysitting is available, but reservations are required.  For more information, or to register, contact Emilie Brockman at 314-442-3267 or [email protected]

These speakers are coordinated by the Helene Mirowitz Center of Jewish Community Life.