JANUARY 26 • 2023 | 19

figuring out “what is not set 
up in the right way for their 
unique style and brain, and 
how you can work together 
to really make things better,
” 
Bagdade says.
As a longtime partner of 
the J-Detroit, Bagdade has 
worked with the organization 
in various capacities for more 
than 20 years, making her 
intimately familiar with the 
Jewish community and the 
unique needs Jewish parents in 
Metro Detroit are facing.

FINDING CONFIDENCE
Still, Bagdade says parents are 
no longer looking for general 
parenting strategies — which 
can be found almost anywhere 
nowadays — but strategies 
for more niche needs, such as 
parenting for ADHD or anxiety.
“These are areas in which 
parents feel less confident,
” she 
explains. “It can be anything 
from behavior, to setting 
boundaries or [creating] 
consequences. They know 
what they’re looking for, but 
parents don’t always know 
what the next steps are.
”
One of the blessings and 
the curses of social media, 
Bagdade says, is that there’s 
plenty of content available for 
reading, but with so much 
content to sift through, it 
can be tough to discern what 

actually works and what 
doesn’t for kids with ADHD or 
anxiety.
“It becomes a lot of noise,
” 
she says. “Instead of going on 
the computer and googling 
‘
ADHD help for my kid,
’ what 
do I really do first? How do 
I make things calmer in my 
house today?”
This burning question, 
among others, is why Bagdade 
titled her book the way it is. 
“With parenting, one day you 
love your kids so much, and 
five minutes later you want to 
take a solo trip to Mexico,
” she 
laughs. 
“Sometimes, when you have 
a kid with additional needs, 
like a child with ADHD, that 
can feel even more intense.
”
It’s a widespread concern 
that JFamily hopes their new 
program can alleviate. So 
far, the class has generated 
tremendous response.
“We are so grateful that the 
course has had such a great 
response,
” Erez says. “We are 
almost at full capacity, but we 
will offer additional cohorts 
in the coming months as we 
continue to understand the 
needs of our community.
” 

To join the current workshop in 

progress or for information on future 

workshops, contact Stephanie Erez 

at serez@jccdet.org.

Stephanie Erez, left, 
and Jamie Kaniarz, 
above

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