Tips on How to Teach Your Kids to Save Money

A lot of teens nowadays do not understand the value of earning and spending money. They were not oriented that investing is necessary even if they are still students. As parents, you play a crucial role in this area.

You should be able to teach your kids on how to save money. They should be able to understand the concept of money and investment as early as childhood. This will prepare them to learn money management, as they grow old.

Here are some tips on how you can teach your children how to save money:

1. Your children should be educated of the meaning of money. Once your children have learned how to count, that is the perfect time for you teach them the real meaning of money. You should be consistent and explain to them in simple ways and do this frequently so that they may be able to remember what you taught them.  Click here to read more...

Train Birthday Party for the Little Ones

Boys and girls of all ages have a deep and abiding love of trains. From Thomas the Tank to The Little Engine that Could, trains make an excellent theme for a birthday party for your favorite youngster. The great news is that there are plenty of great party favors and decorations on the market to make your train theme carry through all aspects of the birthday party.

You can purchase invitations that are shaped like a train and appropriate for the specific train theme you have in mind. Even old-fashioned steam engines make a fascinating setting and theme for little ones who are filled with imagination. You do not need to go overboard on the decorations for a train themed party in order to get the theme apart but there are some great goody bags that can be made in keeping with the theme.  Click here to read more...

Encouraging Childhood Creativity

Children are born with some measure of creativity. I believe that. Like all human ability, of course, some children are more creative than others, but creativity at some level is innate.

Young children have mental images of their perception of the world long before they have the linguistic skill to voice those images. The adults in the child’s world need to provide the child with the opportunity to communicate those metal images using a wide range of ways other than the spoken or written word; gestures, drawings, paintings, sculpture, construction, music, make-believe play, movement, and dance.

There are three basic ways in which parents can help their children to develop their innate creativity: experience, tools, and encouragement.

Experience: Children need to be exposed to a wide range of creative media, including art, dance, acting, sculpturing, etc. The more children see the results of the creativity of others, the more their own creativity is fostered.  Click here to read more...

Teach Children How to Deal with Separation and Loss

Children do not deal with separation and loss in the same way as adults. Adults, for example, recognize the difference between a friend moving out of town and a friend dying. Young children, on the other hand, simply view both situations as loss.

Here are some important points to consider when you are helping a child deal with separation and/or loss:

1.  Children have three questions that they want answered ASAP when loss or separation occur: Is what happened my fault? Will it happen to me? How will what happened affect me? All three questions need to be answered in terms that the child can understand.

2.  Don’t use words that make death or separation more palatable to adults. Children are literal. Don’t say words like “sleeping” or “resting.” You might make the child afraid to go to sleep. Explain the situation in literal terms to children.  Click here to read more...

Actively Listening to your Child

Communicating with our children can be a difficult task at times. We feel like they’re not listening to us; they feel like we’re not listening to them. Good listening and communications skills are essential to successful parenting. Your child’s feelings, views and opinions have worth, and you should make sure you take the time to sit down and listen openly and discuss them honestly.

It seems to be a natural tendency to react rather than to respond. We pass judgment based on our own feelings and experiences. However, responding means being receptive to our child’s feelings and emotions and allowing them to express themselves openly and honestly without fear of repercussion from us. By reacting, we send our child the message that their feelings and opinions are invalid. But by responding and asking questions about why the child feels that way, it opens a dialog that allows them to discuss their feelings further, and allows you a better understanding of where they’re coming from. Responding also gives you an opportunity to work out a solution or a plan of action with your child that perhaps they would not have come up with on their own. Your child will also appreciate the fact that maybe you do indeed understand how they feel.  Click here to read more...

Play Is Childhood Work

Through play, children develop into adults. That’s just the way it works. Children develop all of the important skills of life through play. Education gives them information, play is the way they apply that information to life.

Play is not just physical, and the purpose of play is not just pleasure, although play can be both physical and pleasurable. An active play life for a child includes the testing of and enhancement of his physical abilities (learning to climb, run, jump, etc.).

Play also includes learning about human interactions and relationships. The child learns such important life skills as communication, negotiation, and compromise when he is playing a game with other children.

Most friendships begin with play for children and even for adults. Think about how your own friendships develop — mutual interest and mutual pleasure (play) is key to the friendship growing and developing. The same is true for children.  Click here to read more...

How to Teach a Child Good Morals

What can parents do to help their children be moral when the child lives in an obviously immoral world? The answer is “a lot.” Parents can do a great deal to help a child grow up to be a moral adult. Children are learning every waking minute. They are like thirsty little sponges who soak up information at an alarming rate.

“Morality” is subjective. The definition of moral behavior varies from culture to culture and even from person to person. According to the dictionary, morality is, “conformity to the rules of right conduct; moral or virtuous conduct.” The “rules of right conduct” is where differences lie when morality is discussed.

There’s an adage that says, “children learn what they live.” It’s true. Children are learning what is considered moral behavior in the world that they experience. If that experience is gained by sitting in front of a television set watching people kill one another and having sex whenever and with whomever they please or playing violent video games, that’s what the child will deem “moral behavior.”  Click here to read more...

How to Choose a Good Baby Sitter

Choosing someone to care for your most precious possession (your child) in your absence is a major decision and should not be entered into lightly. You know that you will take care of your children and keep them safe. Transferring that responsibility for your child’s very life into the hands of another person is absolutely terrifying for some of us.

First of all, where does one look for a baby sitter? Is the teenager who lives down the block responsible and mature enough to take care of your little one? Does she know CPR? Is she cool enough to handle a crisis?

The best way to find a competent baby sitter is to ask your friends. Ask the people with whom you attend church or those you know through civic organizations. If they have kids, they hire sitters from time to time, and they are the people who are in the best position to know who is a competent baby sitter and who is a better than just competent baby sitter.  Click here to read more...

Soothing Worries of Preschool Children

Humans, I’ve decided, are born with the ability to worry. Worry isn’t a behavior that needs to be learned. Worry is an innate ability of human beings. In a sense, worry is a self-preservation factor; if we didn’t worry about being run over by a car, we wouldn’t look both ways before crossing a street. There is, however, a big difference between prudent caution and unreasonable fear.

As parents, it’s our responsibility to help soothe the fears of our children. We want them to be prudently cautious and aware that dangers exist, but we don’t want them to be paralyzed with fear. Hitting that happy medium between teaching our children to be careful without being fearful requires patient consistency and it starts at birth.  Click here to read more...

How to Buy Toddler Shoes

With so many styles to choose from, knowing how to buy toddler shoes can be a real challenge. The problem that many parents encounter is choosing between function versus style, practicality versus fun. After all, who wouldn’t want their little one to be most stylish toddler on the block? But sometimes fun styles can actually hurt your child’s feet and be more of a hindrance than a help as he takes his baby steps.

So what should you look for when buying your child a new pair of shoes? Here are some tips you might want to keep in mind:

- If you’re planning to bring your child to the store to try out several pairs of shoes, make sure that he is in a good mood. It’s probably a good idea to schedule this particular adventure just after a meal and a nap, and to make it the first thing you do when you hit the mall.  Click here to read more...