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The Importance of Familial Financial Honesty

June 12, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Managing your family’s finances isn’t an easy task. At times, it can be your most stressful job. If the finances have recently taken a downward turn but you’re keeping this news from your children in an attempt to shield them, you’re likely doing more harm than good. The children can likely sense something is wrong within the family’s dynamic and may begin thinking they’ve done something to anger you.

When you’re hiding your financial problems from your children, they’ll continue asking for luxuries you were once able to provide. By continuing to overspend as if a financial problem doesn’t exist, you will only grow your debt and make it more difficult to erase. Instead, schedule a family meeting and be honest about the money-related issues the family is facing. While this discussion will take immense courage, it will be a worthwhile one. The only true way to begin correcting your problems is to face them. Then, when the debt is resolved, you can make healthy financial decisions and serve as a positive financial role model for your children.

Although you may be worried about the effects of your financial problems on your children, it’s actually the perfect opportunity to teach them lifelong lessons. By showing them what went wrong in your finances, you’ll provide the tools they need to avoid the same mistakes in their future. They may even have creative solutions you hadn’t previously considered as to how you can create a brighter financial future for the family.

Admitting to those you love most that you’ve made financial mistakes can be difficult. However, this is the first step towards correcting the problems.

Filed Under: General, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Family, Finance

Talking to Your Child About Sex

May 23, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Image by Jefferson Martina via Flickr

When your child begins showing attraction to the opposite sex you mind immediately begins to wonder if they are thinking about having sex. It is a normal occurrence in a young persons life, but you understand that if they are not prepared to deal with it like an adult the consequences can be very severe as to what can happen to them.

Your child should understand the consequences of having sex. In order to broach the topic you should make sure the setting is casual and in a place where they are willing to listen. Kids who feel embarrassed or upset by their surroundings are going to get defensive and they are not going to be willing to talk to about it.

Do not worry about trying to speak on your child’s level. Nothing is more embarrassing to a child then a parent who thinks they truly understand their world. Your child knows about fashionable things like Rocawear clothes. Be true to who you are and the world you come from and speak from that place. It will make a lot more sense to them.

You might want to start by asking your child to ask you questions. Sometimes forcing them, gently, to participate in the discussion will allow them to feel better about talking to you. You might find out that they have a lot of questions you were not even aware of. You could be clearing up a ton of confusion for them.

Your child needs to be educated about sex. Do everything in your power to make it crystal clear to them that you are always there to help them.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Mommy/Talking to Your Kids/Lessons to Learn/Tips and Advice on drugs, Money, resonsibility, Sex

From the Runway to Your Closet

May 5, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

It is not common to see runway clothes worn on an everyday basis. However, it would be a mistake to ignore those that are on fashion’s spotlight. Take advantage of the lessons learned from the runway, which can serve your fashion needs quite well.

Be on the lookout for pieces that are wearable—which do occur at a reasonable level. There are some really nice pretty dresses that can be worn, as are high-style men’s suits. Don’t overlook how your favorite runway piece can work, even if only for that special occasion. The runway indeed carries a number of unreasonable outfits for the average person. When that is the case you can still learn much from fashion’s highest stage, and there are those that can be integrated quite well. Don’t hesitate to watch and learn from the runway.

Be aware of which fashions need to stay on the runway. Of the many runway fashions, there are some that simply don’t work for practical use. Take note of these while focusing on what you can get out of displayed fashions. Whether or not the outfit can be translated easily to your wardrobe, you can still make runway styles work for you. Look at the hot colors for the season, pay attention to accessories such as belts and scarves, and find individual pieces that can be integrated to achieve a practical look. While you may not be able to wear a piece on the runway, you can certainly learn from its style.

Filed Under: General

Shopping Online For Kids Costumes

March 8, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Image via Wikipedia

Many kids want to have the most creative costume to wear to school. Halloween is the best time to really showcase how creative you can be. Most families these days don’t really have the resources or money to create elaborate costumes for their kids.

The best way to get kids costumes would be to search the Internet and take advantage of online shopping. There are many stores and websites out there dedicated to finding affordable Halloween costumes for your kids. When you shop online, you’re able to compare prices and even find some great deals you might not notice in a crowded store. Not to mention that many stores will offer special deals plus free shipping when you order online.

The nice part about shopping online is that everything will be sent to your home so you can order your kids costumes from the comfort of your own home. No more driving from store to store just to find costumes that are either sold out or don’t fit anymore. You can save on gas and time by shopping online for your kid’s costumes.

By a certain age you’ll know the sizes to shop for so there isn’t much need to have your child try everything on. But here’s the great thing about online shopping: You can buy multiple costumes and have your kid try them on. He or she can pick the costume that’ll be worn on Halloween and you can send the rest back. Most companies offer free shipping and returns so you won’t be out any money if you have to return anything.

Many stores sell out of Halloween costumes pretty quickly, so another great thing about online shopping is that you’ll have multiple choices available to you, but also costumes don’t sell out as quickly as they do in stores.

Shopping online is always the best and quickest way to get Halloween costumes for your kids.

Filed Under: General, Parenting Tagged With: Costume, Halloween costume, Online shopping

Buying An SUV to Replace the Old Car

March 5, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

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Many people find themselves needing to “sell my car” to upgrade to a larger vehicle. One of the safest and quite reliable choices is to sell your car for a SUV. If the family has outgrown the family car, and just can’t get all the stuff that goes along with life into the car anymore, it’s time to upgrade. These vehicles will give you the space you need. If you like to look at scenery, then a SUV will set you up higher from the road for a good look at what is going on outside.

SUVs are extremely versatile vehicles. A SUV can be used for family trips where plenty of leg room is required. A SUV is perfectly stylish and is great for date night. A SUV can take you almost anywhere. No need to worry about low gas mileage because you could choose a hybrid or four-cylinder model vehicle.

Some of the popular affordable SUVs right now, such as the Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Toyota Highlander and Nissan Murano, will give you the comfort and ride you are looking for. All of these vehicles come with all-wheel drive. Here are some specs for these individual vehicles:

The Toyota Highlander offers you an optional power lift gate and backup camera.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee has an accident avoidance system as well as off road capabilities.
The Ford Explorer gives you a terrain management system, intelligent four-wheel drive, three rows of seating and plenty of cargo capacity.

Any of these can offer you the quality and reliability that you want from a vehicle. Once you find yourself behind the wheel of a SUV, you won’t want to drive anything else. The ride of a SUV is comfortable and keeps you feeling like you are in control, both on and off the road.

Filed Under: Advice, General Tagged With: Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Sport utility vehicle

You’re Never Too Old For Help From Mom

February 16, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

The goal of every proud mother is to see their child make it through high school and head off to college. During those early years, we moms spend countless nights checking homework, building science projects and helping with book reports by actually reading the books and not watching the movie! Just because your son or daughter has headed off to college doesn’t mean you have to stop being a study partner. In fact, with all they have going on, they might appreciate a little extra help now and then.

A lot of moms I talk to cheerfully tell me that their kids are at first horrified when they join them on the Internet. But the older they get, the more fun they have knowing mom can send emails and updates her own Facebook account. Now instead of calling our children to remind them to dress warm in cold weather, we can send them links to “preventing the common cold” sites. I stumbled across a great resource the other day that moms can share with their higher education bound kids. It’s a GMAT prep course conducted on line that is going to help them get through this crucial exam.

Every student who wants to apply to a graduate study course needs to take a GMAT exam. It’s how colleges and universities figure out what level of learning the student is at. The better the score the better the chance they have of getting accepting into the program of their choice. We’ve all been through this with the college applications and there is nothing wrong with getting some prep help especially with something as important as the GMAT.

With this online prep course, your student will be presented with practice examples and the opportunity to get direct answers to their questions. And isn’t knowledge the best gift a mom can give?

Filed Under: Expectations, General Tagged With: GMAT prep, Graduate school, Higher education

Talking About Drugs

February 15, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Learning about drugs is something that every child will eventually need to learn. The schools do a great job of teaching kids about what drugs are and how to say no, but you as a parent are responsible for doing what you can as well.

One common stat that is quoted is that children who are worried about what their parents will think are less likely to try drugs. This means that every time you emphasize to your children how your family feels about drugs you are helping to produce a drug free adult.

Drugs are out there, and your child will be faced with the choice to say yes, or just say no. If you are able to communicate your beliefs to them, you will produce a child who wants to say no.

We are lucky to live in a time where there is more information available about drugs and the problems they can cause. It is much easier to educate your children about the dangers of drugs now that it was even 10 years ago.

One thing many parents worry about is what to say if their children ask if they (the parents) have ever tried drugs. If you ever did try drugs, you can choose to tell the truth, or you may consider telling a little white lie. Hopefully you can spin the experience into a cautionary tale and give them all the more reason not to try drugs.

Your children will be much more educated by learning about drugs and drug use from their parents. No matter what they learn at school, they cannot learn about your family’s morals and expectations unless the family is involved. This lesson is a great chance for your family to bond and connect, and hopefully make decisions about what is going to be best for your family. No matter what age they are, it’s never too early to begin talking about drugs and their effects.

Filed Under: Advice, General Tagged With: Child, Drug, Family

Talking About Sex

February 1, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Teaching your kids about sex can be a very uncomfortable task for many parents, but it is a lesson that must be taught. One of the easiest ways to open dialogue is to provide your children with a book or video that explains some of the basics and then you and your child can discuss it together.

This is easier for many parents because they do not have to initially break the ice. However just talking can be great too. Talking about sex is uncomfortable because we are never really certain what our kids already know or what they need to know.

The best way to get started is to find out what they already know. You may be surprised by how much and how early children learn now. Sex education is a major part of many schools, so they often start learning the basics as early as fourth grade.

This is a good thing as far as I am concerned because the more kids learn in a controlled, educational setting the less they will learn from their friends or from movies. The lessons learned from friends are often inaccurate and can lead to problems down the road.

No matter how much they learn at school, it is still important to have the talks with your children yourself. This will enable you to express your family’s belief structure to them and let them know they can reach out to you if they have any questions or concerns later on.

If every parent was more open with their children about sex there would be less accidents and less mistakes made. Just because you are willing to talk to your children about sex doesn’t mean you are giving them your blessing to engage in sexual activity. In fact it is a great time to let them know that you hope they wait until they are more emotionally and physically mature before the engage in sexual activities.

Filed Under: General, Parenting Tagged With: Education, Human sexual activity, Sex education

Questions Accepted: Gaining Trust

January 30, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Time is not an ally. This is your sad certainty, offered as the hours hurry by, demand your efforts and energy. All seconds clamor for your attention; all minutes are strained. And you can’t recall when you had the chance to simply… stop, breathe, indulge in the quiet. It’s been too long and you’ve accomplished too much — and those accomplishments rarely involve your child.

You don’t wish to be dismissive. You don’t want to shrug away all questions, pleads. But there are obligations you must answer, and you have little time to spare for the inelegant ramblings of a toddler. So you merely smile and send her away, certain the conversations would not have been important. She’s too young, after all. She has no opinions yet to give to you.

And she never will.

Children who are frequently denied by their parents will soon form a terrible realization: they are not important; their ideas do not matter; they should never therefore share them. And they won’t. When youths are ignored they quickly learn to solve their problems on their own, grow weary of being refused. They won’t seek out their families. They won’t believe they can.

And your daughter will suffer from the same misconception — she won’t understand that you’re struggling with a career; she won’t comprehend that your every instant is scheduled. Instead she’ll see you constantly walk away, leaving her questions unanswered.

This destroys all confidence and shatters all trust.

It is important then that you make time for your child. Provide her with long minutes each day to simply discuss what’s on her mind. Don’t force her to rush; don’t demand that she reveal the point. Allow her instead to speak as she must — ensuring her that you are
willing to listen and to give advice. You will have to shift your priorities, but the consequence will be worth it.

Don’t belittle her opinions. Let her offer them instead.

Filed Under: General, Parenting Tagged With: Family, Parent

The Communication Constancy

January 29, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

One agonizing hour, one awkward conversation — you’re to explain all of the terrible realities; you’re to offer all of the vicious truths. Sex, addiction and the troubles between are to be examined for the afternoon. You’ll warn your child of everything. You’ll give him the advice you know is essential. And then… you’ll never speak of this again. The attempt will simply be too brutal, leaves you blushing. A parent’s duty was never meant to be so hard, you believe. Communication was never meant to be so embarrassing.

It was also never meant to be a singularity.

The great temptation all parents must face is the ability to stuff a conversation with less than happy topics, offer it and then walk away. This is thought to be the best form of dialogue: one that is quick and efficient. It’s assumed to be ideal (sparing everyone the mortification of secondary attempts).

This is wrong, however.

Communication is not to be limited to one moment, with all answers tossed haphazardly toward a child. It is instead to be stretched across a lifetime — with youths receiving explanations as soon as they can properly understand them. Important issues (such as drugs, alcohol and intimacy) are to be given often: redefined as children age, made relevant to their current interests and sensibilities. What you would provide a five year old is quite different than what you would offer a teen. And parents must understand this to constantly redefine their approaches and keep the content fresh.

You must be constant with your conversations. You must give them often, encouraging your child to ask the necessary questions and provide his own opinions. Trade information (not accusations) over time. While this may at first seem to be encouraging strained relationships, it will instead solidify them: the more you speak, the more comfortable you will be with each other.

Refuse the need for a singular dialogue. Spice each year with words instead.

Filed Under: Child Development, General Tagged With: Business, Child