It doesn’t take children very long to catch on to the concept of exchanging money for goods and services. The value of money, however, is another one of those on-going conversations. There are a lot of resources available to help teach children about financial matters. It is definitely worth the time and effort to explore some different approaches so you can find the one that most closely fits your family’s values and philosophy. Some things to consider: Will you pay your kids an allowance? Or will they get paid for completing certain chores? Under what conditions might they lose these
Blog
I have the opportunity to interact with many children of varying ages in my work as a guest teacher. One of the things I have noticed over the last several years is the lack of good manners that these kids display. I rarely hear them say things like “please” and “thank you.” Many kids make demanding statements like “give me that” or “you need to help me,” rather than asking for assistance. They often speak to those in authority with a very disrespectful tone. There are a few kids who are polite; otherwise, the whole situation is a bit disappointing.
Once you become a parent, you are a parent for life. Sounds a bit ominous, doesn’t it? Fortunately we don’t have to do the entire job all at once. Just like everything else in life, there are different seasons in parenting. Each season comes with its own set of joys and challenges. Sometimes the challenges leave us longing for the next phase. We fall prey to the “whens” and the “if onlys.” “When the baby comes, then we can really start to get settled.” “If only she were potty trained, then things would be so much easier.” “When he starts
“The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships.” ~Anthony Robbins One of the most powerful ways we teach our children is through modeling. Those darling kiddos are always watching us, taking note of how we do life. They pick up all kinds of mannerisms just by watching us. How we stand, if we cross our legs when we sit, etc. They also notice how we treat other people. Are we friendly to the store clerk? Do we hold the door for others? Are we kind to our neighbors? Our kids will very quickly begin to imitate our
The concept of friends and building solid friendships is another one of those areas in parenting that requires an on-going conversation with our kids. We begin by helping our children define friendship. When my kids were little, they would refer to anyone that they had played with as their “friend.” During visits to the neighborhood playground they would point out their “friends” to me. When I would ask them to tell me the names of their “friends,” my girls would usually say, “I don’t know. But they’re my friend.” While this is typical for this stage of development, I began