Money Lessons Your Kids Need to Know

April 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Some parents are hesitant to teach their kids about money. Personally I believe that teaching my children about financial matters early on can greatly help them down the path to a successful financial life. I acknowledge that some things in life are best learned by experience, but I don’t want my children to learn about financial issues the hard way. I would very much rather teach them young.

As soon as a child is able to understand the purpose of money–that it is traded for goods or services–I believe that it is already appropriate to start discussing with him/her the basic concepts in finances like budgeting, saving, and earning. However, we must remember that no matter what we instruct or say to our children, they are likely to learn more from what they see in us. This means that if we want them to be good with money, we should handle our finances carefully too.

Here’s a good post to get you started in teaching your kids about money: “5 Lessons To Teach Your Kids About Money.”

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Do I Really Want My Children to Be Leaders?

February 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I have always been sure that I want my children to become leaders. I think most parents have the same wish for their children. I mean, why not? When you look at history, it is not hard to see that most people who possessed great leadership skills lived successful, happy, and fulfilled lives.

However lately, I have come across a couple of readings that made me think about this desire I have for my children–made me ask myself whether I really wanted my children to be leaders. Are my wishes sincere? Or are they driven only by my selfish desires for recognition and adoration? Furthermore, I started realizing that while being a leader can be a truly rewarding experience, it entails a lot of hard work and can expose a person to a great deal of criticisms, pressure, and stress.

So after thinking about it for a few days, I have come to a conclusion that I still want my children to become leaders. Sure, it may not be easy, but I definitely would not want them to miss out on the chance to accomplish great things and make a huge difference in the world and in the lives of the people they meet.

If you are preparing your children to become leaders too, know the top 10 things you ought to do by reading this post entitled, “Ten Ways To Raise A Leader.”

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What Love Means To Children

February 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Love is said to be one of the most difficult phenomenons to explain.  For centuries wise men, poets, and philosophers have tried to create a definition of this emotion, but not one has put together a definition that everyone can agree on. The whole concept of love is a difficult entity to explain–even for well-developed adults. But how about to children?

You may think that it is impossible for children and their young minds  to understand the emotion that is love, but studies have actually shown that innocent children are able to give better explanations of love than adults. See this blog post for example, Introduction to February’s Value: Love. As parents tried to discuss with and teach their children about love, they ended up learning from their kids instead.

Here are is an excerpt of a post on how children define love. I read this some time ago and found it to be really fun, so I thought it might be worth sharing:

What Does Love Mean?

1. When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.  - Rebecca, 8

2. “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” - Billy, 4

3. “Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” - Chrissy, 6

4. “Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” - Danny, 7

5. “Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss” - Emily, 8

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The Responsibility to Listen to Our Children

January 30, 2013 by 2 Comments

I know that I recently posted about the importance of spending playtime with your kids. I hope you won’t mind me writing about something similar to that topic–the importance of listening to your children. I just can’t help it, the moment I read the post, Why It’s So Important to Listen to Your Children, I knew I just had to share my own two cents on the matter.

As a parent, I know it can be difficult to juggle all the responsibilities that come with the role. However, we should not forget that as important as our responsibility to provide food, clothing, and shelter to our children is, our responsibility to listen attentively to them is just as important. The simple act of hearing what our kids have to say is a major tool by which we can show our love for them.

By lending them our undivided attention whenever they need it, we are making them feel valued. Also, by willingly listening to them, we are instilling in their minds that we want them to express their emotions to us. You see, when we listen to the small stuff while they are young, when they grow up, they will come back to us to talk about the bigger things. I think that is something every parent hopes for.

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Respect Parents Who Bring Their Young Children to Mass

January 25, 2013 by 3 Comments

I respect the families that choose to bring their young children to Mass. Most of the time they are really well behaved, and I think it is important to instill the habit of attending Mass in kids today. Sometimes I see parents struggling to keep their child quiet during Mass, and some people give them annoyed looks. I really dislike when people do this. The parents are simply trying to do something good. Sure, the young children might cry or have an outburst at some point, but can you blame the parents for trying to teach their kids about God? I think we all need to relax and let these parents keep doing what they’re doing. Eventually those little kid will grow up, and hopefully the good habits of their parents will help them grow into future members of your parish.

I read a post that I thought was really cool recently. It was written from the perspective of the youngest child of a family who attends Mass together. The post is titled, “A Letter to Frankie About Mom’s Mass Survival Tips”. I thought it was an awesome post because it describes how this mother has kept her family full of children under control at Mass. Hearing it told from a young child’s perspective was hilarious though.

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Parenting Tip: The Best Ways to Beat Winter Boredom

January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment

It isn’t easy having young children run around the house. It’s even more difficult when they cannot go outside because it’s simply too cold. This problem faces parents each winter. It seems like there is nothing to do in the months of January, February, and sometimes most of March. The cold weather and shorter days does not help. Children get cooped up inside the house all day, and that can spell trouble for parents.

I recently read about six fun indoor winter activities for a long weekend, and thought that some of their ideas might be helpful to parents. They listed ideas such as baking some fun recipes together, arts and crafts time, and an indoor picnic as good ways to beat winter boredom. They also suggested doing basic science experiments at home too, which I thought was probably their most interesting idea. Their last suggestion of getting a head start seems a bit ambitious, but if you can somehow coax your kids into that one (not likely) then go for it!

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Catholic Parenting: Raising Your Kids the Best You Can

January 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Every Catholic parent wants their children to grow up and be good, faithful people. They hope that they will end up being good Catholics who attend Mass regularly, and live a life that God can be proud of. There are so many factors that Catholic parents must take into account when raising their children. Where will they go to school? How old do they have to be before we can attend Mass as a family every weekend? What TV programs are appropriate? You get the picture, there are plenty of things to worry about as a parent looking to raise a good Catholic child.

I recently read a post written by a mother who has concerns similar to those discussed above. The post is called, “7 Issues/Struggles Catholic Mothers Face in Raising Good, Catholic Children”, and it is a discussion of different issues that Catholic mothers have. Topics include being to hard on yourself, becoming too strict with your children, judging other parents, and being judged by other parents. If you are a Catholic mother or father and are struggling with raising your child to be a good Catholic, keep in mind that you are likely doing a terrific job. Reading this post might help you to feel better as well, so give it a shot!

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What to Do When Your Young Child Takes Something That Isn’t Theirs

January 3, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I have a memory from when I was a kid about being in the grocery store with my mom. We checking out and paying for our food at the register, and something caught my eye. I was really young so it obviously wasn’t The National Enquirer or some other idiotic tabloid, but it was a candy bar. It was a king size Snickers if you really must know. Anyway, I didn’t know any better so I took the Snickers and put it into my pocket. Of course, when we got to the car my mom found out and made me go back inside to give it back. A lesson was learned though, you can’t take things that don’t belong to you. Especially if those things are ones you have to pay for. I never did anything like that again.

I thought of this story because of a recent post I read asking for advice for when a 5 year old steals. It reminded me of the story I just told. After the way my mom reacted when I showed her the candy bar I took, I realized it was bad so I was upset. Having to return into the store and put the candy bar back was enough of a punishment for me to never do that again.

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Fun Ideas to Keep Your Kids Busy This Winter Break

December 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Now that the excitement of Christmas Eve and Christmas has passed you probably have a full two weeks of having the kids home full time from school. For them this is amazing, and they are probably really excited! The prospect of spending time with your children is also something most parents look forward to as well. It is freezing outside though, and it gets dark here at 4:45ish. So that really limits the fun activities that you might be able to do.

A recent post I read titled, “10 Things to Do with Your Kids Over Holiday Break” might be useful for you if you’re stuck with no ideas. The article suggests some cool ideas such as a day trip adventure, seeing movies, playing board games, and teaching your kids how to bake. It is going to depend on how old your children are, but there are always things to do. Getting the creative juices flowing seems to be the main issue. So if that has been your problem I suggest reading the article and having a brainstorm session when you are done.

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Parenting Tip: How to Talk to Your Child About Tragedy

December 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Sometimes parents are reminded that we can not always protect our children. The recent tragedy in Newtown is an example of that. It is the harsh reality of life that sometimes, we are helpless and cannot do anything for our kids. The violence is not going to stop unfortunately, and that means the worrying will never truly stop either for parents. Even when your kids have grown up and are living on their own, you will worry about their well being. You will worry for them and your grandchildren, it’s like a never-ending line of worry. One thing that is certain is that we have opportunities every single day to show people how much we care about them.

A post I read titled, “Sheltering, Protecting, and Talking with Our Children: Parenting for Sanity in a Seemingly Insane World”, summed up this mindset perfectly. The author offers advice on how you might deal with talking to your son or daughter about last week’s tragedy depending on what their age is. Coming up with the right thing to say to your child at a time like this might be difficult, so read this post and gather some ideas.

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