October 1, 2009 at 3:25 pm | Posted in Good Cheer, Great Gifts, Inexpensive Items | Leave a comment
Tags: Artwork, Budget, Charity of Choice, Cheer, Children, Extra Handout, Family Members, Fast-food chain, Generosity, Gift Allowance, Gift Certificates, Gift-giving, Gifts, Homemade Cookies, Mind, Own Judgment, Own Money, Paper Route, Presents of Mind, School Job, Season of Good Cheer, Youngster
In this season of good cheer, children may ask you to help them give unto others. Here are some tips to guide their gift-giving:
Ages 4 to 8: Artwork or homemade cookies (made with Mom’s help, of course) are great gifts. If your youngster insists on buying presents, limit the list to immediate family members and stick to inexpensive items, advises Judith Briles, author of Smart-Money Moves for Kids.
Ages 8 to 12: Try giving tweens a gift allowance that’s separate from their weekly one, suggests Adriane Berg, co-author of The Totally Awesome Money Book for Kids. But give them a budget that’s not frustratingly small—choosing a gift for $10, say, won’t be as tough as finding one for $5. Or consider a donation to a relative’s charity of choice or gift certificates for the movies or their favorite fast-food chain.
Teens: Once your child starts making his own money, whether from a paper route or after-school job, you might want to halt that extra handout. If so, be prepared to “have him make his own judgments and test his generosity,” – Jennifer Hoppe
July 2, 2009 at 2:46 pm | Posted in Forming Life Goals, Fresh Insight, Integrated Thoughts, New Ideas, Silent Wish, Uncomfortable Feelings | Leave a comment
Tags: Adolescent, Adult, Bit Afraid, Closeness, Communication, Concepts, Dark Cave, Directions, Exhilarated, Feelings, Goal, Guidance, Ideas, Immaturity, Less Talk, Life, Life Goal, Maturity, Mind, More Complex, Parents, Rebellion, Sensitive, Thoughts, Wish
Think of someone who has lived in a dark cave all his life who one day emerges into the bright light of noon. This may be an apt analogy for a teenager who is now beginning to think in abstracts, of concepts and ideas. His thoughts are becoming more integrated, more complex.
So he begins wanting to be alone most of the time, to talk less, he may even become irritated when disturbed from his reverie. Parents must understand that their kids are not really angry or are being aloof. They just want space for their thinking.
Adolescents are very sensitive to stimuli. They are both exhilarated and a bit afraid as they try to comprehend the changes in their bodies, the new ideas in their minds, and the fresh insight into people and events.
They also experience conflicting struggles between rebellion against adult control and the need for guidance and directions, between testing the limits to longing for their parents to set guidance as a sign that they still care; between feeling uncomfortable when their parents get too near and a silent wish for their closeness; between plans for the future and the uncertainties of the present; between sexual maturity and immaturity.
Most adolescents seem to not even want to mention the subject in front of their parents. But parents should not just heave a sigh of relief and think. Thank God that’s taken care of!” it’s not ideal for teeners to learn about this most important subject through other sources. Parents and child need to communicate about sex and the values associated with it. It is better for children this way before they come across corrupted versions elsewhere.
One of the last things adolescents go through is forming life goals. Again, this is not an easy task. But when they start thinking about the future, they are starting to show some maturity. – Geroge Amurao
June 27, 2009 at 8:00 am | Posted in New Books | Leave a comment
Tags: Astronauts, Cosmonauts, Curiosity, Disney Stories, Facts about Space, Facts about Stars, Good Books, Imagination, Mind, New Books, Psychological Know-how, Science Lesson
Introducing New Books
While it’s good to choose books that deal with subjects your child is interested in you will want him to expand his horizons by getting him books on other subjects. How do you do this?
Draw a little bit more from your imagination and store of psychological know-how. It, for instance, you think your kid will benefit from the science lessons in a book, link that book with another he is more familiar with. You might pick up a scene from Disney’s Lion King, where Simba looks up at the starry sky and sees a vision of his slain father.
Feed your child with facts about stars and space, then present him with a book on, say, the Milky Way or space in general. You can follow these up with books on cosmonauts and astronauts.
Remember, even if your child can read without you around, make sure you continue to tickle his curiosity by interjecting new, though related, facts that will inevitably lead him to your book shelves or a book store.
Make it a point to have his books easily accessible to him. Don’t keep them on high shelves where he’s liable to forget them. “Litter” then around if possible, even if I means cluttering your home.
