Parent | Feeding an Army

Parenting When Your Kid is Embarrassed of You

Every kid hits that stage where they think Mom and Dad are the lamest and most humiliating of parents. It can be hard to know how to stay close to your children when they are in this stage, but it is an important part of their formative years. Here are three ways you can still be a parent without causing your kid humiliation.

Make conversation in the car. You know that there is stuff your teenager needs to talk to you about, but it can be hard to find time or opportunity for these talks. Take advantage of a car trip when it is just the two of you to hear what your child is thinking or worrying about. Other good family times could be at the dinner table, or when working around the house.

Create purposeful quality time. Besides the times when you happen to be with your child, be sure to schedule in intentional quality time. This doesn’t have to be something that embarrasses your child. You can go to a movie, go shopping, or see a baseball game. This will help your kids know that you love them and want to have good quality time with them.

Start a good relationship sooner rather than later. Being there for your child when they are young will help them to trust you and talk with you when they are older in adolescence. In their elementary and kindergarten years, kids love to spend time with Mom and Dad. Take advantage of this and spend plenty of one-on-one time with them then. This will make parenting when they are older much easier because you will have a solid foundation of trust.

Filed Under: Children, Family Tagged With: Child, Mom and Dad, Parent

Breaking The Piggy Bank

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Part of your job as a parent is to ensure that your child receives the best education possible. Unfortunately, many parents fail to provide their children with a solid understanding of two important life-skills: a budget and personal finance. Today, perhaps more than ever before, our youth simply must have a firm grasp on all aspects of finance – including how to develop and follow a budget. Taking a bit of time to explain personal finance to your children will save them a lot of heartache in the future.

Get ‘Em While They Are Young

One of the biggest mistakes parents make regarding educating their children about personal finance is starting to late. Like any healthy habit, developing good finance and budget skills takes time. Start teaching your kids basic budget skills early. For example, a three to five year old can be taught to save for a particular toy. Slightly older children can be paid for extra chores. Every child should have a savings account that they participate in.

Make It Simple

When educating children about personal finance matters, keep it simple. Focus on savings and teaching them the value of a dollar. Consider having your children bank ½ of their allowance or birthday money. Bring them with you to the store to look at the price of toys or other items they would like. Help them figure out how long they will have to save for in order to purchase a particular item.

Teaching your child how to follow a budget will help them stay out of debt. It can also ensure that you will not have to bail them out.

Filed Under: Family, Finance Tagged With: Budget, Parent, Personal finance

You Can Discipline!

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As a parent, you are faced with difficult decisions every day. From parenting a teen in the throes of rebellions to making choices about their education and medical needs, it sometimes seems like an overwhelming task. In many cases, developing a workable discipline plan early in your child’s life can help ease some of this stress. Your discipline plan must be clear and concise, be malleable, and be enforceable.

Clear To Hear Rule

Making generalized statements to children of any age make enforcing discipline hard and may set a precedence for manipulating the system. For example, telling your child they must keep their room clean may seem clear to you, but to a child, it may be debatable. Instead, set clear and concise perimeters by saying “your room must be cleaned and vacuumed by noon on Saturday each week.”

Be sure to apply the ‘Clear to Hear’ rule to every aspect of your discipline plan. Many child psychiatrists believe that children and teenagers thrive in a structured environment. This is an excellent way to provide that structure.

I’m Not A Baby Anymore!

Your plan must also include the ability to adjust as your child grows or to address specific situations. Consider letting your child or teenager know that they can discuss specific rules or guidelines with you and that they will be changed as needed.

Consequences

Your discipline plan should include enforceable consequences. For example, a child who does not clean their room may lose their TV for a week. Consequences should be reasonable and easy to enforce.

Implementing a discipline plan under these guidelines can make parenting easier.

Filed Under: Children, Family Tagged With: Child, Child discipline, Parent

Approaching Your Teenager About Drugs and Alcohol

Every parent of a teenager knows they will eventually run into a situation where they will have to confront their teen about drug or alcohol use. This can lead to an awkward and very confrontational situation between the parent and teenager if not done correctly.

If you are facing a situation where you have to confront your teenage son or daughter about drugs or alcohol, here’s a look at some expert recommended ways to confront the situation.

Talk to Your Teen Directly

Drugs and alcohol can be a tough topic to bring up with your teenager, especially if you think they are doing something they shouldn’t. However, to get the best and most direct response out of them would be to ask them directly. This will allow them to feel they can talk to you because you trust them enough to ask them directly.

Adopt an Open Door Policy

An open door policy allows your teenagers to feel as if they can come to you about anything and everything. With this policy you will be able to have an open line of communication in case your teenager ever decides to try any drugs and alcohol.

Enlist the Help of a Professional Counselor

Sometimes there is just a disconnect between parents and teenagers, and no matter how hard you try you won’t be able to communicate with each other. A professional counselor can help you open the lines of communication and really discuss issues like drugs and alcohol.

Raising a teenager is tough but using these tips can help you open the lines of communication with them when it comes to talking about drugs and alcohol.

Filed Under: Children, Education, Family Tagged With: Addictions, Adolescence, Parent

Re-Connecting With Family for the Working Parent

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Being a working parent can be difficult. You spend all day at the office or at work, and when you come home you are exhausted. This can cause you to feel a disconnect in your relationship with your children. Luckily, there are things you can do to improve your relationship with your children if you are a working parent.

Here’s a look at some activities and tips on how to improve your relationship with your children when you are trying to work a full or part time job.

Take Some Time for Yourself

It might sound odd that you need to take some time for yourself in order to build a relationship with your children but it works. When you are stressed and frustrated, your children will feel it and try to pull away from you. Take some time for yourself, relax and unwind, and then spend time with your children. You’ll notice a difference.

Arrange Family Time

For some parents, the family discount isn’t because they aren’t trying it’s because there just isn’t enough time in the day or week. To fix this problem create an arranged family time. This is a time during the week when everyone turns off their cellphones, moves away from the TV and spends some quality time together. It might feel awkward at first but you’ll notice your family start to open up and feel closer in no time.

Trying some of these tips and activities can help you start to build a bond with your family even if you are spending long hours at the office or stressed from work.

Filed Under: Children, Family Tagged With: Child, Family, Parent