Teaching your kids about how to handle money responsibly is one of the most important jobs you have as a parent.
Why?
Good money management is about simply about forming habits – The earlier you form habits, the more it feels like second nature.Those habits will stay with your child for a lifetime. Here are six key points to keep in mind, plus age-appropriate tips excerpted in part from MSN
I read this and immediately thought of my parents…This post is for my parents – I have argued with them and likeVenkatesh have answered back without patience.
Parents are Precious though we tend to understand that late but I guess it is better late than never
Thank you Amma and Nanna !
This was narrated by an IAF pilot to IIT students during a Seminar on Human Relations
Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father, his maiden flight, brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.
My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same.
In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Jet Airways. The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen.
He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things
As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him.
When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life.
As a child, how many dreams our parents have made come true.
Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc
Irrespective of their affordability, they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us?
Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc.
But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young.
It is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.
Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments.
Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care needs to be given to our parents and elders.
Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream.
I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too !!
If an infant hears two languages, at home the baby responds to both, but each one goes into a different part of the brain.
And the studies show that the ability to switch from one brain section to another allows some babies actually to perform better at certain tasks — mental dexterity brought on by a bilingual world
What I personally found fascinating was
The baby brain is mapping two different sets of circuitry,” …”One is for the first language, one for the second language
Because of the cultural diversity found within India, most Indians know atleast two languages if not more. Now we know that making our kids multi-lingual not only keeps them in touch with their roots but also makes them more intelligent !
For more information and help on how to raise bi-lingual kids, please read my post on Raising Bilingual Children
Read more about the landmark research on the effect of language at For baby, the more languages, the better
New York Times has an article called “What’s wrong With Cinderella?” that I read yesterday and if I could write as well, I am sure the first couple of paras myself.
I have to admit that I used to not care about my girls having dolls or princesses along with other toys but nowadays it seems to me that the only toys available to them are in pink and Barbie or Princess related.
And how do I explain a white blue eyed princess to a desi brown black eyed kid?
What especially caught my eye in the NY times article was
Playing princess is not the issue,” argues Lyn Mikel Brown, an author, with Sharon Lamb, of “Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing Our Daughters From Marketers’ Schemes.” “The issue is 25,000 Princess products,” says Brown, a professor of education and human development at Colby College. “When one thing is so dominant, then it’s no longer a choice: it’s a mandate, cannibalizing all other forms of play. There’s the illusion of more choices out there for girls, but if you look around, you’ll see their choices are steadily narrowing.”
I try to buy them other stuff but what do you do when friends, teachers and relatives insist on giving them pink glittery princess? Maybe it’s a genetic “girl” program that has my girls attracted to these glittery stuff.
Anybody have any tips to help wean my girls from this Princess phase? Please let me know…….
If my girls HAVE to go thru this princess phase, then atleast I hope they turn out to be like the girl in the article – be dressed up in a gown and a tiara and then climb trees and give the boys a run for their money 😀
CNN-Money has a list of the top 10 most expensive toys which are the rage among the obscenely wealthy.
The gifts range from a giant playset called the TumblePost for $97,510 to the relatively cheap Home Pro Racing Video Game Simulation System for just $4000. Other toys that made it to the list include a Piggbank for $6,000 and a Robot for $50,000
Now I know that the parents can easily afford these gifts, but don’t they feel a slight twinge of wasting money when the kids discard these toys after just a couple of days of playing? Or would it be worse if the kids actually played with these toys and broke them?
Here’s the list :
For more on these toys, check out CNN-Money
At this time of the year, most parents go crazy shopping for toys for their little ones. Most will go for TMX Elmo or the latest craze of the season, but if you go shopping with your kids, you sometimes can’t avoid buying them something that they want and ask for WATCH (World against Toys causing Harm) has come out with it’s 10 Worst Toys List. These toys have the potential to cause childhood injuries and even death Go check out the 10 Worst Toys and be a more informed consumer…Next time, your kids asks for one of these toys, you will know enough to say NO and save their lives
At tomorrow’s elections there is a Proposition that requires notification of the parent or legal guardian of an unemancipated pregnant minor at least 48 hours before performing an abortion
According to some it will jeopardize the teens in abusive homes. This will force them to get abortions in a back alley or make the rounds in an already over crowded justice system because the option of letting their parents know is worse.
As a parent I feel torn. It is such a gut wrenching decision….
I want them to come to me if such a situation ever arises BUT she should trust me enough to come to me on her own. BUT I would really hate for her to go thru something like this on her own and it would only be to her benefit if she was forced to tell me…….(Can you tell that I am confused?)
We know that 16 year olds are ready to drive a car but are they ready to decide about their future?
Luckily for me, I still have lots of years before I even have to contemplate the possibility ….and like all parents I am hoping this scenario never happens…
It seems all this attempt at legislation is a sign of a bigger problem. Legislation cannot replace the breakdown in family relationships and the lack of communication between parents and kids – something that cannot be fixed by any government or law.
What are your views , as a parent? Would you like to be informed?
For more information to decide go to www.noon85.com and www.yeson85.net
You think your kids ar not physically active? Don’t worry – you can now bribe them to exercise while in front of their playstation
Gymkids , a company that creates exercise and fitness equipment for children has two new products in the UK market – Step2Play and CyberBike
So ……you just need to spend another 115 pounds for the Step2Play or another 150 pounds for the CyberBike .
Your kids can play with the new toy for a week (or maybe two at the maximum) and then you will have a display piece that will provide a starter for a conversation when people visit you or be used to hang clothes when you don’t have guests.
I know obesity is a rising problem and we want our kids to be as physically active as possible but didn’t anyone here of a term called “just play”. And by the way, isn’t that what kids are actually supposed to do?
I’m no expert but trust me – if you switch off the Playstations and TVs and let your kids actually play – they’ll be having so much fun that you don’t need to bribe them with expensive exercise equipment.
For those of you, who want to see how the future of our kids “exercise routine” looks like here are some pictures.
Come on parents – Let’s give the kids a break and let them just be kids…They’ll have enough of mind-numbing walking on the treadmill or exercising on a stationary bike in front of the TV when they become adults….Let them have some “real” exercise !
UPDATED TO ADD :
I just saw a BBC article on these machines at “Fitness Machines for Child Gamers”
It is heartening to read that in the BBC article
Dr Ian Campbell, medical director of Weight Concern said the device would be “useful” but that it was “a terrible indictment on society”…..”It would be far better to encourage an increase in physical activity across the board, at both school and at home. And it might be an idea for parents to limit their children’s access to the computer.”
Spinach is good for you UNLESS it is tainted in which case it can take your life.
Carrot juice and lettuce are good for you – not if they kill you !
Fruit juice is good – no it’s not – it’s contributing to the national obesity !
Kid’s brains are most receptive from birth to age 3 and they need to be exposed to as much as possible with us parents shuttling them between gymnastics, swimming, ballet and various other activities. NO NO – too much overscheduling – the poor kids need a break !
Put the kids in school early so they learn to interact with their age group kids but for kindergarten wait him out a year so they can be bigger than the rest of the class ?
Breast feeding is the key to producing Einsteins of the next generation UNLESS you read the latest research which says that breast feeding doesn’t help intelligence at all.
Soccer and football were supposed to teach kids all about teamwork and build a spirit of sportsmanship…oh no, wait a minute, more and more kids are getting injured at a younger and younger age.
What is an educated, enlightened mother like me supposed to do?
I plan to just veg out in front of the TV while eating french fries and Cheetos (atleast I know they don’t have trans fats ) and finish off with some chocolate and red wine(atleast they have anti-oxidants and also lower cholesterol levels)
Tomorrow is another day – Who knows what will be right or wrong tomorrow?
Hindu Mommy 