Search Results for: blog teaching kids about responsibility

Teaching Responsibility Through Chores

We didn’t have a lot of chores growing up. Every Saturday we had to help clean the bathrooms, but that was about it. We helped a little here and there, but in the end, we didn’t do a whole lot to help around the house when we were kids. My mother tried, but after battling grumpy children for a couple years she finally gave up. In very little time, she had six spoiled teenagers who didn’t know how to cook or clean for themselves. I was the only one who had a consistent job through high school, and the others … Continue reading →

The Difference Between Saving and Investing: An Important Distinction for Kids to Learn

You can save or you can invest. It is a distinction that many adults struggle with as a concept. How then can kids understand the difference, and why is it so important? Most kids who are introduced to the concepts of money tend to be conservative. They like to hoard as much of their money as they can and save up for things. That is a great phase that can be utilized by parents, caregivers and teachers to teach the value and the responsibility of money. Unfortunately, most kids do not get any instruction past those initial lessons. Many experts … Continue reading →

Happy Kids

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Yesterday I was in a funk of a day. I had not gotten enough sleep the night before, which always leads to me dragging all day long. I find that I struggle more with my responsibilities as a mother when I feel this way. I want to be lazy, I am not as patient, I feel bad for not keeping my kids engaged in something worthwhile. Unfortunately, I like to believe that every mother has a day or two like this now and then. We are not perfect as mothers. Some days, our kids watch a lot of TV. That … Continue reading →

Teaching Responsibility Through Gardening

I’ve never been a good gardener. I forget to water my plants and within a few days they are usually dead. I figure it must be genetic; my mother suffers from the same problem. But I saw a pretty amazing thing happen this week. It is finally starting to warm up outside so Logan and I decided to spend some time working on the yard together. We spent hours digging up weeds and making things look perfect again. The next day my father took him to the store to pick out some strawberries to put in our little garden. He … Continue reading →

What Your Habits Teach Your Kids

I’m filling in for Sara for a few days and I have to say, I’m a little nervous. What do I know about money that I can share with you? Since most of my life is consumed with raising my daughter to be a good person, and that includes someone who is fiscally responsible, I’ll start with what we are teaching our kids about money, and what we should be teaching them. Are your bills in a pile on the counter? A pile that keeps getting bigger and bigger while you ignore it? Are your credit cards maxed out? Do … Continue reading →

Fun Financial Education for Kids

Allowance is a hot topic in my daughter’s second grade class. Last week, her school hosted a gigantic book fair and kids were given the opportunity to shop during recess. Of course, that meant administrators had to modify their “no money on school property” rule. For the fair’s three-day run, students were allowed to bring up to $40 in cash and keep it in their backpacks until it was time to shop. Naturally, my daughter begged to bring 40 bucks to school. “Do you have 40 dollars?” I asked. “No, but you can give me it,” she responded without hesitation. … Continue reading →

When the Kids Realize It’s Important

My son turned ten yesterday. I asked him, “How do you like being ten?” He thought for a minute. “It’s pretty much the same as being nine. Except now I’m paying more attention to my capitalization.” Just then, his father called him to come do his chores, and he sighed. “Yep, it’s just like an ordinary day.” As he walked off to do his work, I laughed. What was it about being ten that made capitalization so much more important? Since that little conversation, he’s made several other comments. “I’m trying to pay more attention to things,” he told me … Continue reading →

Teaching Table Manners

We all wish our kids would sit up straight and eat their dinner nicely… as in use silverware, don’t burp, and say please and thank you. However, teaching them takes patience on our part and for parents of children with special needs, it may take even longer than we can imagine. When teaching table manners, consider your child’s ability level first and for most. Just because your child is a certain age, doesn’t mean his maturity level is right for certain behaviors. In addition, if your child has developmental delays or deals with a sensory condition, he will probably struggle … Continue reading →

How Often Do You Argue With Your Kids?

Raise your hand if you NEVER argue with your kids. Scores of childhood experts claim that parents should take the high road and never quarrel with their kids. Of course, we don’t how many of those “experts” have kids of their own, and of those that do, how many share living space with tempestuous teens who could care less if you want them off the phone RIGHT.THIS.INSTANT. My young daughter is nowhere near teen-dom, but I still find myself arguing with her over issues including picking up her toys, not running around in Target’s crowded parking lot and exercising good … Continue reading →

The Learning of Teaching

Here is one of the most important things I’ve learned about teaching: it teaches you to learn. So, so simple but so, so true. I recently showed my students my notes for class one day. They were shocked. Pages and pages of notes. Most of my students just though that teachers were naturally smart or went to school so long that they just learned what they knew one day and simply regurgitated that information to their students. (Well, some do it that way.) At any rate, this is important information for students, not just teachers. I typically learn more teaching … Continue reading →