Sunday, January 27, 2008

Are We Our Children's Best Role Models When It Comes To Money?

Today, everything from Gameboys to Sony Playstation to Xbox machines are now common in most homes. Though affordable, should our children be able to buy anything they want? This is a question I get from most parents. But what parents fail to understand is, when they try to keep up with what their neighbors have, it puts a major strain on the family's finances. Our children are now copying our ways by trying to keep up with us!

We need to be sure to keep our finances in order and show our children good fiscal responsibility. Money is a precious resource that we work hard for and should not be taken lightly. The average person has a revolving credit debt of over $8500 and bankruptcies are on the rise. What we do as family money managers goes a long way in teaching our children how to manage their own money matters.

Financial mismanagement inside families is a growing problem that can be devastating to children. Losing a home to foreclosure, having to move because of bad debts, learning to do without many of the luxuries they had before can lead to depression, lack of self-confidence, and unresolved feelings toward their parents for putting them into that position.

What is even more painful for children, is how parents isolate them from the reasons why things happened. Children need to understand that it is not their fault and that the parents made the mistakes. Parents must sit their children down and explain how mismanaging finances can put families in financial peril. If children are left to wonder, they will experience the same mistakes when they become adults.

This can be avoided at all costs if parents take the time to learn basic financial management skills. Here are some things you should be doing right now to keep your children from having to go out into life without an understanding of what it takes to financially succeed in this world.

1- Get kids involved in your life!

Show them what you are buying, what things cost in real value terms, and why you need them. Explain the differences between wants and needs and how to manage their money the right way.

2-Get your children involved in making small financial decisions.

This is a good way to show them what can happen if they make the wrong choices in life and what the consequences will be.

3- Make them aware of what money can and cannot do.

Money can make people do strange things. It has been written that it is the root of all evil but it can help those in need. A good example of this is the work that charities do. Money in itself is not bad. Only what people do with it that can turn bad.

4- Get your children involved with your shopping.

Have your children start cutting out coupons and filing them away for you. Use this as a time to teach math and language skills (especially if they are young), and allow them to help you shop by retrieving items on your list. Giving children responsibilities teaches them discipline, which is sorely lackingin our youth.

5- Don't just say no when they ask for something.

Explain to them the reasons behind why they cannot have the item, whether for financial, or other reasons, and show them alternatives that will give them confidence to make proper decisions later in life.

Children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for and they understand things better if you involve them. Don't talk down to them. Let them have a say in their lives. You will see that, we as parents, can change our destructive financial habits, and give our children something they need right now... the financial wisdom to carry throughout their lives.

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Child Party Planner - 9 Steps To A Successful Party

Why rush around at the last minute?

By following the 9 steps we've outlined, your kid party planning experience will be lots of fun, you'll take the stress out of planning, make things easier on your pocket book and you'll have a successful party.

Give Yourself Plenty Of Time

If at all possible, start putting together your child party several months in advance. This will give you plenty of time to put everything together without having to run all over the place at the last minute until you're worn out, stressed out and find yourself saying "I'll be glad when this is over with."

Your Party Date And Time

Since it may not be practical to hold your child's birthday party celebration on their actual birth date, you need to consider a few things before deciding on the date of their party.

Make sure your party date won't conflict with any holidays or other events.

Also consider the best time of the day for your party. After lunch will mean you won't have to serve food other than snacks, cake and ice cream.

Your Birthday Party Theme

One of the most popular ways to celebrate a child's birthday is with a theme related to something your child enjoys. A movie, a TV show, a sport, hobby, general interest, or a favorite character like a Disney character.

If your child likes Barbie, choose a Barbie theme, if your child liked the movie Shrek, you can base an entire birthday on the Shrek theme.

This is the perfect time to let your child become involved in planning their party.

We encourage you to spend some quality time with your child discussing which theme they are most interested in. But be sure you agree with their choice before proceeding. Your child will only be thinking about which theme will be the most fun, while you need to also consider what may or may not be practical. And once you and your child have decided on a kid birthday party theme, everything else will fall into place...

Your Kid Birthday Party Guest List

When considering your kid party planning, experts advise you should invite one guest for every year of your child's age. This keeps your party manageable. Other considerations include your kid birthday party budget and the location of your party.

But the question of how many guests you should invite to your birthday party can only be answered by you and your child... I suggest you mainly consider your budget and your party location... If you're comfortable with a house full of 20 kids for your child's 8th birthday, then go for it!

Your Kid Birthday Party Location

You may want to control your child's birthday party by holding the celebration in your home and/or backyard. Or you may want to consider having your party at another location like a local restaurant (where they do most of the clean-up) or a local park, amusement part, zoo or some other fun location. To keep your child party planning manageable, call any locations your considering in advance... You don't want to hear "we're all booked up on that date."

Kid Birthday Party Invitations

Once you and your child have decided on a theme, your party date, time, location and guest list, you can create or purchase invitations involving your theme.

If you'd like to create your own party invitations, this is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with your child... Talk with them about putting together a creative invitation that will tell all their invited guests how much fun their birthday party is going to be.

Kid Birthday Party Food And Drinks

The first thing that comes to mind when you say "birthday Party" is a birthday cake.

For other snacks and treats, keep your kid birthday party theme in mind.

Kid Birthday Party Games And Activities

Put together some games and activities to keep your party guests busy and having lots of fun. You'll also want to have some quiet games, puzzles and other activities designed to wind your party down so your guests will go home a little less excited.

Thank You Notes

A day or so after your kid birthday party, sit down with your child and send out thank you notes to each of your guests. This will help to teach your child responsibility and how to thank their friends for being kind enough to bring them a gift or birthday card.

By following the 9 steps I've outlined here, your kid party planning experience will be lots of fun, you'll take the stress out of planning, make things easier on your pocket book and you'll have a successful party your child will love.

For more information take a quick look at Fun-Kid-Birthday-Parties.com

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