password
username
Sponsored by CakeMail, an email marketing software.
Newsletter preview

 


Bright-Kids
________________________________

Vol. 5, No. 40 - October 6th, 2008
http://brightkids.wordpress.com/
mailto: debi@simplemom.com
Copyright 2008 Deborah Taylor-Hough
ISSN: 1536-0466 All Rights Reserved
________________________________

Subscribe: join-bright-kids@hub.thedollarstretcher.com
***: leave-bright-kids@hub.thedollarstretcher.com
________________________________

IN THIS ISSUE:
-- "Dear Readers"
-- Quote-able
-- Learning Through Natural Consequences
-- What to Teach Your Teens About Money
-- Reader Tips
-- Assorted Information (resources, archives, etc.)
________________________________

< < O U R . S P O N S O R > >
 
KidsWatch is a 2008 Award Winning Internet Safety and
Parental Control software package that can meet the
challenges facing parents on how to protect children from
the negative aspects of computer use. Help your kids stay
away from trouble and take the next step in parental
supervision -- computer supervision!
 
Limit Internet surfing, chatting & game play. Receive email
notifications when suspect words or phrases are encountered
in chat conversations. Monitor chat, websites visited,
programs used and computer use.
 
Install today to create a peaceful & safe environment.
 
________________________________

Dear Readers,
 
My church is conducting the Alpha program this year, a ten-week
basic introduction to Christianity.  Our first week’s session went
really well last Wednesday.  There’s still time to sign up, if you’re
in the Seattle/Tacoma area.  We'll be repeating the course again
in January, if that timing might work better.
 
Dinner and childcare is provided, plus the church is offering a
children's musical theater class during the adult program.
 
Simply Yours,

--Debi
(Deborah Taylor-Hough)
Editor, Bright-Kids Email Newsletter
--Author of the popular 'Frozen Assets' cookbook series, 'A Simple
Choice,' and 'Frugal Living For Dummies(r)'
--Editor, Simple Times and Bright-Kids email newsletters

http://brightkids.wordpress.com
http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com
http://snurl.com/DebiTupperware
http://dsimple.wordpress.com
________________________________

QUOTABLE
 
"... parents and teachers should know how to make sensible use
of a child's circumstances (atmosphere) to forward his sound
education; should train him in the discipline of habits of the good
life; and should nourish his life with ideas, the food upon which
personality waxes strong."

--Charlotte Mason, School Education
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D1889209007/simplepleasuresp/
________________________________
 
LEARNING THROUGH NATURAL CONSEQUENCES
Copyright Dr. Scott Turansky & Joanne Miller, RN
Used with permission.  All rights reserved.
http://effectiveparenting.org/
 
 
Sometimes the best way to help a child is by doing nothing and
staying out of the way, allowing a natural consequence to provide
the teaching. You’ve probably learned number of things through
natural consequences. Maybe more than you’d like to admit.
 
You've probably learned to:
 
* save your sales receipt so you’ll have it if you need to return
  what you bought
* buy gas when your tank is on “E” even if you’re late for work
* don’t forget to water your plants
* don’t wash your husband’s red sweatshirt with his white underwear
 
 
Natural consequences allow life to provide its own lesson
without outside intervention. When a parent intentionally stays
out of a problem and makes little or no comment, the child has
an opportunity to learn from life.
 
In the Bible, Peter was allowed to experience a natural consequence
of lack of faith when he stepped out of the boat in Matthew 14. After
he began to sink, however, Jesus was there to help him. Jesus also
allowed Peter to make the mistake of denying him three times. No
lectures or rebukes were needed; just a look from the master’s eyes
and Peter was overcome with remorse. Many times in the gospels,
Jesus allowed life to be the teacher and he took on the role of
counselor or coach.

Natural consequences often happen before we, as parents, even
know about them. The four-year-old who goes out to play on a hot
day wearing a turtleneck learns by experience. The six-year-old
who chooses to skip snack because she wants to continue her
game may feel the pain later. The ten-year-old who spends all his
money on one thing may wish he had not done so. Each of these
experiences can be a learning opportunity if the parent responds
wisely.

The question then is how are we going to respond? These may
be tempting opportunities for parents to condemn, lecture, or put
down a child. When you identify these situations in life, they are
excellent opportunities to come alongside, express empathy,
and help a child learn problem-solving skills.
 
 
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
--Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN are authors
of a large number of books and other resources on parenting
and family life.  You can visit them online and subscribe to their
free parenting email newsletter at: http://effectiveparenting.org/

You can order their books online at:

Home Improvement: Eight Tools for Effective Parenting
http://snurl.com/effectiveparenting

Say Goodbye to Whining and Complaining ... In You and Your Kids!
http://snurl.com/goodbyewhining
 
________________________________

< <  O U R   S P O N S O R > >
 
Robot Reader - Printable Reading Games

Full Color Print and Play Reading Games
Ideal for 5-10 year olds
Teacher Created and Child Tested
As A Parent Or A Teacher You Want To Give Children
The Core Skills Needed To Develop A Solid Foundation
In Literacy That Will Last A Lifetime - And Now You
Can Simply By Playing Reading Games and Phonics Games.

http://bkids.robot27.hop.clickbank.net/
 
________________________________
 
WHAT TO TEACH YOUR TEENS ABOUT MONEY
Copyright Gary Foreman
Used with permission.  All rights reserved.
 
 
There's an old saying that 'the apple doesn't fall far from the
tree'. For those of you too young to have heard that phrase
before, it means that children will be a lot like their parents.
I was reminded of that the other day when I found my twelve
year old reading "The Millionaire Next Door".
 
Lest you think that I'm some kind of fanatic, I don't give my
children homework assignments on money management.
The book was just sitting next to my easy chair. But, in
fairness, my kids have heard me talk about the value of
money on a regular basis. And I do hope that some of the
lessons stay with them.
 
You have the same opportunity to help shape your teen's
money perspective. Lessons learned now could save them
a lot of grief later. So let's spend a little time talking about
what to teach your teens about money.
 
A cornerstone of building a sound financial future for your
teenager is to teach them how to save money. Sounds
easy, but even many adults don't know how to do it. And
that might be because no one ever taught them.
 
You can use three strategies to teach a teen to save. First,
you can encourage them to reach a goal. Suppose that they
want a $100 pair of shoes. Let them save $5 or $10 a week
until they have the purchase price. Have them put a reminder
of their goal in strategic places. They'll learn patience and
persistence. And by the time they save the money, they
might also learn that they really don't want the shoes any
more.
 
Another way to encourage savings is to match any money
they put into a savings account. Set a minimum length that
the money must stay in the account before being withdrawn.
You don't want them to put it in with your match and withdraw
it a few days later. This won't work for everyone, but some
teens will love to watch their savings grow.
 
The teen years are also a good time to teach your young adult
to 'pay themselves first'. That means that they set aside part
of their income for savings before spending anything.
 
It's a perfect time to learn this lesson. Most teens don't have
any real financial responsibilities. They don't have items that
they're forced to buy each month (like rent, electricity, food).
They generally just spend what they have available.
 
Of course, many adults do the same thing. They spend until
they're out of money. Learning to set part of any income aside
for savings is a great habit that will pay dividends for their entire
lives.
 
Next a question for you. Do you remember who taught you to
balance your checkbook? Most of us don't. And that's a shame.
You'd be surprised how many people reach adulthood without
knowing how to perform this simple task. And it's important
that your teens learn it.
 
First, they need to know where they stand financially. Even a
teenager should know how much money they have. The reason
is simple. It's essential to understand that you can run out of
money. Balancing a checkbook is a wonderful way of teaching
them that there are penalties if you spend money that you don't
have.
 
The alternative is to let them learn to keep spending until they've
reached their credit limit. And that lesson will create heartaches
later in their life.
 
PC software makes balancing a checkbook easy. But make sure
that they don't just enter numbers and let the software do all the
work. They need to understand the basics. You put money in.
You write checks to take money out. What's left is the balance.
 
They also need to learn basic investment information. It's really
essential for modern life. Teach them that stocks represent
ownership in a company. And bonds are like an IOU. Introduce
them to CD's, money market and mutual funds. Perhaps you'll
want to subscribe to Money magazine and discuss the articles
with them.
 
Don't forget to teach them how risks and rewards work. They
need to know that a big return will include a big risk. It's surprising
how many people think that they can get huge returns without
taking any risk. That's a good way to lose money.
 
Also teach your teen about the beauty of compound interest.
Let them know that money will double every 7 years if it earns
10%. That means that $1 that they don't spend on a soda today
would be worth $128 when they're in their 60's. Compound interest
is the secret ingredient of building wealth.
 
Conversely, they need to learn the risk of compounding debt.
They'll learn this lesson before they die. Help them to learn it
without pain. Teach them that borrowing money obligates them
to pay the loan back with interest. And that credit cards are set
up so that they keep making payments each month without ever
paying off the debt. In fact, if they pay the minimum due on a
charge card each month, it's just like doubling the price of every-
thing they buy. That's a lesson that's less painful if you learn it
before the bills come due.
 
Teach them what things cost. Some families share budget
information with their teens. Others prefer to keep that private.
If so, send your teen on a pretend 'first apartment' hunt. Have
them walk through all the costs of setting up an apartment
including rent, utilities and food. It will be a real eye opener
for them.
 
Finally, help them to learn the difference between creative
thinking and creative financing. Creative thinking is the ability
to have a need and find a way to fill it without spending money.
People who don't have money are forced to consider alternative
answers. And some of those answers are quite creative.
 
The flip side is the person who only thinks of creative financing.
He can't think of a way to solve his problem without making a
purchase. His creative energies are spent trying to figure out
who will loan him the money to make the purchase. Not only
will he spend a bunch of energy trying to figure that out, but
he'll make making payments for quite awhile, too.
 
Many of these lessons will pay dividends for the rest of their
lives. Who knows, if your teen learns them well perhaps the
apples will fall close to their tree, too.
 
 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
--Gary Foreman is a financial planner and editor of The Dollar
Stretcher family of resources.  You can visit Gary online at:
 
________________________________

Visit our new Nature Study Bookstore online!
http://astore.amazon.com/naturestudy-20/
________________________________

READER TIPS
Submitted by Bright-Kids' readers.  Share your favorite family
educational tips by emailing Debi at:  DSimple@aol.com
 
 
== Pine Cone Uses ==
Before the snow covers up the pine cones in your area, gather
a nice assortment to use as winter decorations.  Daub white
paint on each pine cone and sprinkle glitter in a variety of colors
on the wet paint. They are attractive simply piled in a basket or
bowl lined with a bright red or green scarf or napkin.
--Eunice B. in Arlington, MN

== Teaching Generosity ==
Teach your children generosity -- save some their allowance or
give them a budget, allow them to go pick out /make gifts (schools
have special sales so children can buy things at very reasonable
prices), wrap them and learn that its a good thing to give!  Allow
them to make holidays and birthdays special for others!
--Carolyn 
 
 
* * Your Tips? * *
Do you have some great family fun, educational, or parenting
tips/ideas you'd love to share with other parents and caregivers?
Just send your tips and ideas to Debi at Bright-Kids:
DSimple@aol.com
______________________________

READ-ALOUD BOOKS FOR FAMILIES:

http://snurl.com/reading4kids

Recommended books for children and families
(This is a great list to print out and hand to your kids'
grandparents for suggestions at gift-giving times!)
_______________________________

A special thanks to Gary Foreman and the friendly folks at
The Dollar Stretcher for making this mailing list possible! :-)
http://www.stretcher.com/
_______________________________

< < B E . O U R . S P O N S O R > >

Would you like to place an ad in this newsletter? Contact
Mailto: marketing@stretcher.com
Subject line: bright-kids
Discover the modest rates for reaching this targeted market.
________________________________

Feel free to forward this newsletter to your family and friends. :-)
________________________________

To Subscribe To Debi's Ezines:
Simple Times: join-simple-times@hub.thedollarstretcher.com
Bright-Kids: join-bright-kids@hub.thedollarstretcher.com
________________________________

DEBI'S RESOURCES:

Personal Blog: http://dsimple.wordpress.com
Nature Study Books: http://astore.amazon.com/naturestudy-20/
Frugality/Simplicity: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com
Cooking Ahead: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/frozen-assets
Bright-Kids: http://brightkids.wordpress.com
Tupperware(r): http://my.tupperware.com/debihough
Personal Webpage: http://simplemom.com
________________________________

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscribe: join-bright-kids@hub.thedollarstretcher.com
***: leave-bright-kids@hub.thedollarstretcher.com

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think
might be interested. This is a private mailing list which isn't sold
or shared with anyone else. Tips and articles are printed for
entertainment purposes only.
________________________________
 

---

You are currently subscribed to bright-kids as: ralrusu@gmail.com.

To *** click here: http://hub.thedollarstretcher.com***id=3291366.a72711e84c40a13cd26e9d89af9902b2&n=T&l=bright-kids&o=3286654

(It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken)

or send a blank email to leave-3286654-3291366.a72711e84c40a13cd26e9d89af9902b2@hub.thedollarstretcher.com