Budgeting | Parent's Planet

Why Take a Parenting Class

Being a parent is a difficult, sometimes overwhelming job. There is no instruction manual you are given when you become a parent. However, there are many opportunities along the way to get the help we all need at one time or another as a parent. Some parents are able to understand and cope with children better at one stage of their development than at others. While one parent may be better able to deal with infants, another parent may find toddlers or even teenagers easier to handle.

Whatever stage of development your child is in whether it is infancy, childhood, or the teen years you may find you need some additional insight, support, and instruction to help you be a better parent. This is where parenting classes and parenting support groups become important.

Some people may feel as though there is something wrong with them if they do not have all the answers themselves to parent without this help. The reality is that we all have different experiences and we all need help somewhere along the way. Attending a parenting class or finding a parenting support group in your neighborhood may give you that little extra boost of energy and determination to jump back in and keep on going. You may find that you may have some insight to help others in the areas they need a little extra help in with their children.

To find local resources for parenting courses you can check with your school district to see if they have any offerings. Otherwise, your community education program may offer occasional parenting classes. You may find parenting classes and/or parenting support groups online. Check with your church for any upcoming parenting classes. Sometimes your Human Services office offers parenting classes or maybe your local college.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Expert Advice Tagged With: Child, Infant, Support group

Traveling Well with the Kids

Having kids certainly changes your day-to-day life. It also changes the types of vacations that you plan. Just because you will need to consider your children when taking vacation, however, doesn’t mean that you can’t plan an eventful trip that is fun for everyone, including the parents.

Travel Changes

Like all fancy things, traveling changes when you have kids. Once you have children, you will need to find hotels that offer enough room for the whole family. You will also need to find activities for your kids. Giving them a variety of activities to enjoy often means that you can slip away for a while to get some rest and relaxation.

Luxury Hotels for the Whole Family

Many luxury hotels have noticed that more parents take their children on vacation than they did in the past. If they want to attract business from the breadwinners of the family, then they need to appeal to the youngest members as well. When you consider whether a luxury hotel Chicago style is right for your trip, do some research to find out what types of activities they offer children. You might find that some of them arrange play groups to keep kids occupied during evening hours when you want to hit the town. Some luxury hotels have even formed relationships with entertainment companies such as Disney to offer exclusive services to children that feature their favorite cartoon characters.

Making the Most of Your Trip

Although you will certainly miss the days when you and your spouse could travel unencumbered by children, traveling with your kids has some unique advantages. The activities that you experience together during your vacation will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Whether you drive across the country or fly to another continent, you will always have memories of enjoying new cities with your kids. That’s something that few parents would ever want to give up after they have experienced it.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Family Tagged With: Family, Hotel, Travel

Do Something Special With Your Daughter on Mother’s Day

If you want to have a fun and memorable Mother’s Day, there are plenty of ways you can do that. One of the most significant is to do something special with your young daughter. Some day, she will grow up and she may become a mother of her own. Treasure the time with her while she’s little, and make sure you show her what she means to you. What about a tea party with mother and daughter? To make it even more special, find great costumes so everyone can dress up and have a grand time. That will be special and memorable, for both mother and daughter. Planning it won’t be that hard, so you can easily create a fun time.

You’ll need to find kids costumes, but you can get them online for a great price. You won’t even have to leave your home to get great things for you and your daughter or daughters to wear. Look around and see what kinds of things your children like most, and then find costumes that fit that, as well as the theme of the tea party. Elegance and extravagance (on a budget, of course) should be the plan, so think feather boas and big hats. You can pretend to eat and drink if your daughter is very little, or you can have real tea and real food if she’s a big older. That has to be a judgment call on your part, because you know your child or children better than anyone does.

If you have real food, get something that’s easy to eat and that’s light, like dainty cookies or crackers, and finger sandwiches in your daughter’s favorite kinds. You can even have peanut butter and jelly if you want to – just cut the sandwiches up into small portions to make them fancier.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Family Tagged With: Cooking, Family, Holidays

Your Five-Year-Old -2

Your little girl isn’t so little anymore! She is now a grown up five-year-old. At five years old children are energetic, enthusiastic, and cheerful. You will find that your child enjoys planning and organizing. At this age your child will spend a great deal of time discussing who will do what and how something will be done. Five-year-olds want to spend time with other children and will now be developing friendships and may have a “best friend” that is very important.

This is the age that many children are entering kindergarten. Most children are ready socially for this next step while some may need some further encouragement and help to adjust. Five year olds have the understanding of sharing and are able to manage it better than in the past. They are also beginning to understand how to cooperate with each other.

Your little girl has probably now developed quite a sense of humor. She may enjoy telling jokes and making people laugh. At this age she will like to make up stories and enjoys fantasy play. She may invent games with simple rules and organize other people to play.

Her vocabulary has increased to the point where she can easily carry on conversations with other children and adults. However, she may now have picked up some vocabulary that you are not as proud of such as swear words and other inappropriate language. She may use these to get attention.

At this point your child’s intellectual abilities are continuing to grow and develop. She is able to memorize things such as her address or phone number. She can comprehend stories with a beginning, middle, and an ending. Your child can now memorize stories and recite them back to you. Her counting skills have improved and she can now easily count to at least 10. She is able to recognize the differences such as small, medium, large or more, less, or the same.

Filed Under: Budgeting Tagged With: United States

Your Four-Year-Old -1

By the time your child reaches four years old he will be learning to dress himself. His fine motor skills have become more developed. He will still find it easier to pull a zipper down than pull it back up. Your child may still struggle with putting clothing on the right direction and may end up with shirts on backwards and shoes on the wrong feet.

Four year olds like their independence. Your child will like brushing his own teeth, washing his own hands, and brushing his own hair. Give your child the opportunity to do these things for himself whenever possible. This gives him a sense of independence and accomplishment.

By now your child’s vocabulary and language skills have drastically improved. Sentence structure is more defined and he should be fully understandable to other adults. He can understand the concept of numbers and is able to count objects. His imagination is in full swing by now, although he may sometimes get confused between fantasy and reality. During playtime you will notice your four-year-old becoming more dramatic and he can easily amuse himself with simple props.

Along with your child’s verbal skills he is also becoming more intellectual. If taught, he can recognize letters and letter sounds. He will notice simple words from books or signs, such as recognizing the word “stop” on a stop sign. His writing abilities have improved and he may be able to write his own name.

Your child will have a desire to make friendships. At this age children are still learning the concept of sharing and cooperating. Some children learn this easier and quicker than others. It is important to carefully watch your child at this age and continue to direct and encourage appropriate play behavior. Each child is an individual. Some may be more boisterous in their play while others are more reserved. Some children may be able to handle longer play dates while others can only manage short periods of time. Whatever your child’s personality is, you need to be sensitive to this and watch that your child is not becoming overwhelmed.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Child Development, Expert Advice Tagged With: Fine motor skill

Your Two-Year-Old

Your two-year-old is now considered a toddler. All toddlers enjoy exploring their surroundings and learning about the world around them. As he continues to learn about his environment he will also begin to communicate and exert his independence. Because of this new-found independence this time period is often referred to as the “terrible twos.” It is a completely normal part of development for your little one to begin standing up for oneself and testing your authority as he continues to discover and demand his independence.

By the age of two your child has definitely developed his own personality. He has most likely made his likes and dislikes well known at this point. He will most likely have very specific ideas of foods, clothing, or even colors that he likes and those that he does not. Your two-year-old will experience many milestones over the next year, but those mentioned are an average. Each child grows and develops at his/her own pace. Your child is an individual and may or may not reach these milestones during the next year.

Between the ages of two and three years old your child will begin talking in sentences. Your child’s vocabulary is growing and his understanding of word usage continues to develop as well. By the time your child is three years old he should be speaking in at least three word sentences and most adults should be able to understand what your child is saying.

During this year your child will begin to understand rules and will know when he has done something he should not have done. You may find that he may even reprimand himself by stating “no, no” or “bad boy” when he has done something against the rules.

Your child will continue to develop his fine motor skills this year. He will now have developed to the point where he can run, jump, and climb. These skills will continue to develop over the year as his strength and coordination continue to improve.

Filed Under: Budgeting Tagged With: Toddler

Family Life and Debt

: Image by Orin Zebest via Flickr

: Image via Wikipedia

There are many obstacles to overcome in order to have a successful family life and overwhelming debt can be one of the most stressful areas to try to work on. Not only are money conversations one of the biggest causes of arguments, but debt is sometimes a dealbreaker due to the stress and worry over paying bills that you can’t afford. There are a few ways to lessen the burden and have a happier lifestyle.

One of the ways you can work on lessening the heavy load is to consider a debt consolidation service. Sometimes paying one bill can be much easier than paying a ton of small ones and it helps stop the phone calls and letters.

Another thing to consider is to form a budget to see exactly where your money is going each month. You may not think about the small things that you buy but let’s say you get coffee for two people every day at a major chain. That can cost around $10 per day and adding that up for the month could very well pay a car payment or utility bill. Sometimes seeing where your money is going can be helpful in getting on the right track in order to become more debt free.

The most important aspect is to communicate with your family. It can be tough to tell your children they can’t have that new video game or join the soccer team this season, but sometimes it is necessary to cut corners and the things that aren’t a necessity can be eliminated first.

It is making a committment to a better life that can put you on the right track and it starts by cutting corners and looking at what is a necessity and what is a luxury. Leave room for a few luxuries but take a look at the end goal.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Expert Advice, Family, Resources Tagged With: Business, Debt, Debt consolidation

Use a Prepaid Credit Card to Teach Financial Fitness

As a parent, there are certain things that you are expected to teach your children through the years. This may include through direct teaching, or it may happen through modeling, because your children are likely to model their behaviors based on your own. Knowing this, when it comes to financial health and well being, it is important for you to consider what your children know about handling money, especially when it comes to balancing finances, building credit and balancing a checkbook. Will your children grow up with a good idea of what healthy finances are? Their financial future is largely in your hands.

One of the best things that you can do is to open a bank account for your child or teen, or create a prepaid credit card account. A prepaid card will allow your child or adolescent to come to understand how credit works without there actually being any risk. This type of card, however, will teach the art and science behind building credit, will teach the child how to pay a credit card bill when he or she uses the card, and will teach checkbook balancing as well. This is a simple tool that can go a long way in helping you teach your children about money, credit and finances.

A little bit of teaching early on can really go a long way in ensuring that your children develop a firm understanding of how to achieve and maintain financial health. When your children follow your example and your teachings, they will be able to grow up with a firm and thorough understanding of what it means to be financially healthy, to use credit properly and to take care of their finances. When you take steps to teach them today, it will have a profoundly positive impact on their financial future.

Filed Under: Budgeting

Getting The Big Gift For Your Kid

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The first thing to do before you explain is see if the gift they want can be gotten for cheaper than you think. Get on a search engine like Canada 411, and see if you can find a retailer that might have it for less. If they do you might be out of the woods. If not then you would have to explain.

Explaining to them is easier than it might seem. Telling them that Santa can only get one thing if it’s the big thing might be a hard concept to grasp. Trying telling them that anyway. Let them know that Santa gives presents to everyone and so they have to decide if they want that or all the other stuff on their list. Most kids, as you might know, will pick to have the other stuff because they often value you quantity over quality.

If you choose to not talk to them about it and they don’t get it then just let them know that you felt it wasn’t the right time for that present from Santa and remind them that there are other occasions to be a good kid and get great presents.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Resources

Free Software and Games for Family Fun

: Image via Wikipedia

Fun family times happen when the whole gang gets together and does something that everybody likes to do: Play video games!!

Alright, well maybe not everybody in the family enjoys playing video games, but it is, without a doubt, a fun time for the whole family to get together, be silly, and have a light-hearted competition to see who can win.

Many of the video games on the market today have discs that insert into a gaming unit that plugs right into the television. Whenever you want to play another game, you simply change out the disc, and you have another game to start, and the family competition begins again.

The gaming levels for each player can vary according to their skill level and abilities. The range for the levels varies according to the game’s difficulty and also the way it is designed. This, of course, can make the game very exciting for everyone, especially those in the family who are highly competitive.

There are other video games, however, that do not require a disc and can be downloaded from the Internet. There are also sites that offer free software for games that go directly to your computer or even your prepaid blackberry. You can also play other players over the Internet with some gaming systems, making game time even more fun and exciting!

Family night takes on a whole new meaning when there are so many different elements to the video game excitement. Whether it’s traditional discs, free gaming software downloaded off the Internet, or players who interact online, game time is never dull or boring. Just think of how much fun the entire family can have if they had game night every single week. Video games sure make chess and Scrabble look pretty timid.

Filed Under: Budgeting, Education, Parenting Tagged With: Free software, Games, Personal computer, Recreation, Scrabble, Shopping, Toys and Games, Video game