Yasim's Blog

Top 7 ways to raise a money-smart kid While it may seem you have more pressing priorities than teaching your child to be a smart spender and saver, keep in mind that the consumer culture is working on your child already. "Kids are constantly being bombarded with messages to spend money, and we need to counteract that," says Sam Renick, financial consultant and children's author. "The earlier kids start developing good money habits, the better." The good news? Teaching your child how to handle money is simpler – and more fun – than it sounds. Here are seven tricks to turn money lessons from a fight into a delight: 1. Hand your preschooler a buck. Just because a child can't change a dollar yet doesn't mean she shouldn't experience the dollar itself. Exposing children to money sets the groundwork for financial literacy in the same way that reading out loud to them sets the groundwork for literacy. In the preschool years, some hands-on experience is eno...

Highlights Spanking Losing privileges Time-outs Grounding Yelling Forcing an apology Put-downs Your kid mouths off for the umpteenth time, and you've had it. Gone are your lofty notions of teachable moments. You yell, "Go to your room!" Moments later, as the words echo in your ear, you realize with a shock: I've become my mother. You're not alone. The knee-jerk reaction when our kids misbehave is often to do exactly what we got as kids. The question is, do these old-school discipline tools stand the test of time? We asked BabyCenter moms which of your parents' techniques you've used. Then we turned to a panel of experts to find out which are worth keeping in the discipline tool kit and which should be tossed in the trash. Spanking According to a BabyCenter poll, 85 percent of you were spanked as kids, and 69 percent of you do the same to your own children. A typical comment: "I was spanked when I deserved it. I think it kept me in line, and I spank my...

Name: ________________________________________ Daycare center: __________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________ Phone: ___________________________________ Start looking for a good preschool before you need one. Parents who wait too long often discover that the school they think is best is already too full to admit their child. Visits can be as short as 15 minutes and as long as an hour — the more time you can spend, the better. Use these questions to guide your search. Be sure to click on "printable version" in the yellow box at the top of the page to get a clean, easy-to-use copy of this interview sheet to take with you. |Basics: A good preschool has solid, up-to-date credentials, clear rules and regulations, and firm policies on operating hours, pickup and drop-off times, and when children are too sick to attend. 1. About the school * How long has the preschool been in business? _________________ * What are the school...

The respectful child: How to teach respect by Mary VanClay Highlights What to expect at this age What you can do What to expect at this age Trying to get respectful behavior out of a 2-year-old is like trying to get blood from the proverbial stone. That's due, in part, to the fact that a 2-year-old's language skills are still developing. So when you tell him it's bedtime, he can't say, "Gee, I'm really having fun with my trucks, and I wonder if we could negotiate for five more minutes of playtime?" He's more likely to ignore you, stick out his tongue, or yell, "I hate you!" ...

Discipline is one of the toughest challenges of parenthood. It can frustrate, discourage, and humble you. When your toddler throws his 19th tantrum in a week, your preschooler hits her best friend in a fit of pique, or your grade-schooler is caught cheating on a test, you may look back on the gritty baby months with utter nostalgia and wonder why you ever thought feeding and sleeping dilemmas were so tough. The good news is that you don't have to go it alone. There's a lot of helpful information out there. The bad news is that there's almost too much information. A trip through the parenting section of your library or bookstore can be completely overwhelming. Dozens of books covered with photographs of smiling children and peaceful parents gleam from the shelves. "There's only one way to do it, and this is it!" they all seem to shout. Some of the books are so similar that they're almost clones, while others appear to offer the opposite advice. The author...