The Baby Project

Common Teen Money Hurdles

January 22, 2012 By Jeff Leave a Comment

Becoming a teenager is a very memorable and special time. It’s a golden period when responsibilities are relatively minor, and free time is plentiful. Unfortunately, this combination also leads to some common teen money hurdles. These will pass in time, particularly after you land a full-time job. But in the meantime, here are some ways to avoid common issues.

Being short on funds doesn’t stop a teen from wanting to spend money. There are members of the opposite sex to impress, clothes to buy, movies and songs of interest, and a plethora of interesting ways to burn through cash. The number one teen money hurdle is being short on cash!

Pay Cash

Overspending to stay hip and cool could be disastrous, especially when the bills become unmanageable. Nip such fearsome scenarios in the bud by only buying new clothes that you’ve saved money to buy. Whether it comes from a job or elsewhere, by disciplining buying habits at a young age, you’ll be in a great position to thrive later in life.

Open Your Own Account

It’s unfortunate, but one of the more common mistakes teens make is not focusing on opening their own bank accounts. Whether that’s because they don’t think it important, or simply feel they have few funds to keep in a bank, this route is less than sophisticated. Learning from an early age to balance a checkbook – or at least learn to keep track of the dollar total in one’s checking account, is financially savvy.

Getting teens interested in controlling their financial picture from a young age is one of the best ways to ensure monetary success in life. It’s important to strive to find a balance between buying frivolous items and learning to go without things that are unnecessary. Aim to exist somewhere between miser and spendthrift statuses, and you’ll avoid the most common money issues.

Avoid I.O.U’s

That cash-short lifestyle can quickly lead to mounting I.O.U’s, whether accrued with friends or parents. Don’t create ill-will amongst your friends by piling up your borrowings. If you need to borrow money for projects or special events, be sure to pay it back. Otherwise, not only will that friend’s purse strings close for you, your actions might put your friendship into jeopardy.

In Case of Emergency

You cannot tell the exact moment when you’ll need to borrow money. In this difficult economic situation, it is inevitable that you’ll have to churn out additional cash for unexpected situations like emergencies just to cover up the charges. If you can’t come up with other resources, your best bet would be a payday advance online. Applying for short-term loans is a good option for teens in times of emergencies. These loans are accessible and there are no unexpected expenses, but rather simple equal periodic payments.

Filed Under: Finance Tagged With: Loans

Hassle-Free Home Care

August 22, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

With everything to remember these days from keeping gas in the car to getting your children to their soccer games, it’s easy to overlook the more mundane but important tasks required to keep your home well maintained and comfortable—chores like checking the batteries on the smoke alarms, making sure the furnace is safe and cleaning the windows and screens.

A good way to stay on top of everything without losing your mind is to use a reminder calendar to record when each chore should be done. You can buy a calendar of any size to fit any theme. You can even customize and print your own calendar.

Once you have your version of the perfect calendar, sit down and make a list of all the home chores you keep forgetting to do, like cleaning out the fridge or shampooing the carpets. Don’t worry about getting everything on the calendar at one sitting—you can always add them as they come up. Don’t forget to include important things like updating your contents insurance once a year to reflect new purchases.

Assign each chore a date on the calendar according to how often you want to do it—once a month, every six months or yearly—and write the name of the chore on the calendar. As you go through the year you’ll be reminded each time you look at the calendar of what chore you need to perform.

There are lots of important things to remember when you own a home, from checking in with your policy expert to making sure your coverage is up to date to having the roof inspected, but using a reminder calendar couldn’t be easier. It can make getting all those home care chores done on time hassle free.

Filed Under: Discipline, Family Tagged With: Calendar, Home care, Smoke detector

The New Face of Homeschooling

July 15, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image via Wikipedia

Due to budget cuts seen in educational systems across the country as well as security concerns, more parents are choosing to educate their children at home. Homeschooling has long been thought of as being a way for those families that are very religious to ensure that their children receive an education that provides the proper amount of spirituality. Another image that often arises when homeschooling is mentioned is the hippie family that prefers to limit the amount of government control in their lives.

Today, you will find the reasons that a family homeschools are as unique as each family itself. You can find working parents that homeschool, single parents that homeschool and fathers that homeschool. Many families feel so strongly about the validity of homeschooling for their families that they are willing to make sacrifices in order for it to happen.

There are many benefits of homeschooling. For many children, the one size fits all application of education does not work well for them. For many of these children, you will see them excel in a number of areas while being average in other areas. Some areas might find that the child needs some extra help.

Due to the large numbers of children that are in traditional schools, it is not possible for teachers to teach to each individual child. With homeschooling, however, the child’s education can be tailor made in order to make sure that the child is being stimulated in the area in which they excel while receiving extra help in the necessary areas as well.

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Child, Education, Homeschool

Overcoming Your Child’s Extreme Emotional Outbursts

July 5, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image via Wikipedia

Young children often do not know how to properly channel their emotions. This can result in an overwhelming sense of aggression, anger and behavior problems that parents need to correct. The problem is many parents are overwhelmed by their child’s outward behavior that they do not know how to properly handle the situation.

Here’s a look at how to properly handle a child’s emotional outbursts and behavior problems.

Don’t Yell

Children will react badly to yelling. Try not to yell or raise your voice when your child is acting out. Instead, speak to them in a calm, even tone that cannot be interpreted as anger or frustration.

Yelling can also serve as a bad example to your child as they will model your behavior. If you react badly to situations they will too.

Find the Root of the Problem

Many times children act out through anger and aggression because there is something else bothering them. Try to work with your child to find out what the problem is that is causing these extreme emotional outbursts. Just remember your child may not be able to voice what is bothering them which may cause you to have to do some detective work to figure out what their problems is.

Reading stories, talking calmly before bed, and lots of hugging and embracing are great ways to get your child to calm down and feel comfortable enough to talk to you about what the problem is.

Following these tips can help you get your child to learn how to properly express their emotions in a safe and healthy way.

Filed Under: Family, General Tagged With: Anger, Behavior, Child

Get a Phone Your Teens Will Love

June 22, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

If you’ve rescued a child from abandonment, you want to make sure everything you do for your saved child is the right thing to do. Chances are, your fostered or adopted teen has been begging for a cell phone. Should you make the leap? Is your teen ready for a cell phone – and all the responsibility attached to it?

If you’re the parent of a modern teenager, you can relax a little bit. Most experts agree that teenagers are capable of owning a cell phone, especially if you’ve taken the time to teach them about safe internet and cell phone use. Yet it can be intimidating to first walk into a cell phone store. With so many options, how can you be sure you’re getting a phone your teen will love?

For starters, look into purchasing a music phone. Music phones act like call-making iPods. Your teen will be able to purchase and access all their favorite artists and listen to them while they’re on the go. Better yet, your teen can still make calls and text, just like any other phone. If your teen has been begging for both a cell phone and an MP3 player, this is the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.

Consider also getting a phone with parental controls for safe internet access. Worried parents may want to invest in a phone with GPS capabilities so you can know your teen’s whereabouts. Still clueless? Ask your teen about which phone they want. That way, you’re sure to pick out the perfect cell phone for your teen.

Filed Under: General, Teens Tagged With: Adolescence, Mobile phone, Parent

When It’s Time to Choose Baby Names

June 20, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Every stage of pregnancy is stimulating and nerve-tingling. Though potentially huge fun, not many tasks on the tick list are quite as long-lasting as choosing a name for the baby. Giving the anticipated new member of the family the name he or she will grow up to be known as is a sobering prospect. Names say a great deal about people, perhaps saying more about the parents than the name-bearer.

Ishmael, Ravi, Oliver, Madison, Olivia and Addison are headlining names in the current era. Classic names continue to be chosen with unceasing regularity. Such dependable-sounding appellations as James, Alexander and Christopher, Emma, Charlotte and Sophie hold their positions in the popularity stakes. Where there are royal associations – as with Harry, Andrew, Elizabeth and Kate – there will always be new parents seizing on the name.

A favorite celebrity can be a strong contender when new parents are contemplating the big decision. No one’s pregnancy calendar is quite the same as anyone else’s; each expectant parent’s hunt for a name begins at a different moment, many as soon as the first ultrasound has indicated the developing child’s gender.

Celebrities’ own babies’ names are a frequent inspiration. Arlo is the name that actress Toni Collette plumped for when her son was born in April 2011. Skylar, Waylon and Bennett are three other boy names selected by celebrity moms. Willow, Agnes and Kira were the choices of Pink, Jennifer Connelly and Joey McIntyre respectively when brand new baby daughters came along. Each of us is a product of a name-choosing moment. New parents want to make that a moment of pure inspiration.

Filed Under: Family, Parenting, Teens Tagged With: Joey McIntyre, Pregnancy, Toni Collette

Establishing Effective Communication Between Parents and Teenagers

June 19, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Communication between a parent and child can be the hardest thing to establish. Adults often communicate differently than teenagers, which can present a challenge when the two try to talk to each other.

As the parent, it is your responsibility to work on creating a good system for communication that works with your teenager. Here are some tips you can use to help create a communication system that works for you and your teenager.

Create a Listening Environment

Teenagers are often unwilling to sit down and chat. Therefore, you have to create an environment where they will feel comfortable and willing to talk to you. Sometimes this can be over video games, going out to dinner or getting ice cream. As long as your teenager feels comfortable they will be willing to talk to you.

Give Good Advice

Teenagers do not like to be told what to do, even if you do know better. Try to establish a relationship with your teenager where you are more of a consultant and someone they go to for advice instead of where they go to to be told what to do. This will help them learn on their own but will also help you develop your relationship with them.

Communication is a Two Way Street

When talking with your teenager remember that communication is a two way street. You need to talk and listen, just like they do. Make sure you are listening to them and really hearing what they are saying and not just pretending.

Following these tips can help you establish effective communication between you and your teenager.

Filed Under: Parenting, Teens Tagged With: Adolescence, Communication, Hearing (sense)

Planning a Playdate for Your Baby

June 18, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image by Salim Virji via Flickr

Children often are more socially comfortable when they are placed in situations with other children from a young age. Finding other parents whose children are close in age can be a fun way to make friends and let the children interact with one another. Parents often meet at parks, music classes, libraries, or other local spots within a community, and it can be fun to take the friendship to the next level by inviting them over for a play date.

When a person is getting the house ready for a scheduled play date, it’s a good idea to double check all potential safety hazards and make sure everything is completely baby-proofed. Young children will often make a grab for the same toy, so offering a few extras can also eliminate some of the fighting. Depending on the age of those involved, a craft project can be a fun way to work together and create something special. Even basic projects such as hand-printing on cards or coloring can put the children at ease while spending time together. Dressing up in fun outfits and baby costumes can also be a fun way to interact. A small snack or meal can also be welcome, but try to find out about any possible allergies before preparing the food.

If the play date is enjoyable for the parents, and the babies seem to have fun, it can become a regular habit. Some parents have a standing appointment every week, while others rotate and visit the homes of others’. Spending time with a fellow adult and allowing children to play together can be beneficial to both parties in the long run.

Filed Under: Infants, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Parent, Play date

Cool Touch Screen Smartphones for Teens

June 17, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Image by benmarvin via Flickr

Cell phones have evolved from huge clunky devices that were kept plugged into the car to sleek skinny devices users can fit in their back pockets. The screens of cellular devices have also evolved. They have come from no-screen bag phones to touch screens. If you are considering getting your teen a new touch screen phone, you have a few options that will work great.

T-Mobile My Touch – The My Touch is an Android-based phone that comes in three colors: white, Merlot and black. It can be synced with Outlook Microsoft, and teens will love it’s easy to use 3-megapixel camera. This phone’s design is sleek and rich looking, and it is very easily customized.
Motorola Cliq 2 – The Motorola Cliq 2 is a Motorola Android phone that comes with many features teens will enjoy. It has MotoBlur, which is a program that allows the user to find the phone remotely if it has been lost or stolen. The user can even wipe the SD card’s contents with MotoBlur. Teens are usually very concerned with privacy, so this feature is attractive to them. The phone also has a great 5-megapixel camera that allows for still shots and high-definition video.
Motorola Defy – The Defy is one of Motorola’s newest touch screen offerings. It is great for teens due to the fact that it is dust proof and water resistant. It has an innovative new touch screen keyboard called Swype that makes messaging faster.

Any teen would appreciate the features of these touch screen smartphones.

Filed Under: General, Teens Tagged With: Merlot, MotoBlur, Touchscreen

Tips for Raising Strong, Independent Teenagers

June 16, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

Parenting can be very rewarding. However, once your children reach their teen years it can cause many parents to question whether or not parenting is really all that rewarding.

Parenting a teenager is tough. They are independent, strong willed and want to do things their own way. The problem is they are still children and still need the guidance of their parents.

If you are a parent here’s a look at some tips on how to parent your teenager, so you can leave a good impression and raise them to be strong, independent adults.

Remind Them You Love Them

Teenagers are almost like children in that they need to be reminded constantly that you love them. You don’t have to say it every minute of every day but you should make sure that you are telling your teen that you love them and also showing it in your actions and emotions.

Be Involved

Teenagers may act like they don’t want you involved but they really secretly do. Try to be involved in your child’s life. Show interests in what they like and try to be there to support them for any activity they try to do, no matter how bad they are at it.

Be Vigilant

This is a tough tip because teenagers like to keep secrets but you need to be vigilant and aware of what is going on in your child’s life. You should know where your teen is, who they are hanging out with and what they are doing at all times.

Following these tips can help you raise a strong, independent teenager.

Filed Under: Teens, Tips Tagged With: Adolescence, Child, Parent