Family and Parenting: Information For Families

So, you are trying to budget your life and figure out the finances, but you are looking at one income for a 3+ person household. Can this work? Will we be able to pay the bills? What do we do? These are perilous questions, but instead of focusing on the what-if’s of life, for now, try to figure out the things that you c
an do!
One income is a tight financial outlook depending on the amount of the income. If the “bread-winner’s” income is still in-tact then the family may be ok for the time being, but what if the higher income individual lost their employment and you are stuck with a far meager living then you’ve had in the past. This means it is time to tighten up, buckle down, and do what you can right now, to prevent getting behind.

Do you have an emergency savings fund? Any expendable cash that you can access fee-free to get yourselves set ahead by one month? Your goal for the moment should be to get as far ahead as you possibly can. This may entail dipping into an emergency-only savings account; canceling any completely unnecessary bills (trash pick-up, extra cable channels). Stop all automatic payments now, while you have the chance. If an automatic draft comes out of your account at a bad time, you will be even deeper in debt. Cancel any subscriptions that are not needed, or renewals to subscriptions that may be coming up (Gym memberships, magazines, unnecessary club dues). I personally believe that having an internet connection can be an extremely useful tool during tough times. Printable coupons, discount items, clubs like Freecycle and Craig’s List; all equal savings that can more than pay for your monthly connection.

Your ability to be frugal is detrimental right now. Go online and search websites that promote plans for creating cheap meals. It is possible to feed a family of four for $180.00 a month as long as you plan ahead and cook in bulk. If you are dead-set on buying name brand toiletries and pet supplies, then be sure to check online in advance, for coupons (printable). Begin considering your insurance policies. From home and auto, to medical and dental; reducing your payments where it counts can equal a fifty percent savings in some cases. If you have a great driving record and have a loan-free automobile you can easily reduce your rate temporarily and get a great savings. You can even set up a date to automatically reinstall your previous policy coverage. Remember that the little expenses add up. The morning visit to the coffee-hut, the video game rentals, and the premium gasoline (which is not a mandatory requirement in your vehicle) can all be given up easily with no major impact. Be frugal and you can pull your family through a job loss. Ban-together, spend more time together (it’s free), and you may see that being frugal and eliminating unnecessary expenses can lead you to a simpler, and even a closer family life.

It may seem impossible now but teaching your child to enjoy a clean room may not be as hard as it seems. Children truly do enjoy feeling grown up and by utilizing this feeling you can teach them how to keep a ‘grown-up’ room while still having a ton of fun.

Begin by scouting out your child’s room. Look at their closet space and compare that to the amount of space in the open area of the bedroom. If your child has a large sized closet you may be in luck. If not, don’t fret, you can build an inexpensive organizing cubby-wall that will work just as well (you may have to put in the extra effort to make the cubby-wall look decorative to maintain the appearance of the room).

The general idea is simple, and easy to alter according to the taste and individual needs of your child. You want to create a floor plan that will include a closet-size or semi-wall-size cubby area. Remember the cubby-station in kindergarten? Those neatly placed individual cubbies for each child that were incorporated together to make a cubby-wall. This is what you are shooting for. You will need to make the specifications work with your surface area (closet or one wall of the bedroom) so individualizing the project is a must.

Measure the area you have to work with; width, length, and depth. Head to your local department store and seek out plastic cubby grids with optional fabric drawers, which fit your work area. Assemble the cubbies within your available space; place your child’s belongings in the cubbies directly, or in the optional fabric drawers. This is when you will need to instill the grown-up lessons.

Be sure to inform your child that all of this ‘renovating’ was done especially for them. Be sure to tell them that you made this decision because you know that they are grown-up enough to handle this special arrange that you made. The cubby-holes are there as their “special-space”; they have your full permission to organize their belongings however they wish to organize them, within the cubby space. They have full range to organize their important toys, books, and special items according to their own decision as long as they make the grown-up choice of putting their special things back after they use them. Make sure to reinforce your trust in them, and show that you believe they can do this like a true grown-up. This simple freedom can make a big difference and it is inexpensive enough to give it a shot.

In a world of interactive gaming, internet junkies, and outrageous advertisement gimmicks isn’t it time to open our eyes, as parents, and look at the world through younger, more venerable eyes? To do this is to begin to understand what our kids see in this confusing world. There is violence, murder, rape, and torturous acts all over the television and not to mention the video games that our children play.

Even though we may not like to play with video game systems it pays to know what, and how, our children use these interactive tools. The scary truth is that we cannot shield our children from the world that is outside the walls of our home. We raise them in hopes of doing the best we can to prepare them for everyday situations they may encounter, good or bad. Unfortunately, there is a progressive trend in violence and desensitization of that violence flooding the world. Not only are everyday citizens becoming fearful and scared in a general census but they are becoming more and more violent as the years progress. This comes full-circle to affect our cities, streets, and neighborhoods.

One person may not be able to affect, or change, the entire world but we can control the violence we allow inside of our homes. The number one attribute in child/teen violence is example. Violence is learned, and because of this, a major culprit for desensitization is the rapid use of violent video games. Not everyone who plays violent games becomes violent or desensitized to violence, but younger children are quickly influenced, and more adaptive, to and by their environment.

If a child already has feelings of anger, or hopelessness, the affects of visual violence can be even more stringent. As a parent you must begin early to be the preventative foundation for your child when it comes to video game violence. Begin by limiting the use your child has with all video games. The more attractive the video games are to them the more their taste in games will broaden and eventually reach violent, benumbing games. Preview any game your child requests as a gift or asks to rent. Try looking up the game manufacturer online, or talk to a video game store clerk about the theme and level of adult content in a game you are considering for your child. There are ratings on video games, as with DVD’s, so be aware of their meanings, the letter-code rating systems for games do not correspond to DVD rating codes. “M” is for Mature.

There is one issue that can be overlooked by many families and this risk can bring potential harm and even death to your small child. These risks come from the most unlikely suspects and the threats are very real and they affect many of us every day.

When you have children that are under the age of five, you do everything you can to keep them safe, happy, and healthy, especially in your own home. Your home is your safe haven. It is your way to escape the dangers of the world and bring a sense of security and safety. What if one of the biggest hazards to your children was lurking in your own home right under your nose and you didn’t even know you could do something about it?

In today’s mass-market and mass-production world there are lots of products, merchandise, and commodities available. One thing that parents do to keep their children safe is to buy the most talked about and safest-looking toys. The darker side of the mass-toy-production industry is the cheap, and almost non-existent, testing process that all toys should go through before reaching your child’s hands. When a toy is inadequately tested for general safety and material safety the results are dangerous toys that actually make it to the market, and then into your child’s room. All too often the recall comes too late for some and even then it is hard to create mass awareness to make up for this over production and massive toy industry.

One news cast cannot create full awareness for the billions of families living in the world today and because of this it is our duty as responsible parents to take actions by searching and researching products before making purchases that end up in our children’s hands. Though the information on the thousands of toy recalls can easily be found online not everyone has solid access to the internet 24/7. There are many government websites that broadcast the startling results and mass amounts of toy recalls.

The trouble is finding the right information that will help you to make an informed decision before buying. Begin by calling or visiting the website of the company that produces a toy that your child is wanting. Read their recall lists and then visit the US Consumer Product Safety Commission website’s recall list. The USCPSC’s list is thorough and long so has the item’s manufacturer information, name, and serial number ready. By doing the right research you can help prevent accidents from creeping into your own home.