Archive for July, 2009
Parents Universal Resource Experts – Sue Scheff – Teen Entitlement Issues
Does your teen have Entitlement Issues?
Does your teen expect more from you than they have earned or deserve?
Many parents only want the best for their children (usually more than they had growing up), but has this actually backfired on families?
In today’s society many teens have major entitlement issues. Many parents feel that giving their teen’s material items will somehow earn them respect. Quite frankly, the opposite occurs in most families. The more we give, the more our children expect and the less they respect us. We literally lose ourselves in buying our children’s love. At the end of the day, no one wins and life is a constant battle of anger, hopelessness, and debt.
While interviewing a young teen, she was given a new car – brand new – felt she deserved it since her parents gave her two used ones previously. She is only 17 years old and already controlling her household and believes she was entitled to this car. She shows no appreciation or respect to her parents. Simply, she deserved it. Can you imagine owning 3 cars by the age of 17, yet never buying one? This is an extreme example, but I am sure many parents can relate.
Entitlement issues can lead to serious problems. Teaching your child respect and responsibility should be priority. Although the issues may have started to escalate, as a parent, it is never too late to take control of the situation and say “no” when your teen feels they are entitled to a frivolous item or anything that is considered a privilege.
Life is about responsibility, as parents we need to teach our children responsibility – helping our children comes natural to us, however when it becomes excessive and the child doesn’t appreciate it, it is time to step back and evaluate your situation.
Visit www.helpyourteens.com
Parents Universal Resource Experts – Sue Scheff: Being A Parent
Source: Examiner.comParents Universal Resource Experts: Summer Homework
Is your teen in summer school? Connect with Kids offers an interesting article regarding academics and your child’s summer time. The parenting tips are definitely worth reviewing.
Source: Connect with Kids
“It is wonderful for that to be a relaxing time and I fully agree that all kids need time to relax. But they may not need two or three solid months of no exposure to books or information or math.”
– Joanne Max, Ph.D., Psychologist, explaining that a little bit of summer homework is a good thing.
<!–a href=”#” target=”_blank”></a–>Studies from three different universities are confirming what some educators have called “the summer brain drain”: the two months worth of knowledge kids lose over the summer. Keeping them academically busy over the summer is one answer, but it is controversial.
While some kids spend their summer playing, straight-‘a’ students Grace and Mark will be reading, reading, and reading some more.
Not because they want to, though. It’s a school assignment.
“The whole summer I’m not really just enjoying it and thinking school’s out,” says Mark, 13, “I’m thinking ‘oh I have to read those books then go back to school.”
“Ideally my summer would be where I got to do what I wanted to do and kind of not worry about academics so much,” adds 15-year-old Grace.
Even some parents and educators agree. “There’s no time to recharge. It seem like a lot of their time is being sucked up,” says Author and education expert Adam Robinson.
“They need a break,” agrees Mark and Grace’s mother, Mary Loveland, “Just like they need a break on weekends, they need a break in the summer. To be kids. Because I don’t think we let them be kids.”
Still, experts say summer homework is a trend that’s unlikely to go away. So parents should first: Keep it in perspective and explain to the child that a little bit of summer homework is a good thing.
“It was wonderful for that to be a relaxing time and I fully agree that all kids need time to relax,” says Joanne Max, Ph.D., a psychologist, “But they may not need two or three solid months of no exposure to books or no information or math.”
Second: Help them budget their time. Even Mark says his summer homework would be much less of a hassle if he did a little each day. “But I usually cram it in on the last few weeks,” he admits.
Tips for Parents
Whether homework is assigned during the school year, or as a “summer bridge” between grades, parents can help their children get it done. In fact, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) says parents can help their children academically, even if homework is not assigned. The AFT describes the home as “a child’s first school” and recommends spending a little time each day on reading, writing and math activities.
According to the U. S. Department of Education, students and parents should expect the following amounts of homework:
- From kindergarten to third grade, no more than 20 minutes per day.
- From fourth to sixth grade, between 20 to 40 minutes per day.
- From seventh to ninth grade, students can expect to spend up to two hours on homework each day.
- High school students often need to study more than two hours each day.
The American Medical Association has some specific suggestions on ways parents can help children with homework:
- Help them get organized – It can be hard to schedule homework time into our kids’ busy lives, but that is exactly what we must do. Prioritizing homework tells your kids that learning, reading and studying are important. If you need to, post a weekly calendar with slots for daily homework time.
- Help them find the right workspace – Where your child should do homework depends largely on your child’s age. The workspace should be well lighted and supplied with pencils, paper, rulers and books so kids don’t waste time hunting for tools. The kitchen or dining room table is the most popular workspace for young children.
- Let the child do the work – Young children in particular are accustomed to being helped with many tasks, so they naturally look to parents for help with homework. Remember that a primary goal of homework is to build responsibility. Here, yours is a supporting role as a parent, encouraging your child to think, evaluate and respond. Parents can help the child understand instructions but should then step back and let the child work independently. It is important that a parent does not actually do the work because this denies the child an essential sense of achievement. Praise should be focused on the child’s effort, rather than on “correct” or “incorrect.”
- Be a parent, not a teacher – The most important role parents can play is as a parent. It is important not to become the teacher at home. The parent can scan the assignment first to become familiar with it. That way, if the child has trouble finding the answer, the parent can offer a clue and then let the child find the answer. This approach helps build the child’s confidence that he/she can, indeed, do the work on his/her own. Parents should be ready with praise when the assignment is completed.
- Final Checkout – Parents should check homework assignments for completion before they are handed in. This not only gives you an indication of your child’s ability, but it also keeps you up-to-date on what he/she is studying. If you do find errors, don’t criticize. If your child is really struggling, send a note to the teacher pointing out the difficulties your child had with that assignment. By going over homework with your child, you can see whether there are any problems that need to be addressed.
The AFT also recommends that parents reward their children for work well done, or for trying hard, even when they make mistakes. The rewards don’t have to cost money. A hug or a smile and some words of praise can mean more than candy or a toy.
References
- American Federation of Teachers
- American Medical Association
- U.S. Department of Education
Sue Scheff: Helping Your Teens Budget their Time, Money this Summer
Another great parenting website, School Family - your go-to-guide for school success offers a tremendous amount of educational articles, parenting tips, information to help you guide your way through your child’s school years. Here is one of their recent articles on helping your teen manage their time and money this summer.
Help Your Teen Budget Time, Money This Summer
For many teens, the summer paycheck is the first “real” money they’ve ever had. And some have a tendency to spend every cent they make on clothes, CDs, and entertainment.
You can teach your teen a valuable lesson by insisting that he make a budget for his money. Included in the budget should be a regular savings plan—both for things he’d like to buy in the near future (for example, a personal digital media player) and for college or other education after high school.
If he doesn’t have a summer job, perhaps you can find ways to help him earn some money this summer. He could offer to baby-sit, for example, or do chores for an older neighbor who can’t manage by herself.
While you’re at it, have your teen make a time budget, too. It’s normal for teens to lounge around. But when they spend day after day in front of the TV, they’ll be bored at best, and possibly even depressed. Besides, kids tend to get into trouble if they have too much time on their hands.
Teens respond well to choices. If your teen seems to show no interest in getting off the couch, give her a choice of things she might do: organize the family photo albums, take neighborhood kids to the pool in the afternoon, volunteer at an animal shelter. When you give teens projects to do, you not only help them manage their time—you keep them interested in life.
Copyright © 2009 Parent Institute
Parents Universal Resoruce Experts – Sue Scheff – Mommy Perks
People that know me, know I always share parenting ideas, articles, books, websites and more. Today, well, it is more! It is Mommy Perks! I am sure there are many mom’s and dad’s out there that would enjoy being part of a parenting network – check this out! As a Parent Advocate, I loved all these ideas to help reach out to more families.
What is Mommy Perks?
About Mommy Perks
Click here to see what others are saying about Mommy Perks.
Meet Shara Lawrence-Weiss, owner of Mommy Perks:
Prior to purchasing Mommy Perks, I was a Mommy Perk Rep. I then become co-owner and later, sole owner. Over the last few years I have researched, read, studied, watched and compared a variety of marketing and networking trends. I have modified the way that Mommy Perks runs based on those changes and the needs of small business owners.
Many mom-owned sites are now selling advertising space. In my experience, these ad spots almost never turn sales. From time to time they do but not often. What does turn sales for a small business? Especially a niche business? Well, word of mouth is a big part of the equation. As a Mommy Perks client, I will personally buy your product (if possible) and test it, use it, blog about it and more. I will do this in order to truly understand what you do and how you do it. I can then refer to you others honestly and without reservation. Research shows that 3rd party endorsements are far more effective than self-plugging. Of course you’ll say your own product is terrific, right? That will quickly go over many heads. If someone else is promoting you, though, the chances that your product or service will gain more attention are far higher.
I know this to be the case based on numerous factors. One of those factors is my other business: Personal Child Stories. When I first signed up with Mommy Perks as an advertiser (back in 2007), my graphic ad was placed on the website. Nothing came. Nothing happened. I got visits to my website but no sales. Since that time, I have built relationships with people – through the Mommy Perks site. Lots of book sales have occurred based on those relationships; the networking, marketing, word of mouth, having others refer me out and so on. By working together as a team far more has been accomplished. Newsletter sign ups, book sales, new friends made.
That is my ultimate goal with each business that I serve and help. To help them plant seeds and to teach them to water those seeds. It all takes time. Nothing grows over night (other than bacteria but let’s not go there).
Patience and perseverance, I always say. Slow and steady wins the race. Why spend money on flat ads being placed on a website with no PR to back your money? Other sites charge even more than Mommy Perks just to place your graphic on their site. Why not spend the money more wisely?
Welcome to the Mommy Perks way of thinking 
Click here to visit our Ad and PR Packages page.
Why join the Mommy Perks Community?
We have been turning the heads of some big names lately and continue to gain more media attention across the country for our small business philosophies. Mommy Perks is the BIG place for SMALL business!
We are a COMMUNITY of moms, small businesses, friends and family. We offer:
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Join our growing community today and let others know they too can get PERKED!
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