It’s the most wonderful time of the year for parents of school-aged children! But is it really? With the happiness of sending kids back to school comes the concern about the cost of it all. Each year the cost of clothing and school supplies goes up as schools put more and more of the cost back onto the parents. And those school supplies lists aren't getting any shorter! Janet Gray — Financial Planner and Money Coach — offers up a few great money-saving tips we can all apply …
10 Things You Should Do With Your Kids Every Summer
Eighteen summers, that’s all we have with our children before they leave the nest. The weight of that number is weighing heavy on me lately. I am already at summer #12 and #10 with my daughters. We long ago surpassed the halfway mark and I am acutely aware of how fast it’s all gone. Summer, like our children’s growth, is fleeting. Both need to be embraced without reservation and with complete enthusiasm. That’s why I believe there are 10 things you should do every summer with you kids without …
Five Last Minute Teacher Gifts For the Chronically Late Parent
I mean what I say and I say what I mean. When I say "last minute," you can trust that these ideas can be carried out in a swift manner, with little preparation, without breaking the most precious of budgets — time and money — and they'll still convey a message of sincere thanks. Five Last Minute Teacher Gifts Snickerdoodles This is the cookie of cookies! It's as fun to say as it is to eat and the best part of gifting Snickerdoodles is that the kids can do most of the …
The One In Which I Hate Technology, Online Games and Electricity
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about young kids and online games. For the record, I don’t like them. Also for the record, my son plays them. But he does a lot of things I don’t enjoy seeing happen, like dirt-bike jumps and growing. I hate these games in general and in specific. I hate them the way our grandparents hated Elvis and socialism and people who wore their hat to the dinner table. These games make my skin crawl and I scream into my mouth when my son asks for his iPod. We …
Universal Truths Parents of Kids In Competitive Sports Know
I love watching young parents taking their toddlers to dance, soccer, gymnastics and hockey. They are so completely adorable in their ignorance. I can’t help but smirk, er, smile I mean, when I see them beam at their little darling in their team uniform. They really have no idea what awaits them once they have kids in competitive sports. The reality is that there's a whole other side to this. A darker, more cynical side that parents of older children reside on. We used to be like them, so …
