BE YOU Parenting - Be You Parenting tips-tools-strategies for parents with kids of all ages.

10 Keys to Family Happiness

11/4/2019

Image by DivvyPixel from Pixabay

Happiness is who we be. How we be affects the level of happiness that we be. Parents who actively take responsibility for their own happiness, demonstrate for their children and invite them to be responsible for their own happiness. For starters, here are 10 keys that increase the capacity to BE happier.

How to Handle Family Competition

10/28/2019

Picture from Pixabay

I had a parent ask me a few weeks ago, "How do I nurture a noncompetitive family?"

Have you had to deal with sibling rivalry or do your kids compete with their peers and it makes you wonder if it is good for them or not?

The issue of competition, especially among siblings, is as old as dirt. And yet, I wonder if it isn't time to use these conflicts to teach our kids about a different possibility.

This week's Be You Parenting radio show focused on competition. In dealing with this issue, the first place to look is at the parent's concept and experience of competition and how that may be contributing to the destructive competition the children are expressing.

One thing to keep in mind, is that not all sibling spats are bad, or that you should try to eliminate them altogether. These experiences can be the teaching platform where you guide your children into more awareness, empathy, and empowerment to handle these situations differently. This will prepare them for the outside world where people are all different and don't always get along.

Here are some tips for handling competition within your family:

Being the Magical Parent

9/23/2019

Most parents don't think of themselves as being magical or even being a wizard when it comes to parenting. But what if we allowed ourselves to step into the world of wonderment and awe and begin to expected wonderful unexpected surprises?

What we believe parenting has to be affects how we experience it. If you believe that parenting is hard and can't be full of fun and excitement, then what you will experience is difficulty and challenges that feel overly hard to you. I will be the first to admit that parenting presents challenges. It's all about how we handle those challenges.

Keeping Your Finances In Shape During Parenthood

9/21/2019

Keeping Your Finances In Shape During Parenthood
Submitted by guest writer- Sara Bailey
Thewidow.net ~ info@thewidow.net

Photo Credit: Pexels

Finances may not be your forte, but once you’re a parent, they’re more important than ever. Having control over your money empowers you to experience financial freedom and to give your children the tools they need to be fiscally responsible adults. Here are some tips to get started:

Set Clear Goals

Your first step toward getting your finances on track is setting clear, achievable goals. Vague plans like, “I’d like to be better with money” isn’t a wise call. It’s admirable, but too nonspecific to be useful. After all, what does it mean to be “better with money”? Does it mean saving more for retirement? Keeping your credit card paid off? Spending less on take-out? Try to identify those specifics, and use them to come up with actionable goals.

Your next step is to come up with a list of steps to reach that goal. Let’s use “I want to keep my credit card paid off” as an example. You may need to start by pausing your card usage so you can get your payments back on track. Next, create a budget so you can save up for the payments. Then, commit to paying the card in full, each and every month. Actionable and measurable steps are the key.

Whatever your goals are, make sure you have a clear path toward completing them to set yourself up for success.

Save, Save, Save

Saving should be a financial priority for anyone, but parents have even more incentive to save than most. A main priority should be your retirement fund. The less you have put away for your golden years, the more financial stress you’ll put on yourself and your children.

You can also put aside money for your child’s future. Many parents do this in the form of an educational fund the child can use for college, trade school, or other classes past high school. This will allow your child to get a head start in the job world without taking on a huge student debt load. Even a small amount of assistance at this stage in their life can ease the pressures of school so they do not feel burdened by debt at such a young age.

Prepare for the Unexpected

It can be difficult to imagine your kids going through life without you, but it’s important to consider what will happen to them financially after you die. Speak with a lawyer to ensure that their inheritance and guardianship is set in place, so you can rest easy knowing they’ll be well taken care of without you.

You should also take out a term life insurance policy to further secure your children’s financial stability in the event of your death. It’s easy to convince yourself you can get that when you’re older, but that’s not your wisest choice. The younger and healthier you are when you get term life insurance, the better rates you’re likely to get – and those premiums are often set in stone for decades. You can learn more about the rates available to you by getting a quote.

Build a Fun Budget

One of the most rewarding parts of parenting is getting to provide good times and happy memories for your kids. By building this expense into your budget, you can make sure that going out and spending time with your family won’t break the bank.

Set aside a certain amount of money each month that will go toward a fun outing or special treat for your kids. If you don’t wind up spending it all each month, you can put anything left over toward a family vacation. Remember, the time you put into your kids now will pay off, and you will be stronger family for it.

Pass On Financial Wisdom

One of the greatest gifts you can give your kids is a firm understanding of how to manage their money. Few schools teach money management; only five states require that high school students take a personal finance class. Moreover, theoretical learning will never have the impact that practical teaching will.

Give your kids an allowance, and help them to learn the best ways to use it. Build a budget together, and help them to set their own saving and spending goals. Then, have family budget check-ins where they can evaluate their own progress. This simple exercise will help to prepare them for entering the world on their own.

Finances become more important when you’re a parent. Tackling them head on will put you and your family in good shape for the present and the future. These skills are the best gift you can give you kids, and they will last longer than any video game system ever could.

Photo Credit: Pexels

The Magic of Curiosity

9/9/2019

Curiosity is often an under-used element used in parenting. When it comes to being a parent, we tend to push off being curious, instead filling it with a need to be right. As parents, we pressure ourselves to have all the answers when our children approach us with questions or problems. We may find that we use our “rightness” to also assume that we do know everything and that our kids don’t know anything. This leaves very little room for the magic of curiosity to come to live.

Inspired Choices Network- This week's news!

9/8/2019

So many exciting shows coming up this week Sept 23rd-27th. This short video gives you a brief look at what's available to inspire you in all areas of your life. Replays available on each and every show. Check out the new shows!
Check the calendar and tune in. Comment below on your favorite show.

Getting Serious About Family Fun

9/2/2019

Kids are into having fun and parents can learn a lot from their kids about how to have fun and what fun truly is. There are many benefits for kids of all ages who get to spend time with family doing things that help build connections and develop deeper bonds all in the energy of fun.

In this week's episode of Be You Parenting we talk about what is fun, what happened to having fun no matter where we are or what we are doing and how a parent's capacity to have fun may be affecting their child.

Cyber Awareness with Your Child

8/21/2019

Cyber Awareness with Your Child

Children of all ages are now using devices, not just phones but also Ipads and Games. You may need to get more educated on what the concerns are by reading up on the different devices and the pros and cons associated with each one. When you know what your options are, and have talked with your child, you can choose from a variety of ways to help your child use these devices with the awareness that they can invite harm and unsafe situations.

Have you had a cyber-chat with your kids? As you talk with them, you may find it more empowering not to instill any fear or consequences, but rather to ask questions about what they know and what are they aware of.

This is another opportunity to empower your child. It may also be a good place for parents to become more aware of the ways that they choose to use technology. What if using technology need not be a thing to fear but to be in awareness of just like everything else in life?

In addition to being in the know about each type of device, you may want to use the following as a guide when talking to your child. It is recommended that you not just have this chat once, but continue to revisit it as you gain more knowledge.

Stress-free Parenting

8/19/2019

Going BACK to School- A Message for All Adults

8/16/2019

Going BACK to School- A Message for All Adults

I was driving into work one morning thinking about all the kids who were going BACK TO SCHOOL and I asked myself what comes up for me when about BACK TO SCHOOL. I have to say I was a bit surprised at what showed up. And how the awareness from this question has allowed me to connect to my current growth of being more of me.

The very words BACK TO SCHOOL imply returning to where I was at the time I left. As I explored going back to school what came up for me was the same feeling of anxiety that I felt much throughout my school years.