Today's Parent | Parenting Resources… Articles, Advice, Help & Tips

If you are a grandparent today, chances are you play a large and important role in your young grandchildren’s lives. You spoil them, teach them about family history, babysit, and contribute financially to their education, health care and even some everyday expenses. You tell them silly jokes and talk to them about serious subjects – morals and values, sex, drugs and rock and roll. You know to boo the Snatcher and cheer Galahad because you’ve spent quiet times watching their videos with them. And you’re embarrassed to admit you’ve actually learned a bit about fine art and classical music from the Little Einsteins. You’re up on the latest in baby gear, nutrition, medical care and child rearing advice, and you’ve kept up with new technologies – joining Facebook, Skype and Face Time – just to stay connected. You know better than to comment on hair or clothing or music preferences, and you know when to give advice and when to hold your tongue.

You’re doing a great job as a grandparent. So let me ask you this. How would you like your grandchildren to remember you? They’ll grow up someday, and have grandchildren of their own, and they’ll tell stories about you. Do you ever wonder what they’ll say?

I’ll tell you what I remember about my grandmother. She taught us how to knit and to play bridge, how to make her famous ‘grandma’s chicken’. I remember the smell and taste of her freshly baked sourdough bread that went straight from the oven into our greedy little hands. And I remember the lemonade cocktails she made for us, layered with orange juice and cherry juice to match the setting sun. She always put a $ bill and pack of gum on our pillows when we’d arrive for a visit, and she’d give us “mad money” when we went on dates – not a great source of income! We’d spend summers at the beach with her and work on projects – building sand castle cities, a makeshift sailboat, sewing doll clothes, learning dance routines, wandering through tidal pools, lazing about on her ‘lanai’ doing our summer reading. Grandma would rub our sunburned backs with lotion, and brush and braid our straggly hair. She would tell us stories about our grandfather, who had died early on, keeping his memory alive. Grandma was full of surprises. When the ‘grunion were running’ she would awaken us in the middle of the night and tell us to grab our pails, and we’d race to the beach and catch the silvery fish flopping around on the sand with our bare hands. She was always with us during the holidays. She’d organize craft projects over Thanksgiving and we’d make gifts to give and keep forever; wreaths from nuts, and cones and seedpods gathered during the evening walk, sparkling sequined tree ornaments, and walnut shell dioramas. Every year as we hang the wreaths over the mantle and the keepsake ornaments on our tree…she is with us once again. We’d dress up – hats, coats, white gloves and patent leather shoes – and go to ‘the City’ for a day of shopping and a prime rib lunch at a grand hotel. She gave us nightgowns and silver spoons for Christmas, but the ‘big gift’ was always for our mother – a beautiful outfit, a necklace – something to make her feel special. She’d take us to the wharf to feed the sea lions, and to the stables so we could ride horses through the artichoke fields and down along the beach. And because we loved horses, she would take us to races at the county fair, where she would put up the money for a $2 bet and let us pick the winners! She’d take us on trips to Disneyland, Canada, Mexico, Hawaii…and “back east” to meet more relatives. I don’t remember her being beautiful, but she was funny and fun and everyone loved her. She drove a lemon yellow Oldsmobile with wire wheels and would dance up a storm whenever the occasion presented itself. I don’t remember her babysitting us, or coming to tennis matches or music recitals or Halloween parades, and I don’t remember having important conversations with her – at least none that turned out well.

I don’t know if she was really all fun and warm and good, but that’s what I remember. Maybe we only keep the good memories and discard the bad. Perhaps, memories are made up of lingering impressions and simple events that stand out from our day-to-day lives. When I remember my grandmother, I think of those special times, and I remember her funny laugh, her sweet fragrance, her artistry, spontaneity, generous spirit and sense of fun, and that warm wonderful way she had of making us feel very special.

So what do you remember about your grandparents? How would you like your grandchildren to remember you?

Lori Stewart is the author of “If I had as many grandchildren as you…” (http://www.ifihadasmanygrandchildrenasyou.com/) released by Palmar Press. She lives in California and spends her time writing and running AFTA Associates, an organization she started that supports wildlife conservation through community enterprise.

(Family Features) Kids are naturally curious and are full of questions about the world around them. Parents and teachers can help keep that curiosity alive by finding ways to make learning about science fun and engaging. Here are a few ideas that you can use to help your kids love learning about science.

Fun Experiments

Hands-on experiences help kids of all ages grasp concepts and retain information. There are online resources available to give you the tools you need to make hands-on learning a reality.

For example, MyBotanicPlanet.com is a free website with lesson plans and interactive games for students in grades K-5 to explore basic botany and water conservation.
Based on the classroom experience offered through the Memphis Botanic Garden, and created by TruGreen, MyBotanicPlanet.com features lesson plans by professional curriculum developers to meet National Education Standards. Students can personalize their own avatar and explore the educational site’s interactive games and activities.

The activity and quiz here are part of the new Water Ways curriculum, which inspires kids to be water’s guardians. The Water Ways environment features an interactive water filtration game with various difficulty levels and an educational character named Watershed Fred, who helps students learn more about where water comes from and what happens to it when it’s out of sight. Learn more about it at www.MyBotanicPlanet.com.

Fun Field Trips

Get some fresh air and a fresh look at nature by going outside. And don’t restrict your field trips to sunny days only. You and your kids will be amazed at how different things appear when it’s been raining or snowing. Where should you go to start digging into natural science?

Your backyard

• Collect leaf samples to identify, then use them to make a collage.
• Use a magnifying glass to do some ground-level research. Examine insects, plant stems, tree bark, spider webs and interesting rocks. Have your child give an explorer’s report on what he or she finds.

Your neighborhood

• Make a game out of identifying the different trees and bushes in the park. Take pictures and leaf samples to help you figure them out.
• Go on a scavenger hunt to a stream or pond. Make a list of items to find: animal tracks, water insects, birds fishing or taking a drink, frogs and toads, even snakes.

Your community

• Visit the zoo. Before you go, have your child check out some library books about one or two of their favorite animals. They can learn some facts about those animals, then be in charge of teaching you about them when you see them at the zoo.
• Natural history and science museums can be a fun way to learn about the world around you. Take advantage of tours, special exhibits and activities geared for children.

Activity

Window on the Watershed

Activity courtesy of www.MyBotanicPlanet.com.

What you need

• A sheet of waxed paper
• A sheet of white paper
• Spray bottle filled with blue-tinted water
• Shallow pan or tray
• Colored markers or felt-tip pens

Roughly crumple the waxed paper. Unfold, and with some pushing and pulling, create a “landscape” with mountains and valleys. Set the waxed paper in the tray.

Let your student spray the tinted water over the landscape to simulate rain. Ask questions like:

• Where do raindrops land first?
• Why do they go where they go?
• Do you see waterways merge as the rain increases?

With rapid spraying, students can create a flood. Show them how “rivers” carry the blue water off the land and into the tray beneath – the “ocean.”

Repeat the activity with a sheet of white paper. Have them draw different colored spots of “pollution” on the hillsides with the colored markers. The rain will blend the colors together, showing how pollution affects the entire watershed.

Water Quiz

Quiz courtesy of www.MyBotanicPlanet.com.

See how much you and your family know about water.

1. Which is more – a cup of liquid water or a cup of frozen water?

A. Cup of liquid water
B. Cup of frozen water
C. They are the same amount

2. What happens to rain that falls on a parking lot, other hard surface, or even hard compacted soil?

A. It runs off without being absorbed
B. May pick up pollution
C. May cause erosion
D. All of these answers are correct

3. How much of Earth’s available water is drinkable freshwater?

A. 50 percent
B. 3 percent
C. 100 percent

4. Lawns should be watered when the surface feels dry.

A. True
B. False

5. How much of the water we use is used outside?

A. Half
B. 75 percent
C. 25 percent

6. What does water need in order to change into steam, vapor or humidity?

A. Cold
B. Wind
C. Heat

7. It is possible to pollute a small stream inside a watershed without polluting the rest of the watershed.

A. True
B. False

8. How does nature make water clean?

A. By filtration
B. By the water cycle
C. Both answers are correct

9. In the water cycle, what comes after evaporation?

A. Condensation
B. Collection
C. Precipitation

10. Can one person, one family, one school or one community make a real difference in the quality of water in one watershed?

A. No
B. Yes

Water Quiz

Answers Read More

Kids have always worked. They’ve raked leaves, washed cars, and sold lemonade. There’s only one problem: While these typical kid jobs do result in a bit of pocket cash, they do very little to teach kids the all-important principles of entrepreneurial wealth building.

Directly trading your time for money is very limiting. This is especially true in a global economy characterized by skyrocketing prices and a shortage of ‘good’ jobs.

The good news is that your kids can put an entrepreneurial twist on these classic childhood jobs—or at least take their earning potential to a higher level. Here are ten ideas to help you get started:

The Lucrative Lemonade Stand. This classic childhood business can teach many valuable lessons if kids do it right. They can learn about profit by buying their own ingredients and doing their own marketing. They can shop around for better pricing, learn the benefits of buying in bulk, or negotiate with a local grocer for a better deal on repeat business. They can differentiate themselves by selling fresh squeezed lemonade when everyone else is selling pre-mixed or by holding “buy two glasses get one free” sales.

Want to kick it up a notch? Let’s say there’s more than one hot spot in the neighborhood for set-up. You can guide your child through “franchising” by forming a partnership with other neighborhood kids. He can provide the supplies and set-up, and they get paid for managing the table.

There may come a time when your child finds out that franchisees aren’t doing what they are supposed to do (giving away free lemonade to friends, or leaving their stand unattended, for example). This is a chance to walk him through the tough conversation he must have. You might even brainstorm ways to stop the problem—say, by giving kids a cut of the profits instead of paying a flat salary.

The Dog Days of Entrepreneurship (Dog Walking). Taking Fido for a walk every day is a good way for kids to make a little extra money. Add two or three more to the mix and it becomes a great learning experience in multitasking and client management.

Help your child set up a client database to keep track of client contact information, schedules, payments due and received, and any special requests or needs. Help her learn to gauge her own limits. Once she feels she’s at the outer edge of her ability to serve clients well, it’s time to stop accepting new clients or to bring on a partner or employee.

Taking this business to the next level can be easy and fun. Your child might offer every tenth walk free. Or, she might throw in a free dog washing with every new contract. Likewise, there are good opportunities to “spoke off” a whole new service: If she does a great job as a dog walker, she might offer her clients pet sitting services.

The Savvy House Sitter. Being given the keys to someone’s house, and perhaps the temporary custody of a beloved pet, is an honor. Explain to kids just how much trust clients are placing in them—and explain that if they go “above and beyond” they can shore up the relationship in a big way (not to mention generate enthusiastic referrals).

For sure, kids need to clean up any pet messes or spills, water the plants, check the mail, and take out the trash on trash day. That’s just basic good service. But they might also offer to tackle other projects for a small extra fee: scrubbing bathrooms, washing cars, mowing the yard, or organizing photos.

The Babysitting Broker (and Tutoring, Too). Plenty of kids are qualified for babysitting and tutoring. Rather than being just another service provider in a crowded market, why not suggest that your child be the front person? She might create a database of qualified locals and book appointments for her subcontractors. She can charge $10/hour for the services, and pay each of her contractors $8/hour.

This is great management experience and really illustrates the magic of passive income. On any given Saturday night she might be earning money from four or five or even more babysitting jobs. Meanwhile, she can be enjoying a night out with her friends or perhaps earning even more money by working a babysitting job of her own.

The Smart Car Wash or Brainy Bake Sale. These events are classic fundraisers but they tend to be indistinguishable from one another. Encourage your child to think differently about the one he oversees. Teach him about the value of pricing goods and services competitively: Just because he’s charging more doesn’t mean he’ll make good money—especially when a less expensive car wash is happening in another part of town.

You might help your child conduct market research by visiting other area sales. See what others are doing in the way of advertising. Help him devise a marketing strategy (using social media where age appropriate), draw up a flier, visit local businesses and ask to advertise, and so forth. Read More

Kate and her husband Mike adopted Sam at the age of three months. For several years they enjoyed building a secure, new relationship with him. Rather than going to daycare while Kate and Mike were working Sam stayed with Kate’s mother who only lived down the street from them. By most accounts it had been an ideal early upbringing for Sam. He had been exposed to many new people, places, and things. Kate and Mike had delighted in learning his facial expressions, thinking about how he would look when he got older, and what he would choose to do as a profession. The months and years passed and before they knew it was time to send Sam to school.

Every new school year thousands of adoptive parents unwittingly send their children to school without a basic understanding of the inherent challenges that their child will face versus other children. For far too many years the medical community has all but ignored the challenges that adoptive families face when it comes to education. This article is written to give adoptive parents sending their children off to school for the first time seven winning tips for educational success.

Tip #1: Sensitivity. Adopted children, regardless of the age when adopted, are by nature of their early experiences more sensitive than other children. Their brains are hard-wired for perceiving stress or threat when others may not. This can often times lead to hyperactivity, overwhelm, withdrawal, or poor attention. Help your child’s teacher to see your child as sensitive to stress rather than as having a behavior problem. This understanding can make a huge difference. If we see a behavior problem then we try to correct the behavior, which oftentimes leads to more stress. However, if we see the child as sensitive then we try to reduce some of the stimulation or create a more secure environment, which in turn will naturally help to correct the behavior.

Tip #2: Fear of Abandonment. Whether you have been raising your adopted child from birth or he came to you as a teenager, many adopted children live with a fear of abandonment.  This fear will surface as anxiety about leaving home, insistence on needing to know where you will be, obsession with the unfolding of the day’s events, or in some instances, aggression or withdrawal upon returning home. To combat this, tell your child regardless of age that if he needs anything he can call you. Get the school to agree to this. He may only need to check in for a short period of time but this checking in can quell the deepest anxiety. Also tell your child that he will be coming home and you can’t wait to hear about his day. Occasionally, you might add, “And when you get home all of your stuff will still be here!”

Tip #3: Learning Styles. There are three types of learning styles: Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic. Many adopted children who get diagnosed as ADHD are not ADHD at all but rather they are kinesthetic learners. They learn best with movement or tactile stimulation involved. And guess what? Most schools do not teach to kinesthetic learners, but rather to auditory and visual learners! It may behoove you to have an Occupational Therapist assess your child and make recommendations for modifications that can best assist your child’s learning.

Tip #4: Over-Involvement. In Western society we have a hard time with understanding that eight hours of stimulation in school can be exhausting, so we take on all manner of extracurricular activities for after school! Give your child’s system time to adapt and adjust to going to school for an entire day. This time also means being away from you, being sensory overloaded much of the day, and facing every other anxiety that comes with being a child. Once your child has been able to make a successful transition to school by sleeping well, getting up without too much difficulty, and demonstrating some academic success, then introduce an extracurricular activity. But, by all means, go slow! Read More

I’ve been hard at work germinating a new life…

Little Alexis “Lexi” Pearson entered the world as a little zygote sometime around January 15th…not surprisingly right after dear hubby returned from a week-long business trip and her parents’ reunion left lasting results.

Now five months along in my pregnancy and being a big believer in preparation as a key ingredient to managing potential future pressures, I already have the nursery all but done. But aside from the traditional odds and ends of cribs and colors and wall hangings and baskets and bins and whatnot, the most essential preparation involves managing the fundamental changes in lifestyle that occur with a baby – especially during the first several months when little junior is not yet sleeping through the night.

Now, I am well aware of those who scoff at the “foolish” parents who hold out a glimmer of hope that some of the impending baby chaos can possibly be managed proactively. But think of the baby journey as a roller coaster, with ups and downs and jerky uncomfortable turns that leave you queasy and unable to think straight. Now think of lifestyle preparation as the brake pedal. The brakes allow you to slow down and enjoy the ride. And the good news for parents is that such a brake pedal exists. While studies abound showing a correlation between having children and lowered levels of happiness and marital satisfaction (see Nattavudh Powdthavee’s summary of related research published in the April 2009 edition of the Journal of the British Psychological Association), recent studies are shedding light on those special parents who manage to come through the child-rearing experience with flying colors (See the University of Virginia study at http://www.stateofourunions.org/2011/SOOU2011.pdf) The characteristics that set them apart include shared housework, sexual satisfaction and regular time spent with the partner, among others.

Here are six steps you can take to become that parent.

1) First, cast aside the rose colored glasses so that you can make wise, informed choices. First and foremost, we must get realistic. The tough and real battle of sleep deprivation creates crankiness, irritability and moodiness that affects relationships in the entire household. Understand that it’s going to happen, for a temporary but potentially agonizing period. Being totally realistic about this will help you to be proactive in managing your lifestyles in order to soften the blow.

2) Next, get your confidence up. Know and believe that no matter what the challenge, as long as you can manage the sleep deprivation aspect, then you absolutely, 100% can do this thing called motherhood and fatherhood. It doesn’t matter what role models you had or didn’t have in the past. The choice to be a great parent is within your individual control. You can do it!

3) Thirdly, mentally prepare for the role. Studies have shown that those with a strong sense of identity in their roles in life are more satisfied in general. So find ways to identify more and more as a mother or father and nurturer of the next generation. Read books, reflect, observe great parents, watch videos – whatever connects you with the future. Consider that perhaps you’ll be training up the world’s next Nobel Peace Prize winner, or a future life-saving surgeon or a compassionate public servant that will one day help countless others in need. Set expectations with yourself. Come to terms with the temporary changes in your social calendar and mobility. (And if that’s an area that concerns you, strategize coverage – see next section).

Consider also the unique benefits to be reaped from the baby experience – especially the character-building aspects (coming out with enhanced patience, enhanced capacity to love, etc) and the tangible skills to be gained (an enhanced ability to run an efficient household, the enhanced ability to get more done in shorter amounts of time, rock solid guns due to carrying the little one, etc). Think also about what aspects you will particularly enjoy. Perhaps you love the idea of taking walks with the stroller in the neighborhood or the mall. Or perhaps you like the idea of getting involved with and coaching or cheering on your little one at their extracurricular activities. Or perhaps the idea of getting involved with the local moms club and making new friends excites you.

A key part of mentally preparing for the role also involves getting absolutely 100% clear about what it is YOU need to stay happy through this period. For me, it’s adequate rest and maintaining some one on one time with dear hubby. For another, it might be maintaining adult interaction and time with friends, having time to pamper, or advance a career and hobbies. Whatever it is, know what it is you need so you can then strategize on ways to facilitate those needs. Read More

The 7:00 am sun streams through the window, the lobstermen are checking their traps, the loons are aoohooooooooing, and the dogs are breathing in my face. It’s time to head off for a morning walk in woods…with the grandchildren!  Ridiculous! Children don’t want to get up for an early morning walk in the woods with their grandparents. Well, of course they don’t, unless the walk involves “tracking wildlife”!

We walk outside into the mist rising off the lake and walk purposefully around the cabin.  Right at the edge of the forest we spot a print in the mud… and another, and another. How many toes does it have? Are there claw marks? Are they spread far apart or close together? Where are they heading? These particular prints have two toes and look like hoof prints – large cloves with the widely rounded tip tapering down to V at the heal. They point down the path towards the lake.  I conjure a printout of various animal tracks and scat and lay them out beside the hoof print. The grandchildren match the hoof mark to the picture and declare that this animal is most certainly, a deer! Evidence mounts when we find deer scat along the pathway. The hoof prints are close together, about the length of a deer, so she or he is walking slowly. Then we notice a set of tiny hoof prints nearby – maybe a mother and fawn. The tracks lead to a thicket of brush, where vegetation is broken, crushed and matted down….a deer bed most likely. But no sleepy fawn lies here.

We continue to walk along the waters edge and notice a partial set of paw prints. It looks like something heavy was dragged along behind, covering much of the print. We match tracks again, and agree…this must be a beaver. It is then we notice gnawed off saplings and begin to imagine.  Our beaver must be a female. The heavy thing she was dragging was probably her broad flat tail, or maybe it was the sapling….she must be a pregnant female… building a lodge where she can have her litter of kits. We walk on…looking for the beaver dam, following the crystal clear stream that trickles through the forest.

The forest is enchanting – covered with budding pine trees, red bunchberries, sun-dappled ferns and mossy green fields. And just when we think the forest couldn’t get any more magical, we stumble across tiny moss houses! Someone has built tiny fairy houses and gnome homes in the mossy embankments to attract magical, mysterious creatures. They’ve used whatever building materials nature provided – bark and berries, sticks and shells, nuts, pinecones and mushroom caps. Some have pebble pathways and names like Oberon, Tatiana and Aethelwine, while others are fairy cabins in the woods….vacation homes we presume!  So we stop for awhile and build our own fairy houses at the base of hollowed out stump – fashioning a tiny fence out of twigs, a roof of acorns, and bark window boxes overflowing with red berries. We name it Sharon…spelling out the name in tiny pebbles.

Reluctantly we leave this mossy haven, and continue our walk in the woods along the forest path until we come to where our stream backs up and widens into a pond. We hear a loud slap on the water – a warning! Then we see a furry mammal dive under the water, as another on the far bank slides down the muddy bank into the pond. Are there others?  Perhaps our beaver really does have a family and this is their home.

As we head home …we start planning out loud. Maybe our project this summer could be to learn more about this forest environment, and about the animals that live here, their behavior and the visual clues they leave behind – what they eat, how fast they travel, where they sleep, whether they’ve been chased or caught. We could make plaster molds of the different tracks we find, or make paper prints and put them in a book with pictures of each animal, and tell their story.

Today, we tracked animals—a deer and her fawn, and a family of beavers. Perhaps we’ll call tomorrow’s walk in the woods “photo safari!”

Lori Stewart is the author of “If I had as many grandchildren as you…” (http://www.ifihadasmanygrandchildrenasyou.com/) released by Palmar Press. She lives in California and spends her time writing and running AFTA Associates, an organization she started that supports wildlife conservation through community enterprise.

It turns out dogs are not only good for our health; finding missing people; and helping disabled people live independent lives – they’re good for kids’ report cards, too!

Canines have been found to improve the immune system and reduce blood pressure, among other health benefits. They help rescuers and law officers, blind people and those with limited use of their hands and arms. Now we have another reason to celebrate man’s best friend.

Dogs not only help children learn to read, they help children learn to love reading. And that’s true of for children with and without learning disabilities.

A Minnesota pilot project called PAWSitive Readers finds that trained therapy dogs helped 10 of 14 grade-school participants improve their reading skills by one grade level. Additionally, a University of California study showed that children who read to the family dog improved their ability by an average of 12 percent.

Below are five reasons why dogs help kids learn to love reading:

• No embarrassment: Most of us have memories of reading out loud in class. Though we may have been proficient readers, the fear of stumbling on a word in front of everyone was a constant source of anxiety. Dogs are excellent for unconditional, nonjudgmental love; they won’t laugh if and when mistakes happen.

• Confidence boosters: I never had a dog while growing up, which is too bad because I think I would have had an easier time gaining self-confidence. As an adult, I discovered the many benefits of dogs through our very special Maltese, Shellie. She’s often the center of attention in our community at pet-friendly restaurants, where she laps her water out of a martini glass. And she has a full-time job as the greeter at my wife Linda’s hair and nail salon. If a little dog can give me, a grown man, more confidence, imagine what it can do for kids.

• Polite listeners: Like humans, dogs are social creatures and most enjoy the sound of a calm voice speaking to them. Many – except perhaps the most energetic breeds – seem to enjoy curling up on a rug and listening to a story being read aloud. They don’t interrupt (except for the occasional ear scratch or to sniff a body part) and they often show appreciation for the attention.

• A fun approach to schoolwork: Too often, when children think of studying, they think of time spent hunched over a desk struggling alone to work out problems and memorize lists. Interacting with a lovable, fuzzy friend for an hour of homework is an appealing alternative.

• Win-win: A canine-student reading program is a great way to help service dogs-in-training learn patience and discipline. Dogs are trained to help veterans suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, the blind, and people who use wheelchairs, among others. These dogs in training help children, while children improve a dog’s service abilities.

Michael Amiri and Linda Amiri, coauthors of the children’s book, “Shellie, the Magical Dog“ (www.shelliethemagicaldog.com). Michael Amiri grew up in New York City and became an actor in local theater productions and television commercials. Linda Amiri is an entrepreneur, the owner of a successful hair and nail salon. Their personality-plus Maltese, Shellie, is a popular community character, who puts in a full day of work every day as a greeter at her “mom’s” salon. She’s the inspiration for the first in a series of children’s books that will address topics and issues of concern to children.

If you have children you’re trying to prepare for the real world, it’s hard to know what to tell them anymore. Get good grades? Go to college? Find a job with a good company and you’ll be rewarded? This may be the advice your parents gave you and, hopefully, it paid off. But the words don’t ring true anymore. College degrees are a dime a dozen, new grads are moving back home burdened with six-figure debt, and the gold-watch jobs are a relic of another age.

If you’re teaching your kids to follow the old formula, you’re doing them a huge disservice. We’ve entered the age of the entrepreneur, and only those who have the right mindset and skill set will thrive.

I’m not saying every young person will end up starting his own business, although I do believe it’s the best path to financial freedom and a rewarding life. What I am saying is that even if he does get a job or enter a profession, employers will expect him to work and think like an entrepreneur.

Yes, the world has fundamentally changed, and those who blindly pursue the rules of an earlier time will be left behind. That means parents must start teaching kids how to think about working and building wealth in a profoundly different way. (Here’s a hint: Babysitting jobs and savings accounts won’t cut it any longer.)

As a former car dealership manager who made the leap to entrepreneurship and motivational speaking, I am teaching my 16-year-old son the ropes of real estate investing. Greg Junior is on track to amass a net worth of a million dollars by the time he starts college.

Teaching kids the basics of entrepreneurship is not a radical notion. It’s a necessity. The more we narrate the mindset and the skills of entrepreneurship to our kids—and even better, let them experience the reality for themselves—the more comfortable they’ll be when they’re ready to enter the working world as adults.

Teaching these foundational skills is not optional if we want our children to be able to maintain even a minimal standard of living.

There are certain fundamental truths parents need to teach their kids about being an entrepreneur. Here are some of the most important (keeping in mind that their appropriateness may depend on the ages of your kids):

Mindset matters. The old path to success—get good grades, go to college, get a good job, work hard for 40 years, and retire comfortably—no longer works in a flat global economy. Even if your children manage to find a “good job” (and there are fewer and fewer of them), the income it yields may not be enough to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. Multiple streams of income will be necessary—having all three types: earned, passive, and portfolio is important to stress—and kids need to get their minds around this reality now.

It’s critical that kids learn how to think about money in a new way. Teach them that the old paradigm of getting paid for your time is no longer adequate. What happens if the job ends or you can’t work anymore or the pay isn’t enough to cover the bills?

You might explain the benefits of, say, investing in a gumball machine. Say, ‘While you’re at school or some other part-time job, the machines are sitting there making money for you.’ Time is more valuable than money—this is the entire basis for the argument for passive income, and children can understand it.

Of course, the entrepreneurial mindset isn’t just about wealth building. It’s also about being able to find fresh solutions to problems no one has ever thought to solve, to figure out how what you offer can be applied to new markets, and to team up with other people in such a way that everyone wins.

Opportunity is everywhere. Develop a nose for finding it. As a parent, it’s up to you to point out opportunities as you see them. If you’re at a golf tournament in July you can say, “Wouldn’t this be a great place to sell ice water, sunscreen, and hats?” Or if your child is talking about how no one at afterschool daycare can ever seem to get their homework done, you might say, “Wouldn’t it be great to start a business where high school students come to afterschool daycares to tutor younger kids?” Ask them how they think such a business might work. Do this regularly and before you know it, kids will be thinking up ideas on their own.

Your brand will create the foundation for your business. Depending on their ages, your kids may or may not be familiar with the word “brand.” But explain to them that, basically, it comes down to what they want to be known for. Neatness? Friendliness? Trustworthiness? Then, start a dialogue on how to make that happen—and how to avoid doing things that might tear down that brand.

Let’s say your child is a babysitter and wants to be known for dependability. Talk through what that means: Always show up on time, for instance. Don’t chat on the phone while you’re supposed to be watching the kids. And don’t cancel unless it’s absolutely necessary—and wanting to go to a cool party you just heard about isn’t a good excuse. Let the customer down just once and all your hard work was for nothing.

You need a differentiator. Help your kids determine what makes their business different and explain how it will bring them more business. Maybe they offer an exceptional level of personal service. Maybe they cater to a certain group or meet a particular need. Maybe they’re eco-friendly. Help kids talk through what makes them different and better. Ask them how they might play up their differentiator and use it to get themselves seen in a crowded marketplace.

If your son is a dog walker, he might always wear a ‘uniform’ with his name on the pocket. It will make him seem more professional and trustworthy to people worried about turning their beloved pet over to a teenager. Or if your daughter is a babysitter, she might always bring a fresh batch of homemade cookies or a selection of fun DVDs to the house. The kids will specifically ask for her.

Know the value of marketing. Having a great business idea is one thing. Telling people about it is another. Help kids figure out ways to maximize their exposure without spending a ton of money (which they probably don’t have) or turning off potential customers with a hard sell approach. Teach them to introduce themselves and talk about their business when it’s appropriate: “I heard you mention your dog, Buster. I wanted to let you know I have a pet sitting business if you ever need that.”

Specifically, you might work with them to develop several “scripts” (elevator speeches) about their business to use in a variety of settings. Also, help them create some simple business cards to hand out.

Sometimes you have to give something away up-front. Explain that before people will be willing to pay for your product or service, they need a taste of how great it is just to get their attention. That might mean giving out a free sample of their homemade salsa or offering a free hour of math tutoring to new customers.

The trick is always learning how much to give away without giving away the farm. This is a balancing act that will need to be walked again and again throughout an entrepreneur’s life. Read More

End of summer and back-to-school. A time millions of parents anticipate and also dread, because they know they will face hours of assisting their son or daughter with their homework. It’s possible some of the parents have been told that their child has a learning difference like dyslexia, but other students may not have been diagnosed. As one mom said, “As far back as kindergarten, my son struggled to read. As his assignments got more difficult, the pain on his face grew… along with his frustration.”  “Words stuck in my head,” added her son. “I didn’t understand why my friends could read and I couldn’t.”

Other parents assist their children with reading because their sons and daughters can’t read print due to a physical disability or visual impairment. One family worried for years about their sophomore in a wheelchair with learning and physical challenges. Aides lugged heavy books through the school halls.

The frustration and confusion for these parents builds up over the years. They seek answers but can’t find them. One mom described her struggle, “I felt helpless and cried a lot and so did he. I quit my job when he was behind grade level by four years. I was determined to find the right tools and strategies to minimize his despair and help other families dealing with the same challenge.”

Does your child want to read Harry Potter or the Twilight series if they could?

These parents found Bookshare, a free (funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs) online library of digital books and free software to use to read the books. The library has over 150,000 books including textbooks, popular literature, teacher-recommended reading, reference books, as well as books on any topic your child might be interested in.

Already, over 200,000 students are reading digital books; these books help students read independently and perform better in school. Many students who didn’t like reading become readers! To see how it works, listen to the words of one 8th grade student, who says:

• “You feel smart.

• You know you are going to do well on tests; it’s easy to get a good grade.

• Bookshare will really help because you can listen to it and read it at the same time.

• I didn’t understand the book, but with Bookshare it’s much easier to know what’s going on. Read More

From apple and aguacate, to zucchini and zarzamora, “Healthy Foods from A to Z / Comida sana de la A a la Z” is an innovative bilingual book (English/Spanish) that will delight children, parents, students and teachers alike.

Designed to inspire young children to eat healthy foods–as well as learn their ABCs–this book features 18 charming faces that depict a range of emotions young children can understand. Each face engages a child into the world of healthy eating, is artfully composed of foods beginning with a specific letter of the alphabet and is surrounded on both sides with small food icons that make up the face. These icons are identified by vocabulary in both languages and include some of the most nutritious fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy and soy products available today.

With the help of a parent or teacher, a second part of the book allows children to interact in a tactile manner with the foods themselves by encouraging them to create their own food faces and follow simple instructions with a sample sketch. Additional food activities involving art, language, science and math are suggested for home or class participation. You can make a game out of finding a specific food in a face or pick a new food item from the book and fix it for snack or dinner! You can also taste some new foods and discuss whether you like them or not at home or in the classroom! You can even compare what people from different cultures eat! Just food for thought and stimulating conversation for young children.

The back of the book is reserved for older kids and adults (or adults reading to younger children) with short captions and small photos describing some of the origins and nutritional benefits of 70 super foods–with special emphasis on their vitamin content and their impact on one’s health. For example, did you know that strawberries are a member of the rose family and have been cultivated since Roman times? Did you also know that they can lower bad cholesterol and high blood pressure–in additional to being tasty?

“Healthy Foods from A to Z / Comida sana de la A a la Z” is sure to put a smile on the faces of children and their parents (and teachers) as they learn new words, new facts, and discover new delicious foods in the English and Spanish-speaking world. The interactive pages and lovely illustrations by well-known Washington, D.C-based food photographer Renée Comet will invite children to visit the book over and over again.

Stephanie Maze, Project Editor of the award-winning MOMENTS IN THE WILD series in English & Spanish, also produced the acclaimed I WANT TO BE… series about careers published by Harcourt Brace Children’s Books. In 1998, this series earned a place on VOYA’s Nonfiction Honor list, and two of the titles, “I Want To Be A Veterinarian” and “I Want To Be An Engineer” were named “Outstanding Science Trade Books” by the National Science Teachers Association and the Children’s Book Council. A third title, “I Want To Be A Chef”, received a starred review in School Library Journal in 1999.