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

In an increasingly competitive global market, education is becoming more important. But many families find the cost of education to be outside their grasp. According to a study commissioned by the US Department of Education, from the 2001-02 to the 2010-11 academic year, the cost of attending a 4-year undergraduate in-state school rose by 47.3 percent.

With ever-increasing education expenses, many families are accumulating significant debt, putting students further behind. However, with planning and financial management, students can control their finances. Here are some tips for parents of soon-to-be college students.

Start the conversation. Talk with other parents, teachers and guidance counselors about the cost of education. Make contact with the student financial aid offices of the colleges on your child’s list and get an accurate estimate of the cost of each institute. Most importantly, talk with your child. It is imperative your child learns the budgeting process as they will soon be managing their finances away from home.

Set the budget and stick to it. Once you have a set budget, add wiggle room for other unforeseeable expenses. Make sure you set this budget realistically. Calculating the cost of pens and pencils may seem ludicrous, but if you’re on a tight budget, every expense counts.

Get connected. Tracking your financial spending is easier than ever. From smart phone apps to free financial planning software, you can get an accurate financial report at any time. Research banks to determine which ones offer services to help you can stay on top of your budget. Also, consider linking your banking account with your child’s, to easily transfer funds online.

Make a plan. When taking on debt, it is important to have a plan for paying it off. Calculate the monthly payments and time it will take your child to pay off the debt. Research salary ranges for the field in which your child plans to pursue a career to understand the debt they can realistically carry. Find more information and calculators to help determine payment schedules and interest rates at www.direct.ed.gov.

Do your research. Before taking out a student loan, look to other options, such as financial aid and scholarships. While some scholarships are awarded on academic merit, others are given based upon both academic performance and community service. Foresters, a life insurance provider committed to the well-being of families and their communities, is one organization that provides a competitive scholarship program open to eligible members or their dependent children, including grandchildren, worth up to $8,000.

Recipients can use the scholarship to attend accredited universities, colleges and vocational schools, as long as they are pursuing their first post-secondary degree or diploma. There are up to 350 Foresters Competitive Scholarships available, in the US and Canada including five Ken Peterson Awards for Community Service. These awards are worth up to $11,000.

Learn more about the scholarship opportunities awarded by Foresters at www.foresters.com/membership/scholarships.asp.

Did you know the average human can recognize 10,000 scents? Have you ever considered how directly your sense of smell is connected to cueing your emotions? It’s for this reason, technically coined “associative learning,” that the fragrances around us can impact our mood and performance.

Consider the feelings that just thinking about freshly-laundered towels, pumpkin pie, a crackling campfire, the salty ocean or baby powder evoke in you. For many people these strong scents trigger distinct memories or evoke a sentiment that can linger for hours. The same is true for the strong scent of a clean home.

Smell is different from other senses because it is connected to the olfactory cortex, the part of the brain responsible for emotions and memory. In patients with dementia, schizophrenia or Alzheimer’s, medical experts can measure their sense of smell as one of the earliest indicators of change. As humans we tend to think of smell as one of our weaker senses, but the fact is it is far more connected to our performance than we might imagine.

Boosting Study Time with a Clean Home

A study shows that children who perform better at school almost always identify their homes with scents associated with clean. What is a “clean home” smell? That depends on what era you grew up in. During the 50s most people associated a clean home with a strong bleach scent. In the decades since then there has been a plethora of citrus and floral scented room freshening cleaners on the market. Generally speaking, when many people think of a clean smell, they think of Pine-Sol cleaner.

The study of nearly 5,000 high school students, conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch and the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, found top performing students (those with grade averages of A and B) overwhelmingly – 84 percent – used words like “lemony, minty or clean” to describe the smell of their childhood homes. More than one-third (34 percent) of lower performing students (average of C or below) associated negative smells – urine, fecal matter or mold – with their homes.

“A clean smelling home is just one component to the overall picture of how parents can provide a healthy and stimulating family environment, and help their children improve self-esteem and have a more positive learning experience,” said Charmaine Hussain, marketing manager for Pine-Sol brand cleaners. “We are excited by this research, as it really shows that there is a higher order need for cleaning. It’s not just about a clean house – it’s about the powerful difference parents can make in the lives of their children.”

“What this study tells me is that there is a strong correlation between the memory of a clean-smelling home and academic success,” added Dr. Hirsch. “If you are in a home that has clean, pleasant aromas, it will promote success by enhancing harmony in the household.” According to Hirsch, the brain makes similar associations about the “smell” of other situations and experiences from your past, and the effect plays out in your mood in the present. Read More

I was asked recently to be an expert for an HLN story involving an 8 year old boy in Ohio. This boy is morbidly obese tipping the scales at 218 pounds. The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) took the boy into foster care after they felt the mother was unable to follow through with appropriate measures prescribed for the boy to lose weight.

The mother’s defense was that she was going to school in addition to working as an elementary teacher. She felt that she could not monitor the child at all times. Apparently family members and friends were sneaking food to the boy. DCFS reported that they had worked with mom for a year and saw no improvement.

The Ohio State Health Department estimates that more than 12 percent of third graders statewide (Ohio) are severely obese. That could mean as many as 1,380 kids in Cuyahoga County alone. This story is the first time anyone could recall a child being taken from a parent strictly due to weight-related issues.

To consider the idea that the state can handle this issue by removing an obese child from the home and placing him in foster care is not only absurd but dangerous to the development of children. Most likely there will not be enough foster homes and even if there were, will the parents in those homes be able to handle the issues an obese child struggles with? According to recent polls, one out of every three children is morbidly obese. This is not a child crisis; instead, this is a family crisis. In this situation, the child suffered from sleep apnea, which meant he was hooked up to a machine at night which monitors and assists his breathing. Many obese children suffer asthma, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, anxiety, and depression.

Obesity certainly has genetic components but to simply throw your hands in the air with complete surrender to fate is not being a responsible parent. Taking a child away from the family he knows and loves borders on cruelty. Removal of a child from his/her home should only be done as a last resort to protect that child from imminent harm (the child in this case had no other medical conditions except for sleep apnea). Many times removing a child from their home is experienced so intensely by the child that they would resort to food even more as the only thing they could control. Depression, anxiety, and a heightened loss of self-esteem may be the result.

What are we telling a child if we allow them to be taken from us, because we were not able to change our lives enough to help him? I make it clear to all of the parents I work with that if you have a morbidly obese child it takes a family to support them with a healthy lifestyle. There can be no enablers and “good guys” or “bad guys” with offering the child unhealthy foods or a lifestyle conducive to obesity. Read More

The allure of traveling abroad to study and experience other cultures continues to grow for teens across the country. U.S. student participation in study abroad programs has more than doubled over the last decade, according to the Institute of International Education.

While traveling abroad is an exciting opportunity for students, parents often have concerns over safety.

“As travel safety experts with nearly 50 years of experience, we work diligently to ensure the safety of every student and leader in every program,” said Mike Bowers, Senior Health and Safety Director for People to People Ambassador Programs. “We understand the concerns and we are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable educational experience for all program participants.”

Bowers has reviewed years of travel data to understand the most common safety issues as a leader in travel safety. Learn more at www.peopletopeople.com/safety.

Pack Common Sense

• Ask yourself – would I do this at home? If the answer is no, rethink your actions.

• Get some rest. You can have a good time without staying out too late – the more rested you are, the more likely you are to be aware of and safe in your surroundings.

• Always travel with a buddy – traveling alone can make you a mark for thieves.

Scope Out Your Surroundings

• Be knowledgeable about your destination. Visit Centers for Disease Control travel websites and other online resources before you travel. Check out hotels and inns before you decide to stay there.

• Go ahead, travel like a native, but be cautious when using public transportation. Crowds make it easier for pick-pocketers. Always keep your money and identification on your person in multiple locations.

• If you see the same person three times in different locations it could mean you are being targeted, and you should find a safer place. Read More

From the time children drop their first few coins into a piggy bank, they are ready to learn about setting savings goals and making smart spending decisions. While kids may struggle with giving up a candy bar today in order to save for a video game purchase next month, the lesson of saving becomes directly applicable to them.

But the bite of inflation? The wisdom of diversifying savings? Can a third grader understand these concepts?

The experts say yes, and the sooner parents start imparting these lessons, the more effective they will be in helping children grow into financially responsible young adults. The trick is to take advantage of teachable “money moments” that happen every day – such as when you go to the bank or the grocery store – to help children understand complex concepts in kid-friendly terms.

When a son questions his mother’s refusal to buy a toy she says the family cannot afford, the mother has the perfect opportunity to teach the son a money lesson about making choices. She can explain that purchasing that specific toy means there is less money to be used for future purchases, such as buying a bicycle or a video game the son has on his wish list.

Another example would be if a daughter asks her father why the family can’t fly instead of driving a great distance for the family vacation. This question presents an opportunity to explain spending tradeoffs the daughter can understand. For example, the amount required for airline tickets may mean the vacation budget can’t allow for swimming with dolphins or a visit to the amusement park.

“If children are included in family financial discussions, such as planning for a fun vacation or purchasing a high-cost toy, then parents can begin to place daily spending decisions in a context their child will understand,” says Stuart Ritter, CFP, a family financial expert with T. Rowe Price, and father of three. “Teaching children to set savings goals and make decisions about money that align with those goals is much easier when the discussion is concrete rather than abstract.”

Inflation and diversification may be more difficult for children to grasp. In fact, some adults may have trouble defining these concepts. Simple explanations may work, such as explaining that college will cost a lot more several years from today, which means saving and investing differently for that goal than one would for a smaller item, such as a skateboard to be purchased in six months.

A complementary approach is to introduce children to games that teach basic money lessons. One example is the game “The Great Piggy Bank Adventure” at www.GreatPiggyBankAdventure.com. T. Rowe Price collaborated with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online to produce this free online board game, which conveys basic financial concepts in a way that is fun and easy for kids to understand.

To extend the lessons from the game, parents can also download a free “Journey to Your Dream Goal” activity book from www.FamilyFinancialHub.com. Puzzles, games, and tricky challenges help guide kids through the process of making smart financial decisions.

To get your child started with saving and money lessons, visit www.FamilyFinancialHub.com.

High school seniors who excel in the classroom, on the field and in the community – who start their day off right with nutrient-rich milk – could be eligible to win college scholarship money.

The National Milk Mustache “got milk?” Campaign, in partnership with USA TODAY, is calling for entries in the 15th annual Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award program. The SAMMY Awards recognize 25 outstanding high school senior student athletes who represent excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership who make the most of their days by grabbing nutrient-rich milk with breakfast.

The scholarship helps educate teens and families on the value of making smart choices – like starting their day with a nutrient rich breakfast, drinking lowfat milk, and maximizing their potential to achieving great things both on and off the sports field.

Twenty-five accomplished teens will receive a $7,500 college scholarship, attend an awards ceremony with celebrity guests at Disney World, and be pictured in a special Milk Mustache ad in USA TODAY.

“Students who start every morning with milk truly reap the rewards all day long,” said Vivien Godfrey, chief executive officer of the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” campaign. “That’s why we are excited to reward these students for their successes in academics, athletics and community service. Breakfast with milk helps set the tone for the day and is a healthy habit that provides much needed nutrients.”

This year’s winners will be selected by a celebrity panel of Milk Mustache role models, including Dara Torres, Chauncey Billups and other Milk Mustache alumni.

“As a judge I’m looking for exceptional students that have formed healthy habits to help fuel their successes. Starting the day with milk is one healthy habit I know I can count on,” said mother, Milk Mustache athlete and gold-medal winner Dara Torres. “Whether it’s a glass of white milk to nourish at breakfast or chocolate milk to help refuel their bodies after a tough workout, no other beverage plays so many roles.”

To date, the National Milk Mustache “got milk?” Campaign has supported 350 talented high school seniors with nearly $2.5 million in scholarships over the program’s 15 year history.

High school seniors who are interested in applying for the 2012 SAMMY Awards program should visit www.facebook.com/MilkMustache. All applicants are asked to describe in 250 words or less how milk with breakfast helps them reach their fullest potential in academics, athletics, community service and leadership. Entries must be submitted no later than March 9, 2012.

When looking for ideas and inspiration to create meaningful family time, it helps to get advice from those in the know – other families.

Whether it’s finding ways to bring everyone to the dinner table or delivering a dose of sunshine to a rainy day, it sometimes takes a dash of clever to overcome obstacles like busy schedules to create quality family time. To celebrate the everyday ingenuity that happens in homes nationwide, the Kenmore brand has launched Genius Tips – a creative collection of real-life, inspirational ideas from families across the country. Anyone can be inspired by – and add to – the ideas and solutions that are meant to celebrate the many ways Americans bring their families together.

Here are three Genius Tips for making family time happen in new ways:

Create fun dinner table topics. Play “high, low” around the dinner table by asking each person to share the “high” point of the day as well as the “low” point. This ensures you know what’s happening in each other’s lives and can be a great way to laugh, offer advice and support one another. Even if your family shares one meal together a week because of hectic schedules, this tip ensures your connections continue to grow and be strengthened.

Establish no tech hour. Unplug from the digital world and reconnect. Take a cue from airlines and designate anything with an on/off switch as off limits for an hour – especially for mom and dad. During that hour, break out board games, read together, or go for a family walk. Let everyone come up with ideas for fun things to do together.

Bake some memories. Get everyone involved to bake some delicious treats for sharing. Keep it simple and use refrigerated cookie dough slices the kids can decorate, or make a batch of your favorite boxed brownies. Step up the family fun by trying to recreate some of Grandma’s homemade recipes. Either way, spending time together in the kitchen creates treasured family memories and something delicious.

Have these ideas sparked some of your own? Family time, among other Genius categories such as designing on a dime, staying energized throughout the day or even keeping your kids’ rooms organized, are all available to learn from and add to at www.facebook.com/Kenmore. Beyond learning and sharing, your ideas could win some great prizes.

To enter, participants are asked to submit an idea in the category of their choice and every month, the idea with the most Facebook community votes is awarded a $3,000 Kenmore gift certificate. Quarterly, an independent panel of judges will select the top idea to be in the running for the ultimate prize – a trip to Chicago to have your Genius Tip featured in an upcoming Kenmore advertisement. Share your Genius Tip today!

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children view around 40,000 television commercials per year. Most are for high-calorie snacks and sugared cereals. Research has shown that these ads lead children to ask for more junk food, which may be contributing to the fact that today around a third of the nation’s children are considered overweight or obese (a rate that has more than tripled in the last three decades). Further, it is reported that teens ages 14-18 are consuming an average of 34 teaspoons of sugar per day.

Parents may be surprised by just how much influence there is for kids to eat unhealthily. This is why it is so important for parents, educators and other adults to make an ongoing effort to get kids to make healthier eating decisions.

The good news is that there are things that people can do in order to help teach children to make healthier choices. Here are five ways to help do just that:

1. Get them involved. Children who have fun and are involved are more likely to remember the information. The more kids are involved, the more they will get out of the experience. To learn about healthy food and nutrition, they can help garden, plan and prepare meals, etc. A fun way to do this is to give the child $5 to spend in the produce department, or at the farmers market, on fruits or vegetables of their choice – without any complaint or influence from the parents, which is the key. Let the child explore and learn. No matter what they pick out, the parent can find a healthy recipe so they can prepare it together.

2. Teach them. Even younger children can learn about what is healthy and not, label reading, and making healthy choices. Take the time to teach children why making healthy food choices is a better route, teach them how to read labels, etc.

3. Snack healthy. Children usually need a couple of snacks to keep them going throughout the day. The CDC recommends that kids keep snacks to under 100 calories and it is ideal to have those snacks be low-fat and low-sugar. Help kids learn to identify healthier snack options when they see them, such as fruits and vegetables, yogurt, granola bars, and baked chips.

4. Be a role model. One of the most important things that parents can do in order to get their kids to eat healthier is to model healthy eating habits. When parents eat healthy, they are demonstrating to their children the ideal way to eat. Consistently modeling this, over time, will influence children, even if it is years later.

5. Influence change. Work with school administrators and others to influence healthy changes. For example, work with your school to get healthier snacks and lunch options on campus, and work with local legislators to place limits on junk food commercials on television.

The more that parents make an effort to focus on healthier food options for their kids, the likelier the kids are to become willing participants. When we look at what is happening with health issues in this country, there is just no getting around this problem. We have to create a healthier eating environment for our children, whether at home, at school, or at a recreation center.

Jolly Backer, the chief executive officer of Fresh Healthy Vending (www.freshvending.com). Fresh Healthy Vending is a company that aims to help bring healthier food options to children across the country. Their healthy vending machines have been placed in over 800 locations around the nation and in Canada, including in schools, hospitals, and corporate centers. Each vending machine is dual-climate controlled and filled with all-healthy food options, including healthy drinks, fresh fruits and vegetables, protein and granola bars, yogurt, and baked crackers and chips.

Moms and Dads, you have fewer than twelve days to wrap up that Christmas shopping. You can’t afford that iPad 2 any more than twelve lords ‘a leaping, but you don’t want to disappoint Junior when he unwraps Santa’s offerings. Just how much is this day going to cost you?

In 2009, Christmas gift shopping averaged nearly $700 per person, according to the National Retail Federation — and numbers have only increased since then. In short, this holiday can send us into serious debt if we’re not realistic with our budgets. We’d all like to be that person who thoughtfully buys gifts on sale throughout the year, but most of us are staring dumbly at our checking account a week and a half out wondering what to do.

Take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. Get to work with these eight thrifty shopping (and swapping) tips and start a new Christmas tradition this year: staying in-budget.

1. Comb Craigslist.

If you’re new to Christmas with kids, I’ll let you in on a little secret: the preschool crowd doesn’t know a new toy from a used one. You’ll need to assemble all bikes, doll houses and train tables the night before anyway, so just find the beloved, sought after toy and buy it for less than half the cost on Craigslist from someone across town. Princess will love it just as much.

2. Check out online buys with free shipping.

Your favorite retailers have banded together–much like they do on the ominous Black Friday and Cyber Monday frenzies–to push Free Shipping Day, one of the last days to order online for delivery by Christmas Eve. So you’ll not only be treated to a host of free shipping offers, but many sales to go along with them.

3. Make your spending equitable.

Whatever amount you allocated for gifts, try to divide it appropriately for each child. Maybe one child receives two smaller gifts as opposed to the more expensive gift her brother got. Even if the dollar amount isn’t fair, the coolness factor needs to be equal. Younger children don’t analyze the amount spent as much as older children do.

4. Sell some older toys first.

It goes without saying that most children in the U.S. have too much stuff to start with. Add eighteen Christmas and birthday extravaganzas to the mix and you’ve got a packrat on your hands. Have your children select at least three or four playthings they don’t use anymore and try to get cash for them at a children’s resale store. Use the cash to buy one or two new gifts.

5. Focus on family fun activities rather than gifts.

Maybe your Christmas morning needs to be focused away from wrapped presents under the tree. Have several family-fun activities lined up for the day, not only to make great Christmas memories, but also to detract from opening presents. If money is tight this year, you can still make and decorate cookies on a dime, as well as craft some awesome ornaments.

6. Make this Christmas a service holiday.

Pull all the stops and radically transform your Christmas! Whether you are financially able to buy gifts for your family this Christmas or not, take your family out to serve meals or volunteer for a local organization. You will make some of the best, lasting memories by giving rather than getting.

7. Wrap “unconventional” toys.

Ever wonder why Junior gets a brand new toy and just wants to play with the box? John Rosemond, psychologist and author of “Making the Terrible Twos Terrific,” has strong opinions about it. “Generally speaking, many store-bought toys are fairly worthless,” he says in a Baby Zone article, and most seasoned parents would agree. Junior is playing with the box because it truly is the most interesting part of the gift. Find as many odd boxes, containers and utensils from your house and wrap them up for your littlest ones.

8. Find a parent in your same situation and toy swap.

Package up three of your child’s better toys and exchange the same number with a like-minded friend. Make sure the toys are fairly newish looking to avert any suspicion. Since Junior wants that train set at his friend’s house, it’s exactly what he’ll see under the tree. Check out other organized sites with more variety like Toy Swap.

Ashley Grimaldo comes from a long line of penny pinchers and enjoys blogging on money-saving tips and advice for frugal-minded parents. She lives with her husband and three children in Bryan, Texas. Ashley has been featured among such media outlets as Redbook, The Chicago Tribune, Time.com, and CBS News-Houston.

For the 21 million Americans ages 15 to 44 impacted by depression each year, the holidays can be overwhelming with extra responsibilities, expectations and stress.   While many are filled with cheer and goodwill toward others and hopes for the new year, for others, this is a time of sadness, depression and loneliness, and a time of family or financial stress.  Every day is a fight to cope with or overcome the holiday blues.

Switchboard of Miami, Inc., the area’s leading provider of telephone counseling, information, referral and crisis intervention services, is available to provide support and guidance to those grappling with such challenges during the holiday season — and every day — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.   A team of trained counselors provides assistance in English, Spanish and Creole and other languages as well to those calling 305-358-HELP or 2-1-1. All services are provided confidentially and anonymously without charge to the caller.

To help combat the “blues,” these tips are offered:

1. Keep Healthy. Avoid alcohol or substance use, which can lead to further, deepened depression. Try to avoid eating too many cookies, candies, cakes, etc. Such sugar binges can create feelings of lethargy, similar to an emotional crash. Take a walk. Go to the beach. Listen to music.

2. Enjoy the moment. If opportunities arise to talk to family members or friends about challenges, then talk about the solutions instead of just focusing on the negative sides of situations. Do not wallow in the what-if’s of yesterday.

3. Maintain a holiday budget. While gift giving is fun, going beyond one’s means may backfire with depression when the bill arrives later.

4. Try to get over it. Holding resentments is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Look at what can be done before family gatherings to let go of the tension. Clearing emotional space will make for a more pleasant time with those family members.

5. Explore your spirituality. Visit a house of worship or a non-denominational gathering to gain some perspective and think beyond your own issues.

6. Acknowledge your feelings. The healing process begins when you admit that your emotions are creating issues. Then pick up the phone and call for help.

Switchboard of Miami, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the State of Florida. Last year, Switchboard answered nearly 170,000 calls, reassured 700 seniors who live alone and helped 5,000 youth make better life choices.