3 More Things You Can Do to Improve Your Children's Grades

In a previous post I emphasized the importance of being firm, yet encouraging, communicating effectively, and letting the children play as an important parenting style in helping your children to improve their grades. 

Now, here are 3 more things you can do:

1. Praise your children. Low-key support, such as praise and encouragement, works better than material rewards or big, exaggerated emotional responses. Creating rewards and punishments is not effective because children become more concerned with them than with their schoolwork.

Try to help them understand that though they may not always enjoy what they're doing, it's important that they persevere. There is an exception, however, to low-key support.

When a child's grades are very poor, stronger intervention is necessary. The school and parents should work together to find out what is causing the low grades and take steps to correct the problem. You must keep in constant contact with the school to demonstrate your concern. Don't wait for them to contact you if you sense a problem.

2. Don't overreact. If your children bring home poor report cards, don't get visibly upset because this will only worsen the situation. Your distress will upset your children more and this will lead to poorer grades over time. Follow the guidelines listed here and in the previous post.


3. Don't be too responsible. When all is said and done, you can't control everything that happens to your children. There are many factors beyond your reach that may influence school performance. Your children's friends, teachers, and neighborhood all have an impact. Don't take too much responsibility for what goes wrong. You have a responsibility to try to help your children do the best they can in school, but you are not responsible for the results.


What would you like to add? Leave your comments below.

The 3 Things Every Woman Should Know About Social Security and What to Do About It

Ida May Fuller, the first recipient (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 
Now with your Social Security taxes going up by 2%, it's important for you to understand that you don't own your Social Security plan, the politicians do. That's why Obama was able to manipulate it. Not only that, the Social Security system is already paying out more than it is taking in. By any and all acceptable financial standards, it is already bankrupt.

Moreover, it ought to be unacceptable to you that federal, state, and local government workers have a far better retirement plan that you have under the Social Security system. Learn the difference between a defined benefit retirement plan and a  defined contribution plan. More on this in a later post.

Now, Social Security is sometimes mistakenly referred to as retirement insurance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

When you begin to recognize that it isn't retirement insurance, and is in fact a Ponzi scheme and one that Bernie Madoff would love, you can demand that your politicians change the laws whereby you can have a choice of either participating in the Social Security system or having a personal retirement plan that you actually own. 

For women, especially, Social Security is a bad deal. Here are three reasons.

1. Suppose you have been married at least nine years and 11 months, been supportive to your husband through good times and bad times, but the relationship deteriorates and you get a divorce. Since you were married to him for less than ten years, you would not be eligible for survivor's benefits when he passes away.

2. Suppose you had a long and satisfactory marriage and you both retire and begin receiving Social Security benefits, when he passes away you are faced with a dilemma. You can receive either your benefits or his, but not both. Your government has just confiscated your benefits you have worked a lifetime for with without you being given recourse - a totally unacceptable situation.

3. And, suppose you have been single woman all your life, retire and then begin receiving Social Security benefits. If you have been working in a non-professional job, you will have benefits that would be less than the national average. However if your counterpart is a stay-at-home wife married to a professional husband, she will receive 50% of his benefits while he receives 100%. Moreover, when he passes away, she will receive his 100% while never having worked. It is without question that she will have higher benefits than you will as a single woman who worked all your life.

It is clear that the Social Security system discriminates against women as it allocates a significant percentage of women to a poverty existence. This policy need to be addressed both on the political and on a personal level. I stated earlier what you should do on the political level. However, on a personal level, you need to choose the most secure and reliable investment for your funds after your employer has deducted Social Security payments from your paycheck.

I suggest strongly that you consider life insurance with a cash value buildup. This can be a whole life plan or a universal life plan. The key points are that the cash value is guaranteed and builds up tax free. That means that the politicians can’t get their hands on it. You should buy as large a face amount that you afford so that your beneficiaries can receive a tax-free estate if you pass away before retirement. Investing in the stock market or in an annuity are other options, but with either of these options, you have a tax exposure and comparatively little or no remaining estate.

For Single Parent Families - Three Steps for Dealing With the Holiday Blues

Holiday blues can easily become a factor in bad economic times for single parent families and for single parents specifically with no spouse to talk to and no one with whom to share enjoyable activities.

Guilt feelings can also arise if you see others buying gifts for their children and you are unable to do so.

Or maybe you're just not be able to buy what you would like your children to have. However, these feelings, especially the blues, need to be identified for what they are - a negative way of thinking about your current situation instead of reframing the situation to your and your children's advantage.

Instead of allowing your children to complain about what other parents are buying their children, as a single parent, take the children aside and make sure they understand the true values of the Holiday Season which includes Christmas and the embarking on a New Year.

1. A first step is to help the children understand that the Christmas Season is not just for giving, but also for receiving. Giving can be demonstrated by getting in contact with elderly family members and neighbors and making their holidays pleasurable by creating simple Christmas cards and sending it to them, offering to go to the store for them or with them, or asking them if they need help in setting up their Christmas tree or decorating their home.
2. A second step is to activate your social support network. If you haven't talked with your friends, relatives, or neighbors in the last two weeks, do so now. Find out what they are doing for the Holidays. Maybe they're going to some parties that you can get invited to.
3. And, the third step is to take some time and identify several low-cost or no-cost fun activities that both you and your children can engage in. In every major city there are several museums and almost every one of them have several free days during the year. Chances are there will be some free days during the Christmas Season. Also consider the local park districts. They are already supported by your taxes and many have activities for both adults and children such as volleyball, basketball, roller skating, and ice skating.

In summary, reframe your thinking about the Holiday Season. View it as a time for both giving and receiving.

Give the little things, a card, a helping hand, a phone call, and receive the thanks and appreciation from those you have given to.

Look for the simple activities that you can enjoy both at home and away with your children. And plan for the coming year. Decide how different you want it to be and begin to make it so.



Share your simple activities that you enjoy at home with your children during the Holidays,
Leave your comments below.