Being On Time

We must teach our children the importance of being on time and time management! In order to instill this in our children we must make sure we get them to school, sports events, movies, church, and any extra curricula activity on time. It is so important to be 10 or 15 minutes early, giving a little time for traffic or other deterrents. It is also important for children to be at school on time, to settle down and get in the route of the day. Studies show that children that are chronically late or absent usually don't do as well in school. Being on time will teach our children the importance of time management and will help them with future employment or business transactions. There is nothing that will discourage a future employer from hiring a person then missing an interview or showing up late. So, talk to your children about being on time and teach them time management, because it can be the difference in a successful career.

Children Should Master A Skill

Mastering a skill at an early age builds confidence and self-esteem. When a child is able to play an instrument, draw or paint, perform ballet or tap, or any other number of individual activities they foster and grow their earned sense of accomplishment and develop a sense of self and pride. Group activities also have an important place in a child's development, but when they can master something individually, they are empowered and reinforced with an unequivocal self-confidence builder. The sense of individual confidence and ability begins a familiarity with earned success that will be needed later in life as they grow up and their world's become more complex and demanding. So, whenever possible have your child participate and master an activity that they alone can demonstrate excellence. It will pay big dividends in their future.

Some more examples include: golf, tennis, gymnastics, photography, bowling, singing and chess.

Self-Control

We must teach our children to have self-control. They must be able to control their anger and manage any conflict they are confronted with in life. Building self-confidence and teaching children to cope with stressful situations is extremely important. Our children must have self-awareness and set realistic goals with realistic timetables to complete these goals all while managing frustration, set-backs and disappointment.

Raising our children to have self-control means modeling self-control in our every day lives. We will never have children who manage anger properly if we don't show them how. Teach them how to accept criticim, admit mistakes and know the difference between right and wrong. Teach them how to respectfully stand up for themselves and when to stop and perhaps count to ten or even to one hundred if necessary. Let them know we all learn from our mistakes and we can continually work to improve our behavior and self-control at all times.

Savings Account For Your Child

This is as good of time as any to start teaching your child the value of money. Why not go to your local bank and start a savings account that they can keep up with. Teach them to save 10% of any monetary gifts they receive or money they earn. This will become a habit at an early age and pay off big dividends as they grow in knowledge of investing and compound interest. You are going to be the person to teach your child about savings, so why not start saving 10% of your savings yourself and learn about investment, compound interest, and a rainy day fund. Your family will be wiser and better yet financially secure.

We are Global Citizens

We must teach our children to be good global citizens. The world has gotten so small with all the new technologies and instant communication, we are only a click of the mouse away from any other country in the world. How amazing is that? We need to encourage our children to learn a second language so they can communicate globally. A second language will be a great asset for them in the future. We also must expose them to other cultures and traditions, and teach them to respect and accept differences. Things are not going to slow down, so we are going to have to keep up!!! The answer to this is to continue growing in world knowledge and teach our children to become a good global citizen.

Visit Your Local Public Library

There is a gem right in your mist. It is the public library. Throughout the year, many libraries across this country have special events for families. There will be visiting authors, story tellers, arts and crafts, poets etc., but more importantly there are BOOKS! Your children will be able to find books on whatever interest them. Sign them up for their own library card and get them excited about exploring the world through books. Public libraries are funded through tax payers money and your family should take full advantage of this service. So, get in the car and take your children to the public library and READ, READ, READ!!!

Develop A Sense Of Family History

In order to understand the present and look to the future, we must understand our past. How many of us know much about our family's history? Start out by making a simple family tree. Make sure you include your children in this activity. Go as far as you can on your own. Contact other family members to fill in what they know. Post information on your blog, facebook,or research family on line. It will take on a life of its own and you can find family members you never knew existed. My family recently found family members just this week. It was truly exciting! So, develop a sense of family history and find out some very interesting fact.