Take a Look Back

As our kids grow older, it seems like sometimes we strive to find ways to connect with them. Their peers grow to be more influential and important in their lives. They have their interests and hobbies – which take a great deal of their time, thoughts, and money. So how does a parent “connect?”

A great way to get on your child’s level is to watch movies with them. Yes – movies. Most children, from ages very young to teenagers, love movies. And you can use that love for movies to get inside their head a little bit.

If your child loves guitar – get some old Elvis Presley movies to watch with them. Does your daughter like to dance? Find some musicals or older dance movies with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Computer? There are many movies that center around computers, and robotics as the theme of the movie. How about horses? There are so many horse movies out there. Are they very “into” their social world at school? Give some high school themed movies a try.

If you can find older movies that your child may not be familiar with, you will tap into the past allowing it to come alive again and not be forgotten. You will also provide yourselves with a great opportunity to talk. Your child will probably have interesting thoughts about the movies you watch together. Did they think it was dumb – not realistic? Did it inspire them in some way to work harder at what they love? Could they relate to the character in some way that gets them to share their emotions and feelings with you?

Give it a try. Invite your child to a movie date at home with you, some popcorn, and their favorite subject as the center of attention. Watch together and allow the movie to take you into your child’s heart and head for a little while. You’re bound to value any information you can glean that keeps you – or gets you – close to your child as they mature and grow. And the more you understand them, the more they will listen to you as you seek to guide them.

Little Learners

Preschool age is a fun-filled adventure that our children take us on with them. They are so full of life and ready to take on the world. They are also very sensitive little ones who don’t always understand why they can’t help us, or why they can’t master a task that they are trying really hard at.

That is where the creativity on our part comes in. For instance, when they are trying really hard to put their shoes on, it can be frustrating! You can help it be more fun and less stressful for them by using a marker. Put smiley faces on the inside sole of each shoe. Tell your child that when the faces are smiling at each other, that’s when their shoes are on the right feet! And when they want to help you around the house, you can get an old white sock. Draw a face on it and have them put it over their hand as a puppet. The puppet goes around the house and eats dust! How cute is that? It’s fun for them and helps them feel like they’re helping you.

There are two more ideas I’d like to mention for our tender, small ones. When you need to leave them whether it’s with a babysitter or at preschool, it can be hard on them. Put lipstick on and kiss the back of their little hands. Tell them that your kisses will be with them all day long! That can bring a smile to any little tearful face.

And as we all know, little bumps and bruises can be very traumatic for our children. Find a lotion bottle and decorate it with fun stickers and designs. Then label it “Hurt Cream”. It can sure make the heart feel better.

Enjoy this time with your wee ones and the tenderness of it all. It will leave you as quickly as it came.

Receipt Box

As my children grow up and start making their own purchases, I find myself sharing little tips for them to help them get more organized. One of those tips is to save their receipts. You never know when that new shirt will rip 10 days after you bought it or you will discover something has a chip in it. Keeping a receipt is important so that when you go to return or exchange that item, the store won’t hassle you on it.

Receipts can get to be very messy. After all, anything made of paper can be hard to keep track of and can get to be an overwhelming pile. Receipts are so small that if you stash them in places, they can easily get lost.

I have a small cedar box that I keep my receipts in. I got it from a furniture store as a gift when I graduated from high school. It’s perfect to keep receipts in because it looks very nice from the outside and keeps all the “mess” on the inside!

In addition to keeping my receipts in my cedar box, I write on them. I can get lost when I’m going through mounds of “Target” receipts trying to decipher the abbreviations of what I purchased. Was this the green sweater or was this? Even if I have an estimated price in my head it can be tough at times to remember what is what. So I write on the back of the receipts who the item was for, and what it was with a small description. Then when I go through my receipt box every once in awhile, it also helps me quickly know what receipts to throw away and what ones to keep. After all, I’m not going to want to keep a receipt for a pair of shoes that I bought 6 months ago and have worn many times since then. But I will want to keep a receipt for a larger purchase item such as a television or a camera.

Saving receipts has kept me from being stressed out many a time when a purchased item needed to be returned for whatever reason. If you aren’t in the habit of keeping your receipts, you might want to start. Also, find a nice box, empty drawer, or some other “home” for them so that you can keep them all in one spot – never having to rummage around to find one. Make sure you go through them regularly (every few months or twice a year) and start to see this little technique work to make your shopping (and spending) life a little smoother.