Making New Friends

There are times when your child will need to learn how to make new friends.  These times include when they starting school or changing to a new school, if you move, or if people have moved into your neighborhood.  This can be scary for some kids.  Here are some ways to help your child make new friends.

    Give them something to do with the new friend.  Asking another child to play in the sprinklers is less intimidating than just asking them to play.  Your child will not have to worry about thinking of something to do when the friend comes over. 

Disciplining for each Child

There are many books with varying opinions on how you should discipline your children.  However, I believe that the person that knows your child best is you.  Articles and books can give advice, but it is important to understand your child and what will work for them.

    Not all children are the same, and this applies to children in the same family.  Using time out for one child may not work for another.  It’s important to understand this and not try to force the same discipline on a child that it won’t work for.

Choosing Good Friends

Friends are an important part of childhood and you want to make sure that your child develops good friendships early on.  It’s easiest to make the best choices for your children while they are young.

    Have your children invite their friends to play at your house.  This gives you a chance to see how they play together and how they interact with other members of your family.  Become acquainted with their parents also, and you will find that this will help you understand their family situation.  Help your child to understand what your values are and to recognize the same values in friends that they make.

Starting an allowance

It’s never too early to start teaching your children about money.  A great way to begin this is by giving them an allowance.  There are several ways to do this, and I’ll talk about a few of them.

    You can give allowance based on chores with specific money amounts.  For example, you can decide to pay fifty cents for setting the dinner table, $1.00 for keeping their bedroom clean all week.  You decide the chores you would like your child to do, and then show them how to do the work correctly.  Let them know ahead of time how much they get for each job, and keep track.  Decide how often they will receive the money they have earned.