Funny thing about me and sports… ah… I don’t do sports. Lol. It may be because I don’t have a competitive bone in my body or I’m naturally clutsy. In any case I don’t have a favourite sport to either watch or play..
My husband, on the other hand, played hockey, baseball, lacrosse, and who knows what else, growing up. I get exhausted just hearing about it. And… for a time pursued golf both as an amateur and as a professional.
I do exercise… a lot actually, because of the benefits of exercise combined with a healthy diet (no added sugar and harmful seed oils).
I do write children’s fiction and have a sports-themed series going called Tee It Up, mainly because I can take advantage of my husband’s vast knowledge of sports. 😉
“Eddie’s Story“ by Suzanne Rightley
Eddie has what it takes to be a hockey superstar but struggles with making the big career choice because of his love for golf. With the help of family, friends (old and new), Eddie discovers a lot about himself during his summer job. Good book choice for boys 12-15.
Learn more about Suzanne Rightley’s Tee It Up Series. Visit her author page to discover more children’s fiction stories available as ebooks or paperback.
My approach is simple. If there’s something you want and if you have the money and if it’s something necessary then…yes, go ahead and fit it into the budget. Otherwise…
“The best and surest way to save money is… Don’t Spend!”
A tried and proven method…LOL
Back on topic:Why is this a parenting moment?
Helping children develop vital life skills is an important aspect of parenting. No argument. Money management should be included on a parent’s To Do List.
Why? Answer: Kids will benefit, throughout the course of their lives, if they grasp the basic concepts of budgeting early in life.
The discussion…
The finer points of budgeting by example: Obviously food is kind of necessary so it needs a consistent, fixed spot on The Budget. However, even “food” is too broad a term when it comes to budgeting.
Things to consider…
Nutrition and real food
Pantry staples necessary for home cooked meals
Junk food (ah, not on my list but for some it’s a necessity, go figure)
Special occasions
If a necessity such as food must be evaluated…then think about how crucial it is to prioritize everything else.
Consider that many things can’t be eliminated, adjusted, or even tweaked from the budget.
Such expenses could be your rent/mortgage, car payments, heating, and etc.
These costs must have a fixed place
Then there’s the dreaded credit cards and credit card debt. Ugh!
Simply don’t go there, unless it’s an emergency. “To save and/or to stick to The Budget = No unnecessary spending on credit!”
By design, borrowing, via credit, is for emergencies but somehow we’ve taken it to the point of necessity… the “got to have it” mentality, which has nothing to do with emergencies.
The reality is a budget is just that “reality”!
Therefore, budgeting affords us the opportunity to live within our means.
This is a valuable life skill children should learn early in life. It is never too late to wean them off of the false notion that they should be entitled to “whatever they want” by their sheer existence alone.
Babies begin life believing everything belongs to them but it doesn’t take long, along their life’s journey, to realize that just isn’t so.
Confident in knowing they can control their spending habits!
Helping children adapt to that reality is something they can learn to appreciate if, we… parents, teachers, grandparents, and other significant adults, gift them with the knowledge of how to live within their means via the long-standing, proven methods of budgeting.
Visit her official website or author page to discover what the child/children, you know and love, can learn through the friendly, often humorous aspects of fiction.
Whoever first coined the phrase “Do as I say, not as I do!” undoubtedly had good intentions but let’s face it, when it comes to raising children, intentions don’t count for much, at least not “for the long haul”. (Yet another old adage; the English language abounds with them.)
For instance: It may have been an expression used by a smoker, who did not want their child to pick up their bad habit, whatever the reason, the phrase has been around for a long, long time and can be applied to many situations. Gossip, back-biting, slander, cursing at other motorists, shoving someone to get to the front of the line, throwing something at the wall, and so forth – really the list can be a long one.
Question: Will this worn out expression… “Do as I say, not as I do!” nurture children, during their formative years, under the aforementioned displays of frustration, anger, etc.?
Answer: Ah… Not much.
Why?
Much of a child’s behaviour is learned by the examples they witness repeated before them. Words help but “Actions speak louder than words!” (Yep, another one.)
Children Learn by Experience
Digressing for a moment: Experience may be the way children learn, however it might not always be the safest. Overindulging in alcohol, experimenting with drugs, and promiscuity are a few examples of life’s experiences we’d like to prevent our children from “Learning the hard way!” (I won’t say it…lol)
Furthermore: How is it that we can easily forgive ourselves, make excuses, and expect our bad behaviour to be tolerated but then… turn around and criticize a child for mimicking the same behaviour? Ludicrous. Right?
Children Learn by What They Have Seen and Heard
That is why it is so very important for adults (parents, teachers, neighbours, shoppers, motorists, etc.) to set the right form of behaviour.
It’s not always easy but it is our responsibility.
Suzanne Rightley is an author of children’s fiction. For a list of her books visit Suzanne Rightley.
Children today will shape health and wellness awareness tomorrow. Therefore, this is our time (concerned adults) to step up and give them the knowledge they need to effect those necessary changes.
To Do: Teach Them
Using detailed data, endless statistics, confusing graphs, blah, blah…which all equals “BORING” to children …. Or
Imagination, vision, and fiction… featuring a kid heroine with health facts spouting out of her mouth, ah, constantly, one hilarious predicament after another
If you’re a kid, the choice is obvious!
Sadly Our Reality Today is Loaded with Statistics… non of which is fictional…
Obesity and other metabolic diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, and Cardiovascular Disease have become a far worse “pandemic” than the Coronavirus ever hoped to achieve in its wildest dreams (assuming a virus could dream in terms of stardom).
In addition, adults are not the only victims. Children are not immune to metabolic diseases and the growing numbers of sick kids is frightening.
One Suggestion… Health Awareness as a new fiction genre for kids
Children’s fiction author, Suzanne Rightley, has two books published aimed at relaying healthy lifestyle choices to our children, directly, via fun/lively/often humourous dialogue… aka fiction (Genre: Health Awareness)
Besides her obvious goal of educating kids on matters of health/making healthy choices, Suzanne hopes to inspire other children’s authors to jump on board.
These are the ideal days to push helpful data to children.
Many parents and teachers are looking for material to support their efforts in assisting kids in matters of their own health and wellness. As authors we can give them helpful tools to back up their efforts.
Visit any of the following links to learn more about Suzanne’s fictional hero… affectionately known as Granola Brea…
abetterchat 