Parenting can be very rewarding, but at times the things our children do can scare us. One of the scariest things a small child could do would have to be to get lost. They can be in a store with you looking at something and before you know it they’ve wondered off and are no longer in the same area as you. Another thing they can do is think they know how to get home by themselves only to find out it’s not possible and they’ve gotten themselves into a neighborhood that’s not familiar.

This can happen in any community and at any time and it can scare not only the child, but the parents as well. Training your children to know what to do in any situation like this is a good thing to do, but it’s not always done and the main reason is because some parents are blind to these situations or we just think it will never happen to you. If you think this way you’ll regret it sooner or later if it were to happen to you.

While it’s scary to think it could happen to you, it’s very important to make sure you’re children are safe and educated. Here are a few tips to help you to protect your children.

1. If you go to the store with your children regularly it’s important to talk to them about what to do if they get separated from you. Teach them who to talk to and who not to talk to so you know they’re safe. If you visit a store regularly you could set a place to meet if you get separated from each other.

2. If your children must walk home from school or a bus stop you need to make sure they can get home if they have to do it on their own. Walk with them from school to home and home to school and when they feel they can do it alone let them make the walk alone, but follow behind them.

3. Preparing your children is a must no matter what. One of the best things to do is prepare their backpack with their name and phone number or address. This will help either the police or an innocent bystander that’s there to help your child. Another thing that’s important to do is make sure you teach your children their phone number and address so they can share this information with the person that finds them.

When you make sure your children are informed and show them what to do in any situation you’ll feel better about letting them do things on their own. You’ll feel like they’ll be safe if they get lost. When you use these steps, your children will be safer.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant business and she’s the owner of WAHM-Articles.com. She is married and has two teenagers. She loves spending time with her family. Catch up with everything she has going on when you click here to read her mommy blog.

Written by Sherri Hicks

The sweet family down the street just had their sixth, yes sixth, child. I am utterly and completely amazed. I feel like I’m drowning sometimes with the three kids I have. Double that? Impossible. The mom stays home with them, and even home schools the older ones. I literally do not know how she does it. The laundry alone is unimaginable to me. That is a total of 7 people’s worth of laundry! I just recently saw that they bought a new vehicle to accommodate the growing family. Guess what it is? One of those vans like you see the http://www.DirectStarTV.com/ guys driving around! Of course, they don’t have writing on the side of theirs, but it is totally the same. What’s more is, she is a nice mom! I always see her outside with the kids, laughing and enjoying them. It looks like a little preschool/school class when they are all outside together. She truly is an inspiration to me, and I think of her when I feel overwhelmed with my small(er) amount of kids.

When you’re trying to save money and get your bills paid off, the worst thing that can happen is to have someone still your identity. With the Internet and computers, it’s easier for hackers to make this happen and they do it without you even knowing it’s been done.

There are so many ways people can steal your identity, that it’s almost impossible to handle it on your own. That’s why you need to consider using an outside source to help you. There is nothing worse than working hard to get out of debt only to find out someone made a bunch of charges in your name. These can amount to thousands of dollars very quickly.

There are a number of companies you can pay to help you protect your identity. One company you need to consider would be IdentityHawk. They offer comprehensive identity theft solution or for those looking for identity theft protection.

It’s important for families to keep their identity safe at all times. You must find a company that fits into your budget and will cover your family in every way you see fit. When you find this company you’ll feel protected and you know you’ll be able to continue with your debt reduction and saving money just like you’d planned.

Medicare is a big topic right now in my family. My grandma on my mom’s side is on it, my grandparents on my dad’s side are on it, and now my mother-in-law is on it. Medicare can be very helpful to those that are of retirement age and it’s important to some because they wouldn’t be able to get coverage otherwise.

When you get to a certain age, it’s important, almost vital to have insurance because you just never know what’s going to happen. My grandparents have been in and out of the hospital numerous times in the past 30 days and if it weren’t for Medicare Supplement Insurance they would be in financial trouble, without a doubt.

One of the down sides to Medicare is the options you have to choose from. My mother-in-law just went through this and in helping her we have learned a thing or two, but I’m sure not everything there is to know about the insurance. In helping her choose which plans to go with we ran into the plans A through N. After research, we discovered that these plans are supplemental insurance plans which are almost a must because there are providers that expect payment of the amount not covered by Medicare.

The other concern my mother-in-law had was with her medications. She’s on several medications, but the one that concerned her most was the one for her Fibromyalgia. This medicine is a must to control it, but the cost is well over $100 a month. After reviewing the different prescription plans we decided on one that would work best for her. Now we’re using Health.com to make sure she can control it in other ways so everything works perfectly and she remains pain free. That site is perfect for anyone as it has health tips and more.

I hope when you’re in a position to start considering Medicare that you’re able to make a decision quickly and easily. Medicare is very confusing to most people, but it’s worth it in the long run when you don’t have to spend the rest of your life worrying day to day who’s going to call wanting money and how you’re going to come up with it on your fixed income. I have found one of the best websites to read is MedicareSupplementalInsurance.com. Good luck!

If you’re struggling to make ends meet or if you want to set a goal to take a vacation in 2012 you may need to consider doing to frugal living in order for it to happen.

Setting frugal goals is a wonderful way to spend less and have more and the New Year is the perfect time to make that happen. There are a number of things you can do to make it happen, but it’s best to start now so you’ll know exactly what to do to make it happen. Here are a few suggestions to help you set the frugal goals for 2012.

I would say the area you’ll see the most savings when it comes to living frugally has to be at the grocery store. An easy way to save at the store is to purchase generic items whenever possible. Now you make find that’s not always possible or you may not like the generic item and if that’s the case you’ll need to purchase name brand, but if you can’t taste the difference, you should do it. For example, we don’t like generic cheese, but we don’t have a problem with generic soup when it’s used in a meal and not a stand alone item.

Another way to save money at the store is to use coupons. Now you must be careful on this because there may be times when you have a coupon for the name brand product, but if the price isn’t lower with the coupon and you don’t mind a generic, you need to go that route. You’ll need to pay close attention to the prices and quantities or you’ll end up spending more than what is necessary.

One last technique that will help you save money at the store is to use price matching. If your store offers this, you should take the time to write down the price of items you need at other stores and then ask the cashier to match it if it’s higher at the store you’re at. This is a practice that not all stores follow, so it’s important to check before you take the time to do it.

Another way to save money in the New Year comes with the things you do daily. An example of this would be if you work outside the home. If you work outside the home you can save money in two ways. The first way is with your meals. If you don’t have the time or the ability to go home, you need to bring your lunch with you instead of going out or purchasing lunch from the convenience store or vending machine. It costs less to bring food from home than it does to go out.

Another way to save money if you work outside the home is to stay at work for lunch instead of wasting the gas to go home. You’d be amazed at the gas you’ll save if you don’t go home five days a week. Depending on the vehicle you drive you may save enough to purchase a weeks worth of groceries or pay double on a bill you have.

Setting frugal goals for the New Year is a good way to save money and prevent yourself from living pay check to pay check or having more bills than income during the month. These two steps are just the beginning when it comes to saving money. Take a little time and think about all the things you spend money on in a month and then see what you can remove to add more money to your wallet.

Corrie Petersen is married and has two boys. She has learned to set frugal goals to help save her family money. If you’re looking for ways to save money, click here to purchase her “Taking it to the Extreme: A Guide to Couponing” ebook. She’ll show you how to save money at the grocery store when you use coupons & price matching.

Christmas is a great time of year for everyone, but it’s the best for children. I love putting the tree up, decorating it and putting decorations up throughout the house. It makes the house look beautiful and cheery. Now that I have kids there is something different about the decorations. Our boys are 15 and 13, so they’re old enough to do the decorating themselves and that is awesome to watch. I love to see what they think because in my eyes it’s perfect no matter what they do.

This year we put our tree up on Friday afternoon because Chris had to work. The family room and living room look awesome. They did a great job!

Saturday morning Kevin, Chris, and Josh went to my mother-in-laws house to help her put up her village. They did an awesome job as you can see in the picture below.

Saturday afternoon Josh went to my mom’s house to help her, my niece Shai, and my nephew Caalab decorate the tree and house. Chris had to work so he was not able to go. They did a great job there too as you can see from the pictures.

I love this time of year and when I see my boys doing what they think is perfect, it’s even better. My boys make this time of year awesome and I’m so glad God gave them to me. Love you Kevin, Chris, and Josh!!

Yesterday I posted a picture of our boys in the water standing on their hands. For Easter this year we took the boys to Las Vegas. It was a great time and the weather was just perfect. The pools were open and so on the last day we were there we took the boys swimming. This is a video of them standing on their hands in the water. This is something Josh couldn’t do at first, but after a few minutes of help from his big brother Chris, he was able to make it happen. Great job boys!!

Here is the short video of them standing on their hands.

How many times have you gone into a public place and have had someone not use their manners with you or someone else? It happens all the time and it’s possible the reason is because we were never taught what manners are and how we should use them all the time.

It’s important we use manners at all times because hurting others or being mean to others is not a good idea. The saying, “Do unto others as you would want done to you” is important and a good rule to follow.

Here are the top 10 manners you should use when you have the need.

1. When you ask for something make sure you say please.
2. When someone gives you something make sure you say thank you.
3. Don’t reach across the table for something, ask for it.
4. When you’re asked how you’re doing make sure you ask them in return.
5. If you’re not sure if you’re supposed to do something, ask for permission.
6. If you must walk in front of someone or you run into them, say excuse me.
7. Don’t be mean or call others names.
8. Don’t make fun of others or tease them for any reason.
9. Don’t say mean things about the appearance of others.
10. Don’t interrupt others when they are speaking. Wait for them to stop.

It doesn’t matter where you live, how old you are, or who you are, using your manners is a must. It also doesn’t matter what you’re doing or where you are, manners need to be used at all times. When you’re a parent you must teach your children about manners at an early age. It’s also important you use your manners at all times since children follow what the adults in their lives.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant business and she’s the owner of http://WAHM-Articles.com. She is married and has two teenager boys. She loves spending time with her family. Catch up with everything she has going on when you go to http://peekintomylifeasasportsmom.com to read her mommy blog.

How many times have you told your child, “Money doesn’t grow on trees”? I know I used to tell my boys that on a regular basis. Sometimes it felt like I was telling them this several times a day. Small children and sometimes the older ones as well, don’t understand this, but it’s something you need to show them or they’ll have money problems for years to come.

We give our boys an allowance every week, but it doesn’t come free. They must do chores around the house or they won’t get it. Those chores include taking out the trash, rolling the garbage can to the street once a week, taking care of the dog, cleaning their rooms, and helping pick up other rooms in the house. It’s not a lot, but we do expect them to help or they won’t be paid.

It’s no different then a regular job or a business. If you sit around and do nothing all day, you’re not going to receive a paycheck for it and if you do it won’t take long before it’s noticed and it comes to an end. Well you need to treat the chores and allowance the same way.

If they don’t do what’s been assigned to them for the day or week, the allowance will either be docked for a certain amount or it won’t be given at all. This may be hard to do, so you’ll need to come up with a way to make it work. Pay a certain amount of money a day or per chore so it’s easy to dock it from the pay when it’s not done. Using a whiteboard may help with this or you can create a spreadsheet with the chores and boxes to mark when it’s been done.

Another thing we struggled with was with them borrowing money. If one of the boys wanted something at the store, but didn’t have the money we used to buy it for them and not require them to pay us back. It got to a point where he would purposely leave his money at home because he knew we’d just buy it for him. While this was a hard lesson it was one we decided was a must. We were spending way too much money doing this and it was defeating the purpose, so it came to an end.

Since we stopped making purchases and not making them pay it back they have learned how to save money or if they didn’t think it was possible to save the money and make the purchase later, it taught them what a loan was. We put a list on the fridge that contained the amount they borrowed and each time a payment was made that was added and the amount subtracted. We came up with a reasonable pay off date and discussed it if the date was not going to be reached.

When you help your children to understand the value of a dollar and that you’re not going to support them by purchasing things that aren’t necessary, they’ll learn about money and they’ll make wise choices.

Corrie Petersen runs a successful Virtual Assistant business and she’s the owner of WAHM-Articles.com. She is married and has two teenage boys. She loves spending time with her family. Catch up with everything she has going on when you click here to read her mommy blog.

Spending time with your family is important, but it’s even more important when you include God in what you do. As a Christian family it’s more important now then ever to continually be in the Word. The devil is out there to kill, steal, and destroy and he’s going to try now matter what, so staying in the Word is the way to prevent that from happening.

It’s important and vital to continually show your children how God can help them in their lives and the best way to do that is to include God in everything you do. You can do this very easily and in every single thing you do when you think about what you’re doing and how you can make it happen.

There are so many things you can do to have God in your life. I have thought about this and have come up with a number of ways. One way is to do daily prayer together. This can be done in the morning before you head out for the day or in the evening right before the kids go to bed. Another way is to have daily Bible study with the family. This will help you keep in the Word daily and you’ll be able to get through any situation that may come up.

For more ideas about how you can spend time with your family and include God in it, click here today. You’ll find this pack of articles will help you make it happen.