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Teen Fashion Advice – Avoid Trends and Find a Style That Suits You Right

March 8, 2024 by
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The right fashion styles can help teen girls look chic and sophisticated. They can also showcase their personality and best features through originality, confidence, and uniqueness.

As a parent, you should provide some teen fashion advice and help them figure out their style. Be gentle, as teens can easily misinterpret your guidance as criticism.

Style Yourself To Look Good

As a teenager, your style can make or break your social life. This is why it’s essential to look original and authentic at all times. This can be done by avoiding fashion trends and finding a personal style that suits you best.

One way to help your teen achieve this is by letting them create a mood board with images of their style heroes, like Gigi Hadid or Harry Potter characters. This will give them a better idea of how to dress stylishly and stand out from their peers. Moreover, this will teach them that looking good doesn’t mean having to follow the crowd.

Wear Clothing With The Perfect Fit

When your teen goes through an unusual phase of wanting only certain styles of clothing, it’s important not to panic. Instead of screaming at her for wearing worn-out jeans or sneakers with worn knees, help her find ways to style them better and discover ways to style them that look better than before.

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Help her select a pair of shorts she can accessorize with a vest and jacket for an impressive ensemble, or choose simple black denim and add a vibrant crossbody bagi to elevate her ensemble.

Shopping from ethical and sustainable brands is also essential, helping support both the environment and those who create them.

Wear Bright Colors

Many teen girls have a hard time picking a fashion style that suits them. They may go through a phase where they want to dress in only black from head to toe or wear the same t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers combo over and over again.

To help them stand out from the crowd, encourage them to add a few bright-colored clothing pieces and accessories to their wardrobe. These will instantly make them look more attractive and confident. For example, a striped crop top can be worn with a basic vest in neutral tones and simple denims or a pair of boots. The addition of a colorful crossbody bagi will also work well.

Pick A Fashion Style That Suits You

Teenagers tend to go through phases when it comes to fashion. From wanting ripped jeans or basketball shorts, let your teenager try them on for size, provided it doesn’t become obsessive and remains age-appropriate. There are some teen fashion essentials, but everything else should just be a good fit.

Help them discover clothing styles that complement both their personality and looks, while choosing sustainable brands to shop from. Doing this is one of the best ways to enhance their wardrobe and boost their fashion style while protecting both the environment and budget – not to mention having stylish shoes that can last them many seasons to come!

Shop From The Most Popular Ethical And Sustainable Brands

Whether she’s looking for the latest designer coat of the season or trying to find cool clothes from an obscure brand on Depop, your teen will have more fashion choices if she shops from the best ethical and sustainable brands. She’ll be able to feel good about her outfits, and she’ll know that the people who made the clothes did well.

The following brands use organic, regenerative, and recycled materials to craft their clothing. They also pay their garment workers a fair wage and provide healthy working conditions. You can find the following brands online or at local thrift or resale stores. They also offer sustainable footwear options.

Add One Luxury Accessory To Your Teenage Girly Outfits

Talk with your teen about how much money she’s willing to spend on her wardrobe and what she thinks she needs most. Try to do this in a comfortable space and in a conversation that’s neither confrontational nor accusatory.

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She might need some extra fashion accessories to elevate her outfits, such as a simple white vest or a basic denim jacket. Encourage her to pair these with a bright pair of sneakers or a simple and stylish scarf.

Oversized sweaters are also a great choice for her because they’re easy to throw on and look cool. Adding these pieces will instantly make her wardrobe feel upscale.




Navigating the Bra Aisle: Where to Find a Good Bra for a Teen?

May 29, 2023 by

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When a teenager begins her quest to purchase a first bra, it can be a daunting experience filled with questions and uncertainty. Fear not! This guide will explore brand considerations and spotlight one unique contender, Bleuet, dedicated to enhancing the bra-buying experience for young women.

What to Look for in a Brand

When you’re embarking on the journey of buying a first bra, comfort, and fit should be top priorities. However, you shouldn’t overlook the brand’s ethos. Consider companies committed to ethical practices, size inclusivity, and designs that cater to the developing body’s needs.

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A company’s commitment to responsible manufacturing indicates they value its workforce, an aspect that bolsters its ethical standing. Brands that respect size inclusivity tend to offer a broad spectrum of styles, catering to diverse body types and ensuring every young woman finds the perfect fit. Finally, designs tailored to younger bodies will generally be more comfortable and confidence-boosting.

Bleuet: Tailored for Teens

When it comes to brands that check all these boxes, Bleuet stands out as a reliable choice for teens. Founded by a mother, this company specializes in bras and apparel for young teenagers, with the objective of nurturing confidence through comfort.

Bleuet offers a range of products, including the following:

  • ‘first bras’ for girls venturing into supportive wear;
  • padded bras and sports bras;
  • organic options for those mindful of their ecological footprint.

This versatility ensures that whatever your needs, Bleuet has a product tailored just for you.

However, what makes Bleuet truly special isn’t just their products but the ethos they embody. The company places great emphasis on better wages and working conditions within the apparel industry, standing as a beacon of ethical responsibility.

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They’ve taken this mission further with their ‘Bleuet Entrepreneurs’ initiative, supporting budding tween and teen entrepreneurs with mission-aligned objectives. This investment in the developing generation showcases Bleuet’s long-term vision for a better future.

Moreover, Bleuet is a champion of sustainability and community support. Any returned items are not consigned to a landfill but find a new home with a teenager in need through their partnership with Hailey’s Haven. This unique approach to ‘giving back’ marks Bleuet as an eco-conscious, community-minded company.

Conclusion

When choosing the first bra, your brand can play a significant role. Companies like Bleuet are committed to providing quality, comfortable products and are driven by an ethos that resonates with ethical manufacturing, sustainability, and community upliftment. So, as you embark on this important rite of passage, remember – the perfect bra isn’t just about the fit, but also the brand’s fit with your values.




3 Tips For Preparing Your Teen To Enter High School

August 29, 2022 by

While the school has just started for many people around the globe, there will always be a new crop of teenagers entering high school next year and all the other years to come. So if you think you’ve gotten off easy this year since your child isn’t yet in high school, what you really should be grateful for is a few more years of preparing for this momentous occasion.

To help you with this preparation, here are three tips for preparing your teen to enter high school.

Take The Time To Get Ready Each Morning

For many teens and preteens, there’s nothing harder than having to wake up early in the morning to get to school. But despite how much your teen might want to sleep in, if they wake up earlier in the mornings to get ready for school, they may prove to have more successful days.

According to Dr. Kathryn Hoffses, a contributor to KidsHealth.org, kids who have gotten enough sleep the night before and woken up early enough to eat a healthy breakfast before leaving for school can have better concentration, attention spans, and memory for the time they spend at school. Not only this, but waking up earlier gives your teen time to take a shower, shave or otherwise groom themselves, and feel fresh and clean so they can tackle their day.

Try To Get Involved

Entering high school can be very intimidating for many teens. Because of this, it’s common for teens to want to merely blend into the background. But if your teen is going to find success in high school and beyond, you might want to encourage them to fight against this natural response.

Rather, Sarah Lindenfeld Hall, a contributor to Parents.com, shares that you should encourage your kids to put themselves out there in high school. Not only will this help them socialize and learn how to make new friends, but it can also help them get involved in groups or activities that they may not have participated in otherwise.

Stop Stressing About What Other People Think

One of the hardest things about being a teenager in high school is the constant social pressure of worrying about what other people think about you.

If this is something that your teen is stressing out about, Shane McKeon, a contributor to YourTeenMag.com, recommends talking to your teen about how people likely aren’t thinking about them as much as they might assume. Just think about how much your teen thinks about themselves.

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Do they have time to really think about others? Not so much. This is exactly what’s going on with all the other teens in their high school. If you’re trying to help your teen get ready for their high school years, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you accomplish this.




5 Ways to Make Your Teen Feel Supported This School Year

August 22, 2022 by

Some teens today are emerging from social isolation back into the school system. Whether kids caught Covid or not, they were still faced with a massive disruption in their lives that they could never get back.

This alters young minds and makes them more resilient and ready to tackle a new world where caution takes precedence. You can help your teen feel more supported during the school year to equip them for life after high school.

Encourage Character Strengths

Honing in on the strengths your teen possesses can make them feel powerful. Acknowledging their strengths and recognizing their weaknesses so you can work on them together is a vital tool to help your teen succeed. Teens are more likely to be motivated when they feel valued and important among their peers.

Social-emotional development is lacking in schools, but you can remedy them at home. Ask your teen to take a character strengths quiz and focus on one strength at a time while you navigate their high school years together. Character strengths can help your child deal with stress and identify their passions for their journey into young adulthood.

Challenge Your Teen

Teenagers are pretty well known for how lazy they can be. Without proper guidance, teens can become complacent and comfortable. This mentality won’t do them any favors after high school.

Try to connect to the purpose of your teen’s learning and challenge them to further their education. Assure your teen that there are reasons for pushing them and be transparent in your explanations.

Sheltering them at this age may do more harm than good since you want to prepare them for independent living. Are they learning to broaden their horizons to make their mark on the world? Are they simply learning to regurgitate information on tests? Does your teen know that knowledge is power? Ensure they know to get anywhere in the world; they must become educated, at least on the avenue they choose for their future.

Be Their Rock

Be the support your teen needs to grow and develop into the person they want to be. Listen to them and provide feedback that encourages independent thinking and problem-solving. Try not to use your life experiences as examples when they aren’t entirely relevant. Let them come to solutions on their own with just a little guidance.

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This helps them think critically and sets them up for success. It is the same concept as not giving them the answers but showing them how to arrive at the right solution. Kids require structure and stability; this doesn’t change as they age. It only evolves and looks a little different than before.

Daily routines and structure provide stability for your teen that will help them in all areas of their lives. They will retreat to safety when their world gets overwhelming and complicated. Routines they set at home can be a marker for their safe space and provide them with the tools they need to overcome obstacles.

Communicate With Them

As teens become their own essence, they deal with hormones and school and social pressures. This can be a lot for anyone, let alone a teen just learning how to deal with all these things at once. Approach your teen with understanding, even if you may not completely get where they are coming from.

Wisdom can speak volumes to a teen just searching for some semblance of normalcy about what they’re experiencing since it seems so foreign to them. Teens often push boundaries like toddlers do to cope with emotional regulation and new ventures and assert independence. Ensure your teen feels like their emotions are validated. This is essential to open lines of communication with your teen.

They have to feel like their feelings are valid, no matter what they are, or they might not open up to you again for a while. There is no right or wrong way to feel. There are only correct and incorrect behaviors to act on those feelings. Ensure your teen knows they can talk to you about anything. They most likely will cherish this connection as they age and respect how well you navigated the parent-friend boundaries and developed such a bond.

Ensure Their Free Time

Teens are developing new interests in high school and may not have enough time to wind down or relax after school if you overwhelm them with chores. Amend their chore charts and responsibilities based on extracurricular activities and homework levels. You should require your teen to do tasks and help around the house, but ensuring they have enough chill time is also vital to their success.

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You know how it is when you constantly juggle work and home life and feel you don’t get a minute to relax. Teens feel these pressures too. Their scale is much smaller than ours, but to them, it feels bigger.

Remember that this is all new to them and that understanding is the way to acceptance and formal learning. Compromise with your teen and let them choose when they do their house duties. Perhaps your teen will do extra chores on Saturday to have more free time during the week for friends or homework. Let them have a voice and respect their limitations.

Support Your Teen This School Year

Although your teen is most likely craving independence, their support system is essential to their academic and emotional growth. Be your teen’s biggest cheerleader and advocate while still enforcing rules for them to live and learn by. It’s all about finding balance.




7 Worst Junk Food Items to Keep Away from Kids

June 15, 2020 by

“You can’t have a healthy civilization without healthy soil. You can’t have junk food and have healthy people.” – Joel Salatin

We all know that junk food is unhealthy, not just for our kids, but for us as well. The fact that junk food is bad news for our health is, thankfully, common knowledge now. Junk food contains trans fat and other harmful contents that make our bodies unhealthy in millions of tiny ways. Many obesity-related diseases, especially diabetes, have been linked directly with the widespread consumption of junk food all over America. 

Junk food consumption is pretty much universally bad for people of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and body types. However, it’s important to note that it is especially bad for children; it may leave long-lasting consequences that are so resolute and difficult to remove that they might as well be permanent. 

“Every living cell in your body is made from the food you eat. If you consistently eat junk food then you’ll have a junk body.” – Jeanette Jenkins

Junk food has been found to affect the cells in a child’s body in a way that the child’s capacity to metabolize is effectively destroyed for good. Eating too much junk food before the age of five can actually make your child’s body prone to obesity for the rest of their life.

The point of this article, however, is not to cause alarm. I want to make sure that all our readers are well informed of the worst of the lot and can take measures to keep these particularly horrible junk food items away from their children for as long as they can. 

  • Packaged potato chips.
  • Flavoured/chocolate cereals. 
  • Carbonated beverages or soda.
  • Fried chicken.
  • Nachos.
  • Chicken nuggets.
  • Store-bought/Pre-packaged pizza. 

These are some of the top favorite food items for kids. Even we encourage them to eat most of these. They are fine once in a blue moon, but the children getting used to these items as meals will imbalance their diet proportionately.

Final Thoughts

“A society that thinks the choice between ways of living is just a choice between equally eligible ‘lifestyles’ turns universities into academic cafeterias offering junk food for the mind.” – George Will

Children are very susceptible to picking up habits. If we put them into the habit of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, then they will start following. Let them have it as a weekend treat or something, rather than completely shutting it down.

The reason some parents opt-out for letting their kids have junk food is the amount of effort it takes to prepare the food. If both the parents are working, then healthy meals become even more sporadic.

If you are going to be busy in the week, then you can start making a weekly meal plan. This will help you plan and prep in advance so that you can have healthy meals ready for you. List out the meals and what you want, then plan the ingredients, and get all the grocery shopping done to meal prep.
There are lots of healthy recipes for kids that you can make without much preparation. Be sure to make the most of your time so that you can work around your busy schedules and not skip paying attention to your’s and your children’s health.




7 Teacher Created Resources for Teaching Math During Covid-19

April 2, 2020 by

Most of us are looking at at least a month of having our kids out of school. These teacher created resources can help your child stay on track.

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More thought, pedagogy, and research has gone into considering how to teach math than any other subject. Language arts is a close second, but there’s something about the interplay of numbers that one either gets; or doesn’t. 

In the classroom, a wide array of teacher created resources ae used to help shape the concepts and drive home ideas. With the recent school closures, these resources are missing for some students.

Fortunately, you can access many tools and learning aides online. The following guide provides a useful breakdown of what each resource is, how to access it, and how it can help.

You’re certainly not limited to the approaches you try at home. Whatever works, works. So get reading and find what you need now. 

Teacher Created Resources

These resources provide avenues to explore techniques and to help expand learning. They all, in their way, reach toward the same objective: teaching math.

One of the larger difficulties with math is, no matter how one approaches it, the answers don’t change. The methods and the meta, how you think about the problems, shifts from one methodology to another. The answers don’t change because math, unlike so many other disciplines, doesn’t have the wiggle room of interpretation in the end.

This quality of math is one reason that people face math anxiety. They lock up when trying to learn because they feel that there are no options. It’s difficult to think in specific linear patterns. 

Working with these resources teaches a student to consider other ways to get to the answer to avoid that tension. 

1. US Department of Education

A collection of resources to guide learning through grade 5. Their site provides a wealth of activities broken down by topic, a glossary, and links to further resources. 

The site aims to give students a faster start in the formative years. It works best for teaching fundamentals and helping work on the core underlying numbers. 

Even if you are at home with older students, it can give parents a solid look into how some of the teachings in math has been conducted lately. The gap between what a parent knows and how a parent was taught can be enormous. 

Catching up on the design of modern mathematic teaching gives you a touchstone for fully utilizing other sources. 

2. The Common Core Toolbox

Speaking of getting a foot in the door of new teachings, if you can’t make sense of what Common Core is and its approach to math, start here.

The biggest benefit from this is getting more information on the objectives and learning goals set out for each grade K-12 in mathematics.

While the techniques and methods used to arrive at an answer matter, if you understand where the teaching is headed, you can bring in more of your own experience.

Consider the benefits of letting your child teach you the new methods. This reinforces their information and gives you a window into their thought processes. Try not to be resistant to the new methods as this can create confusion and frustration for your students. 

3. Advanced Curriculums

Some children aren’t looking for help getting to the bar, they need to be stimulated and challenged. 

Don’t let that spark and talent go to waste.

These types of sites provide expanded problem-solving skills and training. The materials are easy to use, scale with learning levels and are affordable.

If you’re looking to get ahead now (for the summer months), consider picking up a course yourself. Walking a few miles in the student’s shoes gives you tools for explaining and assisting with the material. 

4. Mathematics Assessment Project

This tool was designed to work a lot like a practice test. It gives students an idea of where they stand in regards to the current assessment standards.

Once a benchmark is derived, the site offers an assortment of lessons and development ideas. These help educators to expand their own lesson plans to catch students working outside the mean. 

It’s perfect for finding new avenues to guide your temporary home-schoolers. It’s presented as part of the MARS (Mathematics Assessment Resource Service) which is also a fun acronym. 

5. Edutopia

This site provides learning resources centered around blogs and videos with further tips. It’s an ever branching set off resource exploration. 

The articles are well-written, educational, and filled with things to try in the classroom i.e. your home. 

You can search by topic and by author (if you hit upon a favorite). It’s a broad resource, so it won’t take much time to find what you’re looking for. Try a few of the most popular articles and then go searching for further supplementals if you find a technique or practice helpful. 

6. Math Open Reference

For more visual mathematics teachings you need a resource with visuals and explanations. To create interesting visuals, use PowerPoint templates education as this will help explain a particular topic and communicate effectively and easily with students. This reference site includes help for the trickier portions of Coordinate and Solid GEaomtery, Trigonometry, and Plane Geometry. 

The site emphasizes problem-solving over strict rules. By offering a deconstruction of a problem, rather than a route to a solution, the site shows the journey. 

You’ll find workable videos and walkthroughs in addition to illustrations and guides. There’s a section for puzzles and games which create an engrossing learning experience. 

7. RealWorldMath

Some educators became frustrated with the stricture of theory and the ephemeral nature of numbers. To combat what they saw as too much impracticability, they created this site of dynamic tools for grounding math. 

In it, you will find online learning aides related to real events and places. Calculate distances to real locations. Work with trajectories and geometry attached to photos of landmarks.

The projects are interactive, allowing a free exploration, but they also provide feedback so you can check the answers and understand the background of the problems presented.

Crunch It!

It’s going to be a bit before things go back to normal in the teaching and schooling worlds. In the meantime, learning to find and harness teacher created resources can smooth things out for you. The bonus here, knowing what to look for in supplementary materials will help you at home when school resumes.

For more articles about working with kids, lifestyle tips, and more come right back here. 




Benefits of Olive Leaf Extract for Your Skin

January 11, 2020 by

Did you know that your skin is made up of over 35 billion cells? That’s right! Our skin is a sophisticated organ, with many types of cells that do very important jobs. These billions of cells help our skin protect the body, regulate its temperature and receive information through our sense of touch. Taking care of our skin requires a few simple steps, but we also need the right tools to keep it healthy. As a key ingredient in a high-quality vegan face moisturizer, olive leaf extract helps provide your skin with some essential TLC.

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Skin Problems and Lack of Moisture

To understand how skin problems develop, let’s go back to health class for a moment. Your skin is composed of three layers: the epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis. The epidermis, or top layer, is what you see when you look in the mirror. Right beneath it is the dermis, the layer containing hair follicles, sweat glands, sebaceous glands and connective tissue. The deepest layer is the hypodermis, composed of fat and more connective tissue.

Skin problems appear on the outside, but many of them start in the dermal layer. Acne is a common example, resulting from skin pores clogged with oil, bacteria or dead skin. Sometimes, lack of moisture and acne go hand in hand because sebaceous glands in the skin’s dermal layer overcompensate for dryness by ramping up oil production. The result: even more pore-clogging oil. That’s why locking in hydration is an important key to stopping this vicious cycle.

The Skinny on Olive Leaf Extract

Olive leaf extract is exactly what it sounds like: raw organic material extracted from the leaf. Packed with antioxidants and vitamins, olive leaves offer health-boosting benefits with their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. That’s why some people make olive leaf tinctures at home and take a small amount either as a daily supplement or to fight colds and infections.

Olive leaf extract offers benefits on the outside of your body, too. Its powerful combination of antioxidants and vitamins provide moisture and firmness – two things you need when fighting skin issues like acne. Antioxidants help fight skin-damaging agents from UV rays, pollution or tobacco smoke. Olive leaf extract’s nutrients also soothe dry and stressed-out skin so it can better recover and repair itself.

Why Oil-Based Acne Treatments Work

Now, let’s take a look at how an oil based acne treatment can help your skin.

Wait a minute. Fighting acne with using oil? The idea sounds counterintuitive, but remember that your skin needs moisture to stay healthy. The right oils help retain that moisture, especially when combined with beneficial botanicals. Linoleic acid is a type of fatty acid that your skin produces, but it’s also present in plant-based extracts like lavender, black cumin seed and rosehip. When blended with olive leaf extract, they form a powerful acne-fighting combination. These four essential Meltdown ingredients soothe skin, help it heal and allow it to retain moisture.

Choose Natural Skin Care

Clear skin is also healthy skin, and nourishment is an important key. Plant-based skincare products such as vegan face moisturizer harness the benefits of botanicals to provide the nourishment your skin needs.




Adopting A Healthy Attitude To Teen Drug & Alcohol Use

November 6, 2018 by

It’s a tale as old as time: teenager comes home stoned; parent yells at teenager and punishes them; teenager strikes back by getting stoned more and more. As a parent, you know better than anyone else that teenagers are reactive. The more you tell them not to do something, the more they want to do it. In 2018, a more progressive approach can prevent this kind of escalation from occurring: tell your teen it’s normal to experiment with drugs and alcohol and that they need to make their own decisions, you might even share a tale from your own youth. Being open and honest goes a long way, and not having to be sneaky or ashamed will allow your teen to navigate these complicated choices without a shadow looming over them.

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This honest approach may provide your teen with a healthier attitude to casual drug use and drinking at parties, but no matter how honest and open your relationship is, things can still go wrong. Teens who are new to drinking, susceptible to peer pressure and motivated to show off in front of their friends may do something stupid and hurt themselves or others to such an extent that you may end up looking to hire a criminal lawyer to defend them.

If you think only out-of-control problem teens get arrested, think again. Here are several plausible scenarios where an average, run-of-the-mill teen might get arrested:

Drinking & Not Driving – Drunk driving, of course, is a serious issue, but sometimes the police unfairly justify arresting teens who are just sleeping it off in their car by claiming that they had an intent to drive drunk. Warn your teen of this possibility.

Personal Use Vs. Dealing – In some states and provinces, teenagers carrying negligible quantities of drugs may be charged with intent to sell – often racial profiling can play into this, unfortunately. Also, another person may pressure your teen into “hanging on” to some drugs for them, which could land them in big trouble.

Memory Loss & Vandalism – If your teen is unaccustomed to drinking and consumes too much liquor, it could release a hidden trove of unconscious aggression. People do crazy things when they’re blackout drunk, and your teen may not even remember what happened in the morning – if their actions lead to criminal charges, one stupid mistake could jeopardize their future.

Consulting with an experienced, compassionate defence lawyer who is familiar with Crown Prosecution protocol is the best way to keep your teen’s life from going off the rails. If your teen is in legal trouble, book a consultation today.

Now that we’ve run down the frightening outcomes of alcohol and drug use, let’s look at healthy approaches for avoiding problematic behaviour:

A Continental Approach – Some might say that the Europeans have it figured out; many families on the continent allow their teens to have beer or wine with dinner from a young age if they choose. This more casual approach to drinking is more conducive to having a couple cocktails or glasses of wine with food or after a long day of work. Stigmatizing alcohol as if it were the forbidden fruit is a recipe for disaster.

Continental Approach

A Non-Judgmental Attitude – If you can be present and calm when your teen is telling you about difficult situations related to parties, romance, drugs and alcohol, they will confide in you increasingly. If you get upset and cry or yell, they will likely clam up and run to their bedroom. Contemporary wisdom recommends treating your teen as a fellow human being, rather than a child to be babysat; just listen carefully to them, and respond thoughtfully. These behaviors can happen to any teen, biological or not. But if you have a foster child, and are experiencing some of these behaviors, there are behavioral health services for children in foster care and their families. Don’t hesitate to reach out.

Hopefully, this post didn’t scare you too much, really, it’s all about cultivating a healthy atmosphere at home and doing your personal best no matter how difficult the situation.




Things to Teach Your Teen About Money

May 25, 2018 by

Teenage money saving tips

Being a teenager is a tough age group for most people. Your body is changing, you have to learn how to be social, you are about to graduate high school and enter the world away from home and you probably have started working your first job. Learning good money habits will help you later on in life and help you to be a more successful adult.

Here are things to teach your teen about money.

  1. Goal Setting

When you sit down to help your teen start saving money, you should consider asking them what their goals are for their money. Perhaps they have a specific item they have in mind that they want to save up for, or maybe the just want to save for college or for their lives in the future. Regardless of what they are saving for, they need to see their goals written out on paper. Having something to work towards will help them stay motivated and focused on saving instead of spending. Once your child meets a goal, have them cross it off the list and add a new goal or start working towards the next one. This mindset will help them learn to manage their finances now as well as in the future.

  1. Start Saving Money In A Jar

This might seem like a childish thing to do, but if you have a family trip planned where your child wants a specific souvenir or activity to do while away, have them put money in a jar and watch it build over time. A good jump start to their money jar is to have them put $20 in initially and then add to it as they are able to. If they aren’t making much money, offer chores around the house where they can make more money and have them put a little bit in the jar. If you see them excelling in school or sports, you can add to the jar too. This practice will encourage them to save money as well as keep them disciplined and working hard in all aspects of their lives.

  1. Keep A List Of Spending

As your child makes purchases, have them keep track of the things they buy so they know where their money is going. If they don’t have enough money for a specific item, you can try lending them cash to help them make the amount needed. As long as they learn to pay you back, they will be learning good money habits. Learning to pay back small loans will help them as they get bigger loans for things like paying for their college education. To achieve this quickly complete a student loan consolidation form and compare rates to find reduced interest plans.

As part of this exercise apply an interest rate to the money you loan them. This will help them learn self-control because they will think whether or not they really need what they are taking the loan out for. Use paying for college as an example. Talk to them about the different options to fund college and how student loans have to be paid back with interest. You can take it a step further by discussing how some personal loan types can be refinanced later on to lower their monthly payment.

  1. Help Them Make Money

Encouraging your child to work for their money will teach a multitude of valuable life lessons. Have them do chores around the house, mow the lawn, wash the car or babysit for young kids. The more they learn to work for their money, the better they will be at spending and saving their income.




World Through The Eyes Of A Teenager

September 18, 2017 by

through the eyes of a teenager

The age of changing hormones and mood swings. The confusing time of the person, who is no longer a kid, but is not even a mature adult. In the years of the teen, the kid is never sure of what to do. Parents become the enemies who deny all freedoms. And the mirror becomes their best friend. There is a sudden attraction towards the opposite sex. ‘The First Love’

We’ve all been through these raging hormones. We’ve all fought with our parents when they refused to buy us a car to go to college. We’ve all stared at our naked bodies in the mirror for hours. We’ve all kept a tab on our outer appearance. We’ve all been body shamed. We’ve all taken social networking very seriously. We’ve all had a ‘gang’.  We’ve all felt the urge to have a person who is exclusively ‘ours’. Then there is infatuation, which we believed to be love. We have been stupid, confused, contradicted our own opinions. We’ve been awkward with our first boyfriends or girlfriends. We’ve all tried to imitate our favorite romantic scene, and failed. We’ve all desperately wanted to be liked, to be accepted by everyone. We’ve all loved the unnecessary attention in school and college. We’ve all been concerned about our ‘image’. We’ve all been misunderstood. We’ve all judged and ridiculed each other. We’ve made fun and have been mocked ourselves too. We’ve had heartbreaks which seem nothing now. We’ve all been jealous. We’ve all experienced sleepless nights of Facebook-ing and WhatsApp-ing. We’ve all watched adult movies and shared our doubts with our friends. We’ve all had a curious mind and many questions relating to ‘sex’. We’ve all had dreams about travelling the world and earning a fortune. We’ve all cried ourself to sleep because of something that appeared to be so big back then, and almost nothing now. We’ve all joined the gym atleast once, and ofcourse left after a few weeks, because we got too lazy. We’ve all been really impatient, but even waited for long hours. We’ve all been really stubborn. We’ll been scared. Yet we were the happiest during those 7 years. We were growing.

We’ve all made a thousand mistakes and a million memories.

We’ve been there, done that.




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