How To Deal With Sibling Rivalry

Isn't it painful to see two of your own children being jealous of each other? Don't you hate it when they fight because one of them is feeling that he is being treated not as good as his sibling is? It could be the worst nightmare of a parent and if not treated well in time, could grow up into a very big problem which could last a lifetime.

If you are a parent facing such kind of a problem, read on and act now.

• Recognize where and which one of your children is feeling left out and give him that extra blanket of security that he needs.
• Such kind of a feeling usually starts as soon as your second baby arrives. Since you need to spend more time with the new born, your elder child naturally gets into an insecurity of not getting enough time from you.
• Taking care of such a thing not happening should start even before you go to the hospital.
• Make sure you have left your elder child with somebody responsible who will not beforehand tell him things like after the new baby you will not have time for him and be busy with the younger one all the time.
• After you are home, make sure both of you take out time for your elder child and sit and talk with him too.
• Even when you are busy with the baby, do not ignore him. Give him importance if you see him around.
• Involve your child by making him understand that the younger baby is small and can not do anything on his own. He would therefore need all of your help, including your elder child also.
• Take his help in doing baby chores sometime as he will feel responsible enough to take care of his sibling and get close to him also.

Although see to it that you never leave two children alone and also do not over indulge your elder child in the younger ones work. It is fine if he wants to be there, if he does not and wants to play instead, then leave him alone.
He might feel left out when everybody coming home gets a gift for the new one and nothing for him. At such a time you can keep some gifts from your side for him and make him feel equally important.

These were the things to do. The things that you should never do to avoid such a problem could be that you never compare both the children such as it leaves a negative impact on the other. Also, never, be partial between your children. Always have equal set of rules as equal expression of love for both of them.

Just take care that your behavior towards him does not change just because of the new child. You and only you can work towards making all your children feel equally secured and loved. If your elder child keeps getting such kind of security from both of you he will never feel left out and therefore never be jealous of his sibling.

Teach Your Kids about Bank Accounts

Teach Your Kids about Bank Accounts, Bonds & Stocks

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visit the bank together

Parents often complain to me that they want to teach their kids about finances and money terms, but they have no idea how to approach them. How do you help your children understand that money can be interesting, relevant and important? Try taking advantage of teachable money moments – those moments when life experiences provide opportunities for you to have a deep discussion with your teen.

Take your teen to the bank with you and introduce her to the tellers. Show her how to fill out a deposit form and wait in line. Talk about the differences between a checking and savings account. Ask her how she would use them to spend and save.

Terms to teach: Checking, savings, deposit, check

meet with your financial advisor

If you’ve got an accountant or financial advisor, does your child know about him or her? Sometimes, kids don’t realize that we all need a little bit of help and support. Tell your child that even you get help on some financial matters – that way, she’ll always feel comfortable asking questions and getting help later in life. You also want her to hear the terms you and your financial advisor use when discussing money issues.

Terms to teach: Credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, debt, loan, mortgage, stocks

“play” the stock market

I would highly recommend allowing your teen to “practice” with the stock market. Depending on your comfort level and your child’s interest, there are a few different ways you can do this. Teens have told me that doing anything with their parents is automatically “un-fun,” but they have also suggested that playing games or being strategic is an acceptable alternative. You never want to portray saving and spending money as a game, but you can talk to them about strategy and teach them important terms related to stocks and bonds.

Try picking a few stocks with a fake amount of money, and track it over a few weeks together to see the trends and patterns.

The most important thing you can do is show your teen that there’s no single “right answer.” Let them know that even adults have to do extra research, exercise caution and sometimes ask for help from an expert when it comes to money matters.