Miss Minnesota Contestant Raises Financial Awareness: The Queen of a Thousand Smackers

Cash. Coin. Coconuts. No matter what you call it, people are talking about it. Or are they?
My husband, Jason, and I often discuss the strange fact that we don’t learn about managing money in school. And yet, it’s vital to existing responsibly and independently even before we graduate into the “real world.”

The Facts:

The [...]

Raising Healthy Kids: 7 Ways to Get Children to Eat A Healthy Lunch

Parents: Could getting your child involved in making lunch simply end up creating a mess of unappetizing foods not even appealing to a hungry dog? It doesn’t have to be! (Enjoy this short piece of nostalgia on Lilly Tomlin’s Edith Ann, creating her lunch masterpiece from Sesame Street, above.)

Since the article on vending machines [...]

Imagination Playground: The Vital Role of Play in a Child’s Life

Play is an important part of a child’s development. We all have seen the traditional “monkey bars,” swings, and jungle gyms. But when architect, David Rockwell, came up with a concept for a playground—he thought outside of the box.
According to yesterday’s New York Times:
Instead of monkey bars and jungle gyms, there are blue and white [...]

Teaching Children How to Manage Money: 5 Tips for Savvy Parents

Five Ways to Teach Your Children about the Value of Money
By Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman
(Teach your children self reliance and responsibility!)
When I was about 5 years old, my father took me down to the corner store so that he could buy a newspaper for himself and a pack of gum for me. [...]

You can do it! 7 Ways to Teach Your Children Self Reliance and Responsibility

There has been a lot of talk over the last year about “helicopter parents,” parents who hover over their children and swoop in before or at the slightest hint of discomfort, challenge, or threat of failure. Powerful parents know that while they want their children to succeed, there is great value in making mistakes and [...]

Are your Children Showing Self Reliance at School and Home?

Because it’s Self Reliance month for Powerful Words, it’s important that we provide children with opportunities to show self reliance at school, at home, and out in the community. Perhaps your children have been relying on you (or their teachers?) to do some things that they can do on their own. What are [...]

Self Reliance: 10 Parts of Teaching Your Children How to Do the Laundry

Self Reliance: Teaching Children How to Do Laundry
Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman
Since all of our Powerful Words schools and families are focusing on Self Reliance this month, it seems like it would be a good time for children to learn how to do some things on their own. We already talked about learning how to [...]

Self Reliance: 10 Ways to Teach Children How to Pack Their Own Bags

Whether your children are going for an overnight at a friends, a weeklong trip with Grandma and Grandpa, or to class at their Powerful Words academy, make it easy on everyone by showing them how to do it all by themselves. Self reliance comes when children feel comfortable and confident in their own abilities. [...]

A “Grand” Vacation: Can Children Travel with their Grandparents?

Vacationing with Grandpa and Grandma
Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman
Need a vacation after your vacation with your kids? Perhaps you should take your next vacation at home!
One of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry is called “grandtravel,” meaning, vacations your children take with their grandparents.
As a Child Development Specialist, I am [...]

Self Reliance: Teaching Children How to Tie Shoes

I can do it! How to teach children to tie their shoes
By Dr. Robyn J.A. Silverman
Happy March! Since the Powerful Word of the Month is Self Reliance, it’s a good time for parents and teachers to help children exercise a “can do attitude” and challenge themselves to do some age-appropriate activities by themselves.
While it’s often [...]