Archives for January 2012

Schooling The Generation Z

Generation Z is the term used for people who were born from early to mid 90’s to the present. This is the generation that practically grew up using the internet. With the technology being very accessible to this generation, it is not surprising that they think and act differently from the other past generations. And for us parents, it really is difficult dealing with the generation gap and the challenge of schooling this very advance generation.

A very intimate discussion/lunch gave us a glimpse on how Reedley International School deals with the generation Z. And one of their school policy is No Bully Policy. Their goal is to the school to have a zero bully incident…

Here are the other moms who attended the mini gathering..

Photo courtesy of My Mom Friday

Reedley Background
Reedly International School was founded by Mrs. Nellie Aquino-Ong in 1999. It started as a review center for students who want to get into the country’s top universities. In 2000, Reedley opened as an Upper School with 80 students, but they now have Lower School (Grades 1 to 4) and Middle School (Grades 5 to 7). They currently have 500 students from 19 different nationalities.

Know more about Reedey International by visiting their website.

Helping Your Kids Develop Good Habits

Not all habits are bad and no matter what age your kids are there are a few universally regarded ways to keep them healthy, responsible and in line for a great future. As a parent, you want to steer them in the right direction without being a dictator. If your kids see you as a dictator, they will do the opposite of what you say. Therefore you should encourage healthy, fun habits that will stick with them as they become young adults:

Be careful with credit cards. From the time they are old enough to want to buy something you should be teaching your kids responsible spending behaviors. Get them one of the best cash reward credit cards and let them experiment with finances. At the end of the month if they can’t pay off their bills (which, of course, should be extremely low–$50 max) with chore money their spending luxuries are cut off. This will teach them valuable lessons for the real world.

Reading is cool. I don’t just mean the Chase Sapphire preferred review (although I guess if you’re teaching them about credit cards, it would be useful). Get your kids hooked (remember, not all habits are bad) on reading literature. Young adult (YA) fiction is bigger than ever with the Twilight series and the Hunger Games following closely in the footsteps of Harry Potter, and new high quality work appears every year. Studies have shown that kids who develop a love of reading early are more likely to be happy and succeed in life.

Be aware of Internet privacy. Most kids are smarter with social media than their parents but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily safe. The Internet can be used for good and it can be used for bad and your kids should know that they have to be careful with what they post about themselves and who they interact with online. This will be important for the rest of their lives, as the Internet won’t be going away anytime soon. In addition to restricting what sites they visit you may have to set ground rules about what information (for example, where they live) they can share.

Raising kids in today’s society is not easy. With so much irresponsible spending and Internet sites, many dangers lurk about and bad influences come from all directions. But there are ways to steer your kids in the right direction without cramping their love of fun and being known as Mommy the Dictator.

This is a guest article

Smart Parenting Meet and Greet

Last December, I got to attend the Smart Parenting Meet and Greet event. It’s a small gathering of Smart Parenting moms together with the people behind SP. The event was held at Richmonde Hotel in Eastwood and attended by 30+ moms who are all avid SP readers.

Mia Fausto-Cruz, Editor-in-chief of SP magazine, welcomed the mommies. Relationship Coach, Ms. Aileen Santos shared with us a study done by Marau Emoto to water and the crystals formed on its frozen states. His expriments involved using good and bad words on the water. Some he labelled ‘You make me sick, I will kill you’ and the result was fascinating:

‘You make me sick, I will kill you’ ‘Thank you’

Ms Aileen Santos demonstrated ow powerful words are and how it affects our kids.

It was a very informative meet and greet event.. giving us a head’s up on how we should handle our kids. Smart Parenting sure knows how to help us in being a smart moms 🙂