Studying College without Leaving Home

July 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Grove City College campus during the springtime.

Image via Wikipedia

When it comes to going away to college, there are a lot of expenses. There is not only tuition but living on your own. There’s rent, food, entertainment, phone bills, and more. Because of these many expenses, many students are looking for ways to cut costs. One of the best ways is to stay home while attending college. Here are some tips on how to do this:

Attending a Local College

Whether you’re looking into getting a bachelor degree or a master degree, by going to a college or university in your area, you’ll be able to stay at home. Your parents will likely expect you to pitch in for food and/or rent, but it won’t be nearly as much as you’d pay for a dorm room and on-campus meal plan. If the colleges in your area don’t have the right program for you, consider taking your general education classes there and transferring to a college that does have the right program later on.

Getting a Degree Online

Another option is to attend college classes online. This is especially important if you don’t have any schools in your area. There are many accredited online programs through prestigious schools that will provide the same education that you would find on campus. However, by attending online, you’ll be cutting out a lot of the costs including the cost of a car and gas.

Whether you attend online or in person, staying at home while going to college is a great way to save money.

 

Filed Under: Advice & Guidance, General Tagged With: , ,

Summer and Your Child

July 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Campers and staff of Camp Becket of the Becket...

Image via Wikipedia

For many families, summer is a time to relax, have fun, and just be together. However, for a growing number of families, it is also a time to say goodbye to the kids. As many children have free time in the summer, the family may choose for them to go do a variety of things.

Some children will go to a day camp in the summer. This is generally not as difficult for the child or the parents to handle as other summer fun options. Since the child comes home in the evening, for many it feels no different than going to school (though it is a lot more fun!).

Other times, a child will go to a camp where they do not come home in the evenings. These summer camps can be more difficult for the child and the parents. If it is the first time that your child is going away to camp, you may find yourself becoming stressed or anxious. Remember that this is a milestone in your child’s life.

If you have family that lives in a different part of the country, or even the world, than you, you may find yourself choosing to send your child to spend some time with them in the summer. This is a great way for a child to get to know their family, and even learn about different cultures.

When your child goes away for part of the summer, keep in mind that this is a huge milestone for them, and for you. The experiences that they will have far out way the anxiety that you may feel.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Advice & Guidance, Family Tagged With: , ,

Helping Your Teen With Fighting

June 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Hormones that control puberty table 08

Image via Wikipedia

Because teenagers’ hormones are in states of imbalance during puberty, these children will more than likely experience very intense emotions. If your teen cannot or does not handle these emotions in a healthy manner, you may see them react violently. Fights occur in high school among both females and males — it is not a gender-based situation.

Here are a few tips to help if find you need to provide your teenager with an outlet for these intense feelings, thus preventing any violent outbursts.

Provide physical activity outlets. Because teens are experience mood swings caused by the imbalance of progesterone, testosterone and estrogen, releasing energy will help regain some hormonal balance. Regular exercise and activities will help. This will burn energy and give them less time to act out in ways such as fighting.

Because of a teen’s susceptibility to peer pressure, your teen make act out of the norm when trying to impress their friends. Discuss issues such as drug and alcohol use with your teen, including the health detriments of illicit drug use. Talk to them about gun safety as well.

Teach them by setting a good example. You may not be aware that they are picking up on your behaviors, both good and bad. You need to make sure that you are setting a good example for your children. Giving them good examples of how to work through anger and stress will provide them with a strong foundation for their future behaviors. If you act out in anger, they will think that that is an acceptable reaction.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Advice & Guidance, General, Parenting Tagged With: , ,

Helping Your Teach Learn About Budgeting and Finances

June 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
First 4 digits of a credit card

Image via Wikipedia

Your teenager may be reaching the point in his or her life where he may want to assert some independence. Whether they are acting out or just asking for more responsibilities, there are a few ways that you can help your teen feel a sense of independence and adulthood.

One of the most valuable things you can help your teen with is teaching them about finances and budgeting. Many teens may not have any idea of how real world finances work and how much money they may actually be spending.

First, talk to your teen about how credit cards and checking accounts really work, as well as how banks work. Make sure they understand service charges, as well as interest rates and payment plans.

Provide your teen an allowance. After setting an allowance amount, decide upon the items that you will pay for and those that the teen will pay for. You should including things such as transportation costs, clothing, activity and entertainment costs. And don’t forget about things such as who will be paying for that cell phone and other such luxuries.

Make a list of those expenses and when they will come due. Explain how your teen’s allowance must be managed in order to meet those expenses each month.

Open a bank account for your teenager. This may help your teen with those impulse spending times, since he or she won’t always have cash on hand.

Discuss goals and savings plans. Help them make plans for college or other large expenses such as cars and entertainment systems.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Advice & Guidance, General Tagged With: , ,

Top 4 Phones for Teens

June 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Teens, filled with the desire to have the latest technology that can impress their friends, are the life blood of the cell phone industry.  Teens are social creatures by nature and it is because of this that they and their parents will spend a small fortune on the most “in-style” pieces of technology on the market.  When speaking of the social needs of teens, it may be a gift in disguise when you actually purchase their very first cell phone.  Some phones are better suited to some teens while that same phone is not right for another.

The prepaid blackberry phones are in one of the top four when it comes to the best cell phones for teens.  In fact many of the phones for teens are in the form of the blackberry line.  With that said, you will also need to consider your teen’s personality when choosing the best phones.

  1. If your teen is more musically inclined, you will need to look into the music playing capabilities of a phone. MP3 players are being completely replaced for a musical smart phone.
  2. With most teen girls, the most important consideration you will need to ponder is the texting and talking capabilities.  You can tell by simply looking at a phone how user friendly it will be.
  3. GPS capability.  You can use a cell phone as a GPS, which is a good feature for the teens who get lost easily when following directions.

While choosing the right phone sounds overwhelming, it is an investment that you can later use as a method of discipline.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Advice & Guidance, Discipline Tagged With: , ,