Rexanne's Web Review - Issue #34

Shopping

Did everyone survive the Thanksgiving feast and after effects? You know, bloated tummies and overall mellow feelings of family-inspired warmth? For our fellow-readers outside the U.S., hope you had a great two weeks! ;-)

The holiday's are upon us, no matter where in the world we are. Oh boy ... we're all excited in this house. Shopping for presents, the parties are beginning and it's that general holiday feeling in the air that we love. DO have a tour through my Christmas site! Everything you could imagine for the holidays ... cards, graphics, cooking, kid links, other Christmas site links, home pages and a huge Christmas shopping mall with every gift idea and secure online store imaginable. I loved creating this site! Have fun: Rexanne's Christmas

"I respect your opinion on spanking. If you can effectively discipline your children without spanking, more power to you. I do not agree with you, but I also realize that many people cannot control their anger, and what should have been one pop on the butt turns into a beating, which is abuse."

"You're doing a really great job with your newsletter. I know it must require hours and hours of hard work to get it together but you are helping get valuable information into the hands and minds of so many mothers! I'm 53 and my kids are grown and gone, but I work as a child and youth worker and see so many homes where parenting is so 'unknown.' I also facilitate a parent's and tot's play group for 2 hours per week and continually hear questions and comments from the participants about many of the subjects you write about. I forward your newsletters to those who have email."

Quote of the Week: Certainly there are things in life that money can't buy, but it's very funny ... did you ever try buying them without money? (Ogden Nash)

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When we consider that the word allowance means allowing for, it puts that A word into better perspective.

Children will need access to their own stash of cash when they reach a certain age. Kids develop this need around age 8 or 9 and it grows into the monster it will become by about age 14 or 15 ... they do get more expensive with age, don't they? ;-)

Beginning at age eight, we began giving our older daughter money for each A on her report card and for each 100% on tests. We receive flack from other parents about it to this day. Mainly, their argument is that children should do well in school because they want to. Is this the same as just because? Sounds like it to me. I think a lot of parents are afraid to reward their kids for good grades simply because they feel this will set a bad example. But a bad example for what? That if they work hard and do well, they will get rewards? Isn't that precisely how the world works? We still think it's a good idea four years later.

This same daughter gets an allowance plus her good grade money. She can spend her "own" money on whatever trips her wire. She has learned not to squander everything on one momentarily gratifying purchase, she's a whiz at making sure she's given the correct amount of change and her shopping savvy is positively inspiring. She also must put 10 % of her money in the bank. It's an amount not likely to be missed, but teaches her the benefits of paying yourself first. She's amassed quite the savings account!

My younger daughter is in first grade and beginning to demand her share of the booty. She now gets money for perfect test scores and for a "good" report card. She gets a lot less than her sister but she's 5 years younger and hasn't learned to tell the difference ... yet. ;-) She also gets a small allowance. She knows how much she has to spend and is learning the rituals of managing her own money, too.

While some children don't really care about going to the mall or buying their own special treats, most kids do care ... an awful lot. Children will begin craving all sorts of pricey, impractical things by a certain age. A good alternative to spending a fortune catering to their whims is teaching them to save for frivolous luxuries. If they want something impractical that we can't rationalize buying for them, they're on their own.

A potential problem I see occurring when children don't have their own money is a possible desire to steal, be it from their parent's wallet or something cool they feel they have to have from a store. Without the ability to "earn" or make the money fairly, they might feel the only way to attain something they want is to take it. Naturally, we teach our children that stealing is wrong but when kids (or adults for that matter) feel helpless, they tend to take morality into their own hands. Besides, kids need to learn fiscal responsibility. I think the earlier we allow them to experience the rewards and triumphs of good spending habits, the better judges of value they will become.

One controversy is paying children for doing chores. This is a tough call. I have just begun implementing mandatory chores in our home. Considering it's never been one of my better parenting abilities, I'm still struggling through the details. I have been known to threaten their allowance if they don't do their chores but it doesn't really work the way I want it to. My daughters decide if it's worth it at that point and that's not the point at all, is it? So, I'm backtracking on this one and being firmer about chores just getting done and trying not to threaten their livelihood. ;-)

I think allowance is a great teaching tool when given in the spirit of generosity and practicality. It's never too early to learn or teach responsibility and when we consider that allowance is a good math lesson, we've just added to our children's knowledge base considerably.

Let's explore articles dealing with children and money. Maybe together, we can make sense of this? ;-)

Link #1 is a short article by Vicky Lansky about allowances that will help put the issue into perspective: Allowances

Link #2 is a super compilation of what other parents are giving their kids for allowance and why: Allowance Survey

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Rexanne Mancini is the mother of two daughters, Justice and Liberty. She is a novelist, freelance writer and maintains an extensive yet informal parenting and family web site, Rexanne.com – http://www.rexanne.com -Visit her site for good advice, award-winning Internet holiday pages and some humor to help you cope. Subscribe to her free newsletter, Rexanne’s Web Review, for a monthly dose of Rexanne: http://www.rexanne.com/rwr-archives.html

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This article is available for reprint at no charge providing the resource box with the writer's information is included and remains intact.

Have an opinion about this topic or a story to share? Please send it: My Opinion

Mawood's Kitchen will inspire you to tie on the apron and begin baking. Whether for the holidays or for the fact that her recipes look positively drool-worthy. Lots of desserts, muffins, cookies and cakes. There ARE main meal recipes thrown in for good measure but it's quite obvious that Mawood loves sweets. Bless her. :-)

There are some terrific treats to prepare for the holidays ... Cherry Cheese Pie, Old South Caramel Cake and Candy Bar Fudge are a few that stand out as the most festive.

Main meal fare includes tasty-sounding Chicken Fingers with Honey Mustard sauce, Taco Quiche and Pork Chops with Wild Rice. Most of these recipes are of the quick and easy variety. No fear, no excuses ... you can do this! ;-)

Lissa Explains it All is a site that teaches kids the fundamentals of building web pages. Gee, maybe we adults could learn a thing or two in here, too. I know I did!

Lissa has captured the essence of web design for children and her tutorials are easy to understand and fun. They will come away from this site understanding the basics of HTML (*shudder*), tables, frames and even some Java script lessons. If this all sounds like Chinese to you, don't feel bad. It does to 99% of the population, too. ;-)

Kids who have even the slightest inclination to create web pages will find so much help and good advice on these pages, they'll be taking over your computer more and more, building and creating their own little home on the web. Watch out though ... pretty soon they'll be begging for their own domain. Hey, they can pay for it with their allowance! ;-)

"My 3 year old granddaughter has very curly hair and it is VERY LONG! A note was sent home a couple weeks ago warning that a child had been found with head lice. I was mortified! (I've been this route with my own children! ) Head lice love clean hair. They also love to cling to "warm heads" and longer hair (children have warmer heads than adults).

I found a trick that works great without having to deal with store bought chemicals (which can only be used once every 7 to 10 days, and could be harmful to them as well, especially at this age). It's mayonnaise. It really does work! I bought a few jars (big ones) then bought a metal nit comb. We plastered heads with the mayonnaise ... used about a half a jar on each head, really working it into the roots of the hair, then I wrapped heads with plastic wrap, leaving it wrapped for 2 1/2 hours, rinsing it out, combing it out with the nit comb, then shampooing. Of course you still have to sanitize the combs and brushes (or replace them), wash bedding and clothing in HOT water, and vacuum mattresses, carpets, and furniture. The little critters need air to breathe to stay alive ... if they're covered in mayonnaise (which is oil based) they can't breathe and die. I did this every day for a week on everyone's head, just to be on the safe side. I don't want to have to go through this again!

I hope this helps someone out there who has used the chemical type shampoos and are still finding the little buggers."

Elaine sent this link which also expounds on the virtues of mayonnaise as a lice fighter: Lice Treatment

"Here's another 'remedy' for head lice ... this one uses essential oils. Probably would be more expensive to use than the drug store shampoos, but it would not be damaging to the user, just to the lice! A friend of mine used it whenever her kids came home from school with head lice:

50 ml. olive oil
5 ml. lavender oil
5 ml. rosemary oil
5 ml. pennyroyal oil
5 ml. eucalyptus oil
tea tree oil: up to 5 ml

"I have three school aged kids, two boys and a girl. I gave the boys buzz cuts, which helped greatly. But my daughter! What an ordeal. Our outbreak was during the summer. I tried every shampoo on the market and prescriptions. I tried covering her head with olive oil and having her sleep that way. The lice survived but it took days to get the oil out ... LOL! I washed and vacuumed with a frenzy. I took the kids to the swimming pool every day hoping the chlorine would kill them. All to no avail.

Finally an idea struck while I was getting my hair done at the salon one day. I got my daughter, put her hair up in a plastic shower cap and put her under the hair dryer for 20 minutes, as hot as she could stand. It worked! We fried the suckers."

Great tips, ladies! Thank you so much for taking the time to share these ideas with us. This battle is better fought with help!

Got a tip or trick your fellow readers would enjoy or could use? Please send it here for possible publication in one of the next issues: Tips

Here are some great worksheets for remedial reading and phonics, from kindergarten to fourth grade levels. A lot of them are free but to gain access to all of these work sheets, there is a small charge per sheet. Too bad, huh? ;-)

These are super learning aids, especially if your child is having trouble in the reading department.

I used to play tournament backgammon. I adore the game but haven't played for years ... until I discovered FunCom's online version of the very popular board game. This might be the end of family meals as we know them around here. My user name is Rexanne. Challengers are always welcome. :-)

You'll have to register with Funcom to play backgammon against other online players. Engage in a chat with your opponent as you battle, or simply watch a few games before you jump in. If you're brave, you can play against the formidable Jellyfish ... Funcom's very own computer brain. Jellyfish is a serious opponent!

This is quite a high tech game room. Your score is recorded and you can even use the doubling cube. Oh yeah! Have fun but ...

This is normally the Home Page of the Week section, but every so often, I find a site that I think is well worth sharing. This is one of them, especially at this time of the year.

Good Guys lists companies that receive more than a few consumer raves, the ones that get it right. There are testimonials on these companies, what they sell and why they've earned a place on the list. You'll be surprised at who they are, how excellent their customer service is and know that you can shop securely with them. These are not just Internet companies. You'll find restaurants, car dealers, online stores, services and many more companies listed.

This site also has a Rogues Gallery where they list the companies that have annoyed, aggravated and/or otherwise ticked off a number of consumers. This one may also surprise you! Sadly, this list is much longer than the Good Guy list. :-(

You can send in raves or complaints about a company and make your voice heard, too. It seems consumers have been losing rights more and more lately. This is a great way to fight back or praise a well-deserved company.

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The fine print: This newsletter is copyright - 2000 - in its entirety. Please pass it on, but also please leave it intact. :-) You are receiving this email because you sent a specific message asking to be placed on the mailing list for this newsletter. If you wish to be removed from this list, see the unsubscribe notice above. This is NOT SPAM, nor will you ever see a recipe featuring SPAM in this newsletter! ;-)

I have personally checked out the links provided here but they could possibly lead you to any number of bizarre and/or offensive sites. Surf at your own risk. The DIRECT links on this page are all family friendly unless stated otherwise. While this newsletter is family friendly, it is not necessarily intended to be read by children. Parents should always monitor their children while they are on the Internet.