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Fun Family Activities for Thanksgiving

The holidays are times of celebration, sharing, and appreciation for what you have. On and around the Thanksgiving holiday, many families like to show their appreciation for each other by participating in fun family activities. While there are traditional events and activities that are done each year, it’s also a great time to try new things and possibly add to your existing traditions.

Cooking and Baking

Children of all ages love to cook and bake, so why not make a few tasty treats together? Thanksgiving dessert recipes can be found online. Consider making an appetizer to leave out while guests arrive, cookies to be eaten before, during, or after the holiday, and a delicious cake or pie to eat after the special holiday dinner.

Younger children will be delighted to help mix, stir and pour in measuring cup contents. Older kids will enjoy doing the measuring, cracking eggs, and even some of the actual cooking. And no one is too young, or too old, to taste test the icing.

Thanksgiving Crafts

To reiterate the theme of giving thanks, create a construction paper tree and tape it onto a wall in a central location. Then cut out a bunch of green leaves. At the end of every day, have each family member write what they are thankful for on one leaf and stick it onto the tree. If this is started on November 1, by Thanksgiving Day you will have a tree full of leaves for your family to enjoy and remember all that they are thankful for.

These are just two examples of fun family activities that can be done on Thanksgiving. Use these to create new traditions in your family, or let them be inspiration to find something else that fits into your family.

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C​hoosing a Daycare

F​or working parents, few decisions are as important as the choosing of child care options for their young children. For school age children, before and after school care are just as important as full-day care. Parents should look for facilities that are clean, tidy and well-kept. They should also make sure that child care professionals are licensed or certified, as per state regulations, and that extensive background checks were performed by the facility before hiring. Day care facilities should be more than just safe, however; they should also be engaging for the child.

If at all possible, ask for a trial period with your day care facility, when you can drop by unexpectedly. Is your child bored, or occupied? Is he playing with other children or parked in front of a television? What snacks has he been offered? Are your requests concerning food choices and activities being honored? These questions should be answered to your satisfaction before you commit to any day care facility or provider. Another important consideration concerns the operation of the facility in situations like bad weather, holidays, or child illness. Keep in mind that if the day care agrees to keep your child while he is contagious, then they are also agreeing to keep other children who may infect yours.

The final considerations include proximity to your home and workplace and the cost of the care provided. Some larger before and after school facilities may offer transportation to and from the child’s school. Day care fees will also vary widely among different communities, and even within the same center for special needs children, those still bottle-feeding, and kids who are not yet potty trained. Average costs can range from $400 to $800 or more; some parents may be better off financially by changing work schedules, arranging to telecommute, or even getting by on only one income. If none of these are options, you may try applying for assistance from your local social services agency.

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Teach Your Children Financial Responsibility

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Children often mimic their parents, so you want to make sure that you’re setting a good example. One area where that’s vital is financial responsibility. If you’re not financially responsible, why should your children be? You need to tell them about the value of it, but you need to show them, as well. If you do both, they’ll be a lot more likely to learn the value of money and how to handle it properly. There are all kinds of ways in which a person can fall into debt and get into trouble, so you’ll want to show your children that it’s important to budget and to think carefully about the kinds of purchases that are being made. Saving money and investing it are also good lessons.

Of course, even the best-laid plans can sometimes go astray. If that happens to you, you’ll want to be sure that you know what to do next. If you find yourself in a serious financial bind and you don’t have a way to dig yourself out, you may need to see a debt consolidation service. They can help you figure out a way to get out of debt by reducing your interest rate and consolidating your bills into one low payment. Then, you just make the payment to the service and the service pays your creditors. That way, you get your debts paid and don’t have to worry about missing a payment.

If you do need to see a consolidation service, be sure to take your children with you. Show them the value of not ending up in that kind of position, but also show them that it sometimes happens and that there are people who can help you. If you don’t take a careful look at the people and agencies that can help you when you need it, you won’t know who to turn to when you have a problem.

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Find Your Support Systems

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Single parents often have a difficult time helping their children adjust to the new order of things. This is due in part to the hectic schedule of being a single parent. There is a need to bring in money while paying bills and dealing with the day to day life of the children. This can sometimes take over the children’s need for some time to adjust. There are a number of support systems in your local community that could help you to deal with this situation.

One of these types of support systems is the teachers and school staff at the school that your child attends. Taking some time to meet with your school representatives and your child’s teacher about the changes your child is facing is a good way to give them a little advanced warning about what the child might be going through. This will enable them to keep an eye out for any issues when you are not able to be with your child. You can be sure that they have been in this position before and may even be able to offers some good advice on how to help your child through the difficult times ahead.

Other local resources for you and your children during the challenge of adjusting to a new lifestyle are the local activities directors such as those relating to sporting events that your child may want to participate in. One way to help your child through the difficult times is to help them with their self esteem. They need to have a feeling that they are important and that they can accomplish goals. This will go a long way to giving them foundation to get them through the difficult times. It will also set them up with some long term friendships that can be a huge benefit when the times prove difficult.

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Teaching Your Kids to Avoid Debt

It is not hard for people to become swamped in debt these days. When a child sees this happen to their parents they will get the message that there is no need to worry about paying for their purchase until later. This becomes a problem for the parent later when they are wanting to buy a home or car. A good solution to this problem is to teach the child the way to balance their finances by using a prepaid card. This card will let them know that you should not buy something unless you can afford to pay in cash.

A child can learn to control their spending by having a set amount of money available to them. This way they will be able to learn to set a budget and also be able to build their credit by use of a prepaid card. They will learn to check their statements for accuracy and balance their checkbook. This is a great learning experience to prepare them to be a responsible adult.

There are many prepaid cards out there that are made just for children to use. Some of the card companies will contact the child’s guardian if the card is used. The available balance is sometimes limited. The prepaid card is a great way to purchase something and be able to hide your identity. You can teach your children early about the right way to handle finances and not get into debt with credit cards. Every parent should make this a priority to teach their kids this habit. Finances after all are something that everyone has to deal with their whole life. It would be a good idea to research them on the Internet or take recommendations from someone else that uses them for their child or even for themselves.

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Creating a Support Net

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For parents one of the most difficult events in life to handle is becoming a single parent. This is a pressure filled situation in so many ways and it is easy to become overwhelmed by all of the changes faced for you and your children. When facing the prospect of becoming a single parent it can be hard to know how to keep your children from suffering. Finding local support systems to help both you and your children through the process is the best way to help ease the confusion faced. They need help getting through the process as you do.

There are support systems in places you may not have thought of. Consider the school workers such as the principal, teacher and nurse as well as the school counselor as being a great source of support in the transition you are all facing. They make excellent eyes for you on your children when you can’t be there to keep an eye on how they are handling things. They can also help to ease the concern and frustration felt by your children. These individuals are familiar to your children making it easier for them to trust in them.

Other sources of support are the other parents in your area. You will find that they are able to help with many things such as rides for your child when you are unavoidably detained or help in transporting your child to and from after school events. This can be one of the hardest points for a single parent. It is very easy to spread yourself too thin when you are responsible for most of the back and forth and care of your child’s schedule. It is very reassuring to know that in a pinch you have someone you trust to turn to who can be there for your child.

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