Five Things Your Kids Need To Know to Make It in Life

These aren't easy days to raise children - at least raise them to be well-rounded productive citizens. If you are concerned about how to do that, consider the following 5 keys to cultivating productive children. Teach them to... Think Right When our kids get home from school, class has definitely not ended. MTV, Jerry Springer, and even that blue dog have something to say to young pliable minds. How can we be more in control? For starters, take time to talk with your kids. The best way to teach correct thinking is to find out what they're thinking. Another great idea to nurture correct thinking is to reward children for doing it. Make a big deal about intellectual accomplishments like reading books, good grades, and extra curricular activities. Generally, what we emphasize to our children as important becomes the foundation for their thinking process in the future. Plan Right Many kids are growing up without any knowledge of how to organize and plan their lives. Teaching them how to plan their day, their school assignments, their extracurricular events, etc. will only aid them in their adult lives to be more productive and responsible. One simple way to begin is to require things like chores and homework to be done before TV and video games. This simple task begins what will be a lifelong activity of processing the affairs of daily living. As children get older, increase responsibilities proportionately. Give them room to fail. If they do, show them where they fell short and guide them back on task. These lessons will last a lifetime. Love Right Basically, the best advice about relationships for this short article is this: Children will most likely model how they see their parents or influencers handle relationships. If they see respect in action, they will respond in kind. If they see good communication skills at work, they will learn from that. If they observe compassion and understanding, they will respond in the same way. Many times how children perceive how their parents relate to one another will influence how they treat their future spouse should they marry. What they see is what they'll be. Budget Right The only way we will curb out of control consumer debt, is to get out of it ourselves and to teach it's woes to our children. If you are in debt, show your children the effects and what you are doing to reduce it. If you are not in debt, show your children how you did it (very important) and the benefits you enjoy as a result. Either way, they learn a valuable lesson. Give Right Our world is a needy place. Generosity is a wonderful attitude to nurture. The best way to nurture it is to do it. Allow your children to see you giving to your church, the needy man on the sidewalk, or simply doing a kind deed for a neighbor. There has never been a greater need for generosity in our world. Let's teach it to our children by example so that they can carry it into the next generation. Think, plan, love, budget, and give: The ingredients that cultivate productive children.