One of the most common problems of children at school is bullying. Bullying can lead to many other problems. For instance, your children may want to start skipping school because of fear and anxiety. Bullying can lower your children’s self esteem. Some victims of bullies may feel depressed. Other victims develop aggressive behaviors toward other children. Bullying can range from verbally teasing to physically hitting.

Unfortunately, approximately ten percent of children are the victims of bullies. Children who are quiet, anxious, sensitive, or small are more vulnerable for bulling. Believe it or not, most victims of bullies will not seek help from the teacher or parents, because they may fear the bullies. Therefore, it is important for the parents to learn how to recognize the signs of the problem. For instance, some children constantly complain about being teased at school. Other children may tell you that they are sick all the time to avoid the school.

If you know that your children are bullied at school, what should you do? Although, parents in many movies encourage their children to fight back, it is not the best thing to do. Your children can get hurt, and they can be in trouble for fighting back. You should teach your children to walk away, and they should tell the bully to stop. The bullies need to understand that their behavior will not be tolerated. Tell you children to talk to teacher to help. If it still does not work, you should schedule a meeting with the other parents and teacher.

It is not always easy being a parent. We teach our children how to treat us. And often from an early age they have us wrapped around their small fingers.

So we are not unfairly taken advantage of we as parents must set boundaries early on. Without these our children will run wild. Today parents seem more lenient – certainly more so than our own parents. Too much freedom can actually harm our children.

By setting boundaries, we are letting our children know exactly what we expect of them. And what we disapprove of. Yes our children may very well kick and scream but it is in our own best interests (and theirs) to set boundaries and then consistently reinforce them.

Children feel safe when boundaries are set. Yes they will test you and you must be firm and unrelenting. Once you let your guard down once, you have lost some self respect and will be walked all over.

Setting boundaries for every routines are essential to ensure peaceful every-day living. Where your children can and cannot eat in the house. What time they must go to bed. How they are expected to behave are three general boundaries that must be set.

The trick in setting these rules is to not make them sound like rules. Explain why that particular boundary is set and why it is in their best interest. For example you can talk about their bed-time as being essential to have enough energy to wake up early the next morning and start playing.

State that so-and-so child goes to bed earlier than them and they are lucky to be able to stay up later than them. Tell your children stories about what it was like when you are their age. Children enjoy listening to these – especially when it makes them feel better about their circumstance.

Have consequences if they do not adhere to the boundary. And make sure you carry out what you threaten to do. That way your child knows you are serious and will think twice about pushing the boundary next time.

Being firm and loving is the key in setting and reinforcing boundaries with your child.

As children we were hopefully all taught the value of a dollar; that the amount of work we put in will determine our reward. But in a day and age where children seem more materialistic than ever, it can be increasingly difficult to instill the proper values in our children. There are several parenting tips that experts agree will go a long way to ensuring your child has an appropriate and healthy attitude towards money.

First and foremost, gift giving and receiving is one of childhood’s most important lessons. More and more children’s parties – abbreviated to fit into an hour and a half at a location away from home – have simply eliminated the tradition of opening presents in front of party guests. Sadly, this has also eliminated a truly priceless lesson for children.

Parenting tips of merit include offering your children a multitude of opportunities to give and receive gifts politely. Not only does this offer an invaluable lesson in social graces but it makes a significant point about the value of money. If children are involved in purchasing their friends’ gifts – including staying within a budgetary limit – they discover how much things really cost. Additionally they can witness firsthand how much joy the gift has given their friend.

Conversely, when your child receives a gift, they will be more inclined to express their appreciation for it because they realize what a short distance a dollar can stretch. They can learn to accept a present graciously – even if it’s not exactly what they wanted. The gift is in the thought not in the dollar value attached to it. This is one of the most important parenting tips in existence.

Additional parenting tips concerning the value of money include the attachment of values to everyday events. For example, a family outing does not have to be expensive to be worthwhile and fun. Teach your children the value of spending time together. Spending the day at a public park can be just as much fun as spending the day at a pricey amusement park.

Parenting tips that most experts agree upon include the importance of steering clear of monetary rewards attached to expected chores. Getting paid to make his/her bed will likely not teach your child any valuable lessons. Certain jobs around the house are expected – we all have to do our part to ensure that our homes run smoothly. Teach your children that your family is a unit that requires the effort of each team member for it to be successful. If you wish to offer chores above and beyond everyday household jobs at a set allowance then by all means do so. But keep one of the most important parenting tips in mind: paying your child to do what is already expected is looked at like a bribe and will ultimately not be valued.

But the greatest parenting tips that can be offered include the importance of listening to your child’s attitudes about money. You may be surprised by how your attitude has been passed seamlessly to your children. Value money and your children will value it as well.

Question – We are having increasing difficulty dealing with curfews in our home. Our teenagers want to stay out later and later and it’s hard for us to trust them. What can we do?

Answer – Isn’t it amazing how kids believe that they can have fun only after a certain time of evening (or early morning)?

Curfew ripe for power struggles

Curfew can be an area ripe for power struggles, conflict and frustration. When the subject of curfew comes up, many parents hear the same old refrains:

“Everyone else’s parents let them stay out as long as they want.” (check it out, it’s probably not accurate)

“When I get to be a parent, I’m going to let my kids stay out as late as they want.” (right)

If not handled properly, curfew can become a battleground with the parents playing warden to the teenage inmates, and kids sneaking out and/ or not coming home in order to “prove” their independence.

Control vs. management

Curfew can also be an area that can illustrate a useful model for managaging the teenage years.

Many times when parents phone me about a teenager, they say something like, “I can’t seem to control my kid.”

The problem here is one of control vs. management. Trying to control a teenager is like trying to make a gorilla wear pants:

It’s only going to frustrate you and make the gorilla angry.

When we teach our children to feel good about themselves, we teach them how to handle life’s disappointments.

When they do things right, acknowledge it.

Find one or two things about what they did to complement. Don’t go overboard on the praise or they may not believe you are sincere. Simply point out one or two things that you liked about what they did.

Tell them they should be happy about their accomplishment.

This is one trick that most parents miss. We want our kids to learn to look to themselves for validation. We do not want them doing things to make others happy. So lets include one simple sentence in our praise. “You must be very proud of yourself.” or “I’ll bet you are happy with your performance.”

By including a simple sentence that guides them to feel good, your children learn to look to themselves for validation.

Acknowledge their mistakes – but don’t dwell on them.

Be honest. If they tried something and failed, acknowledge the failure, but point out at least one thing they did right in their attempt. “Yes, the house you built with blocks fell down, but I really liked the colors you chose. Let’s try again.” or “I know your shoe came untied, but I’ll bet you are really proud of the fact that you tied them all by yourself today!” or “Yes, you did miss the game winning basket. but you should be proud of the two three point shots you did make.”

These three tips will go a long way in teaching your children to look inside themselves for validation and to shrug off the failures and try again.

Not only are you teaching your children to feel good about themselves, you are strengthening your relationship with them. Your children are seeing you as a loving parent who truly cares how they feel. Even the busiest parents can take a few seconds to teach their children how to feel good about themselves.

The work you do while your children are small will make a world of difference when they become teenagers. If they view you as caring and supportive, they will continue to trust you as they grow older. If they view you as critical and unsupportive, they will look to others to give advice when they reach their teens. Who do you want to guide your teenager – you or your teenager’s friends.

Parenting is easier than most parents think.