Mom's Corner

Instilling Thankfulness in Children

We could all use a reminder to show gratitude to the person handing you a gift.

It's a struggle for every parent to instill in their children thankfulness and gratitude. Every year before family arrives for a birthday party or Christmas dinner I have to have the pep talk with my children that goes something like this, "Even if the gift you open isn't something you really wanted you must smile, look the person in the eye and say thank you." I have this talk because my oldest son, L, is on the Autism Spectrum and one of his unique qualities is that he doesn't have filters. He doesn't have the ability to lie, he can't comprehend the little white lies that we all say in order to make other people feel good—"It's exactly what I wanted" or "I love it, thank you!"—instead he's brutally honest. I was chatting with his teacher…

• Photos (1)

Holiday Shopping: Spending Limits For Kids’ Presents?

How much is too much to spend on children and teens? We want to hear your thoughts!

As the holiday shopping season goes into full swing, some people are maxing out their credit cards to pay for presents and others are setting budgets and sticking with them. Scour just about any Facebook stream or stop in a local coffee shop and chances are you’ll hear parents debating the merits of setting spending limits. Or, you'll hear them lamenting about just how much they've already spent. The ideas for a perfect limit do seem to vary rather greatly. Some parents say $100 per child is more than enough. Others tend to lean toward much more generous figures. After all, there’s nothing like seeing a child’s eyes light up as they unwrap gift after gift. And that’s what we want to hear from you about! Do you set spending limits on the …

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)