Guide to Graduation Gifts

May 17, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments


Graduations are just around the corner, and if you’re like me, you get numerous graduation announcements or invitations and aren’t quite sure what do with all of them. Here are a few quick tips for maximizing your impact during this special time in a graduating teen’s life.

1) Set a limit.

Sit down and decide on a reasonable dollar amount to spend on each graduating teen and stick to it. Don’t get too carried away and break the bank. This isn’t a time to give out of obligation but a time to honor these teens for all their hard work and dedication.

2) Make it personal.

Try and find out what the teen’s plans are for after high school. If they’ve chosen a college, give a gift that bears the name of the university they’ll be attending or a gift card to the school’s bookstore. Take the time to personalize the gift instead of giving a vague, general gift.

3) Meet a need.

If they are going to be putting together a dorm room or apartment, a basket of practicals and goodies for their first place is a nice choice. If they’re attending school far away, purchase a gas card. Or a basket full of fast food gift cards is always a hit!

4) Speak a blessing.

So many times, we assume that we received the announcement or invitation for the expected response of a graduation gift. The truth is, what the grads need more than anything are your words of wisdom and encouragement. Don’t miss this opportunity to speak life into each teen. Written words are more powerful and valuable than any tangible gift they will receive. Make sure you take the time to write a personal note that includes a challenge, instead of just signing a card.

Graduation is a time to celebrate the teens and their families, and it is a time that will be a springboard for their next step in this journey called Life. Make sure you don’t miss your opportunity to maximize your influence in the life of a teen. You received an announcement or invitation on purpose, so give a gift and speak a blessing on purpose, too.

 

Parenting Teenagers through the Summer Activities

May 16, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Okay, it’s that time of year. The weather is warmer; trips to the lake, river, beach, or pool have begun; and your teen has no drive or motivation for school whatsoever.

Here are a few practical tips for parenting teens to finish the year strong and stay on track during the summer.

Keep them busy. The biggest temptations for your teen during this season are parties. Most sports have wrapped up, and school is winding down. Teens have more free time and more opportunities to get into trouble.

My teen came home a few days ago and proudly announced that she watched movies in every single class that day. Not exactly what parents want to hear when we send our kids off to school for eight hours. But what do we do? Our expectations aren’t as high, because we know the students are ready for a break. But don’t fill their time with meaningless activity; instead, make sure they have plenty to do so that they aren’t looking for the wrong things to fill their time.

Challenge them to stay focused. One way is to reward them for good grades on their finals. Help them set a goal for each final or semester grade for each class and offer to pay them if they meet their goal. A parent’s job is to go to work, set and meet goals or expectations, and receive a paycheck. Going to school is the student’s job. Their “paycheck” can be as much or as little as you want, but giving them both a goal and an incentive  helps to keep them focused. At our house we pay for straight A’s. Our kids are intelligent, but A’s don’t come easily for them. They have to work for them. The incentive of a Franklin in their pocket motivates them to work harder.

Don’t quit parenting. Our tendency during this season and during the summer is to just turn it off and let them “enjoy” their spring or summer. The truth is, without the rigorous load from school and athletics, it’s the perfect time for you to step up your game as a parent. Be intentional about spending time with them. You aren’t battling their busy schedules, so create time for rest, give them responsibilities, and enjoy the moments you have with them.

What are some ways you are going to maximize the summer months with your teen?

5 Reasons Parents Should Encourage Their Teen To Be Creative

May 15, 2012 in Uncategorized with 5 Comments

Rob is a husband, father, blogger, type A creative, aspiring entrepreneur and outside-of-the-box thinker.  He works on Dave Ramsey’s team and loves seeing people doing what they are created by to do.

American teenagers are downright busy. Between school, homework, sports, music lessons, church, etc., there isn’t much time for them to do anything else.

I often wonder why we allow and many times even push our kids to be so busy. We need to ask ourselves if this busy-ness is adding or taking away value from their lives. In most cases I would argue that it is doing more harm than good.

Creativity is probably one of the biggest casualties of busy-ness in American teenagers. One of the keys to being creative is having time and space for our minds to wander. As a parent, you need to help your student to carve out this time and space. Here are a few reasons that parents should encourage their teen to be creative:

5 Reasons To Encourage Your Teen To Be Creative

1. Creativity leads to self-awareness. The teenage years are when we really start to explore what we enjoy, what we are good at and the type of people with whom we connect. There are many adults that struggle to know who they are and there is a pretty good chance that they were never encouraged to be creative. There’s a good chance they were taught to do whatever they could to fit in and not be noticed.

2. Creativity builds self-esteem. Creating art (whatever form it may take) is one of the most gratifying things you can do. For a young person, knowing that you have created something beautiful, exponentially increases your feelings of self-worth.

3. Creativity provides an outlet for teens to express themselves. Teenagers go through a lot of changes- biologically, physically and emotionally. Most of them have never had to navigate through the plethora of feelings that accompany all of these changes. Creating is a great outlet for all of these feelings.

4. Being creative with your teen strengthens your relationship. My dad and I have a great relationship. We are both musicians and some of my best memories with him are of us playing music together. Working together can strengthen any relationship, even with your kids.

5. Creatives are shaping the future more than any other group. This generation has access to more tools and more information than any other generation in history. The only thing they are lacking is the encouragement to step out and use the information and the tools that they have available to them. If you encourage your teen to be creative, they might just become the next Mark Zuckerberg.

Do you encourage your teen to be creative? Why or why not?

Parentzilla on the Radio

May 14, 2012 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

We are so excited to announce that we began a daily radio program called the Parentzilla Minute.  You can listen to it online here.

The Parentzilla Minute is available for other Radio Stations to use as well.  If you are interested contact me at jeremy@parentzilla.com

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