We live in an age of information. Knowledge is accessible through the internet and it can help inform everything from our life paths to our shopping habits. The availability of this information means that we have the power to be responsible consumers. It also means we have the responsibility to teach our children about what it means to be a responsible consumer.

In a world that often places more value on profits than people, teaching responsible consumerism is about improving outcomes for communities across the globe. You can better achieve this by demonstrating the definition of value, using gratitude to teach sustainability, and taking every opportunity to show children what responsible consumerism looks like.

Here, we’ll explore how you can go about teaching your kids responsibility in the marketplace in a relevant and age-appropriate way.

Help Your Kids Learn Value

Understanding what it means to be a responsible consumer requires first having some understanding of value. Though most abstract concepts will be difficult for younger children to grasp, value is a good place to start. This is because children as young as three can begin to understand basic monetary concepts, and by seven, kids develop many life-long shopping habits.

This is why teaching responsible consumerism to your kids from a young age is particularly important. By educating them on the value of a dollar, you encourage behaviors that could last them their whole lives and teach them to better appreciate what they have.

This can be best achieved by using physical cash when you go shopping with your little ones. Talk them through your budget and grocery list. Even consider allowing them to pick out a toy with a budgeted amount they hold onto.

As kids gain this experience managing money and learning value, they’ll be able to understand how far a budget can take them and learn to make immediate sacrifices for longer-term gains. They’ll understand their own possessions and moments not just in terms of monetary value but in the value they impart through pleasant memories and feelings.

For example, buying a toy can be fun, but saving for an amusement park trip can build life-long memories. It’s teaching saving habits and delayed satisfaction through examples like this that can then translate to responsible behaviors later on. Investing in real estate, for instance, represents a similar situation in which the cost may seem high in the present but the benefits come later through tangible assets and predictable cash flow.

Prepare your children for responsible financial decisions in the future by teaching them the true meaning of value. They’ll likely learn patience and gratitude in the process.

Teach Sustainability Through Gratitude

Part of teaching value and responsibility will be instilling in your children a sense of gratitude for all that they already have. Real estate serves again as a great example to demonstrate this.

It can be difficult for a comfortably housed child to know what it means for others to struggle. Yet, being aware of others in the socio-economic spectrum who are less fortunate is a key element of being a responsible consumer. Take little moments to educate your children about the injustices of the economy, how even for some folks who try their hardest, things might not be working out in their favor.

Then, set an example by donating to a homeless shelter or similar nonprofit while engaging your child in the process. Show them the difference you can make by being conscious with your money and what it means for others. Money may not buy happiness, but it certainly improves the quality of life up to a point.

Children need to understand that products, services, and money all have value, value that can extend far beyond the product itself. In fact, marketing companies are now eager to prove to customers that there is value inherent in what they have to offer as a means to instill urgency in customers and stand out to investors. Lately, this has included sustainability claims and promotional material.

As many as 66% of respondents in a retail survey said they considered sustainability in their purchases. This shows that people value more than just the product itself. You can showcase the sustainable values of responsible consumerism by drawing attention to the value beyond the value.

For example, many children use video games to cope with anxiety. Your kids may place value in video games for similar reasons. Explain how a $60 video game purchase may be worth it to them because of this value extension and how the same might be true of sustainable products and services.

Take Every Opportunity to Educate

It will be difficult to impart a sense of responsible and sustainable consumerism in children without showing them real-world examples of what you mean. Fortunately, there are a lot of great opportunities you can make the most of when giving your child a financial education.

These opportunities include:

• At the store
• At the bank
• When making a big financial move, like moving into a new home

Now, this doesn’t mean you need to burden your child with financial concerns. Instead, engaging your child in the process should only happen if it can be a stress-free demonstration of how money works in the real world. This could look like the in-store example mentioned previously or talking your child through digital citizenship and commerce when browsing Amazon.

There are innumerable factors involved in being a responsible consumer in the modern era of global and digital trade. Taking the time to point out these factors and talk through them with your child can be enough to establish a consumer conscience. From here, teaching responsible consumerism comes down to encouraging and exemplifying good financial behavior.

Being informed and responsible while shopping isn’t always easy. Give your children an advantage in life by taking time out to teach them what responsible consumerism looks like. These tips can help.

“I am a single parent, and my lovely kid is being bullied at school. Is my status as a single parent the main reason for a child’s violence? How can I stop bullying? Are there resources available to assist me in helping my child? ” Many threads on parenting forums begin like this.

There are many ways you can help your children cope with cruel treatment. However, to provide the correct aid, you first need to understand the true bullying nature.

What do the statistics say?

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, every fifth child (20.2%) reported being bullied at school. And many of them think the bullying will also continue after graduation.

The constant exposure to bullying at primary school and high school can traumatize the mental health of children. As a result, kids become fearful, depressed, have low self-esteem, and have sleep difficulties. Also, when a child is being bullied for a long period, suicidal thoughts may appear.

Students from different states ages 12-18 indicated that they had been subjected to different types of bullying, including:

• Threatened with harm – 3.9%;
• Destroying of the property on purpose – 1.4%;
• Being the subject of lies or rumors- 13.4%;
• Shoved, pushed, spit on, or tripped – 5.3%;
• Being made fun of, insulted, or name-calling – 13.0%;
• Exclusion – 5.2%;
• Others tried to make them do things they did not want to do – 1.9%.

The males are more likely to be subjected to physical violence, and females are often subjected to verbal (rumor) violence. But not all parents are aware of this.

The bullying symptoms and why it happens

Schoolchildren rarely speak openly about their problems to their parents for fear of condemnation and that the situation will worsen.

Typical bullying symptoms include emotional and physical complaints such as worries, fears, and tummy aches. In addition, the kids do not want to go to school for some reason. In such a way, kids try to avoid things that are making them stressed.

Childhood society is like a wild jungle, where everyone learns to survive, coexist, and defend themselves. In this case, the herd instinct is triggered. It pushes children to group together in search of protection. As a result, a sense of security gives confidence and the ability to defend their interests. After all, there will always be someone who will cover your back.

When someone is different or does not fit into the framework of the already established order of the children’s society, we have bullying. “Weaks” under the protection of a strong leader will attack the “black sheep” with a special effort. Why? They may also have a fear of being in the victim’s shoes.

Anyone can become a black sheep – the child is an excellent student, too beautiful, an orphan, poor, not talkative, or just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Below are practical tips and advice for what you can do when your daughter or son is being bullied at school.

Tips How to Teach Your Child to Deal with Bullying

Avoid Wrong Attitudes

While giving guidance, people want to do what is best. But often, it leads to misunderstanding or alienation between the child and the parent. As a result, the child can retire into their shell and stop sharing their problems with a single parent.

To help your child deal with bullies, you should avoid such bullying myths:

“You need to learn how to resist bullies.”

Children who tell their father or mother about bullying are looking for support first. They may be upset and depressed. Therefore, it is not necessary to say that they have to cope with the situation independently. If a child asks for help, they can not do it alone.

“Words will never harm you, unlike sticks and stones.”

You shouldn’t underestimate the power of words. Unfortunately, sometimes the consequences of name-calling can cause mental pain for many years.

“We all went through it, and we’re fine.”

Bullying is not the behavior norm. It can lead to long-term negative mental and physical health effects. Many adults who were frequently bullied during their school years have PTSD.

“You have to stand up for yourself and fight back when you are bullied.”

Violence breeds violence. A bully fight can make the situation worse and hurt your child. Also, responding to bullying at school may cause your child to be punished for school disturbance.

Use a Strategy for Dealing with Bullying in School

When teaching children to handle bullies, a single parent first needs to explain how to respond to bullying appropriately:

• Don’t expect to be mistreated from the start. It would help if you were not wary and belligerent towards the new group of children. Instead, it would be best if you treated others the way you want others to treat you.
• Don’t let the bully make you feel bad. Ask, “So what?” You are not a hundred-dollar bill to please all. There will always be someone who doesn’t like something about you. However, this does not mean that you do not have positive traits. Always keep your benefits in mind.
• Disarm the bully with humor. Laugh at their name-calling or threats, and then leave. Are they trying to hurt you by pointing out your flaws? Instead, show that you can laugh at yourself and accept your weaknesses.
• Tell the bully how you feel and what you want them to do. Sometimes, when peers use name-calling, they do not think it can cause the victim severe emotional pain. For little hooligans, this is just entertainment. So express your feelings about name-calling or other types of bullying in a calm and confident voice.

Bullies often want to assert themselves at the expense of the victims because they look stronger and more authoritative. However, they do not yet realize that fear does not equal respect.

Take more serious action to stop bullying

If your children are being bullied every time they go to school, you should cooperate with the administration and other parents to improve the situation. Also, it would be more helpful if you prepared your child to make intelligent choices and teach them how to act if they experience or see someone being bullied.

Step 1. Talk to Your Child

First, talk to your child about the situation. You should find out how long the bullying has taken place, who the bully is, the reasons for the bullying, and how it all started. Also, avoid extreme reactions and judgments. It will help if you do not make hasty decisions until you see the whole picture.

Step 2. Report About Repeated Bullying

If your child is afraid or unwilling to report bullying on their own, you should go with them. Talk to the teacher, psychologist, and school principal to help resolve the situation under the school policy against harassment. If necessary, contact your family therapist, police officer, or specialist organizations such as Olweus Bullying Prevention Program (OBPP), Stomp Out Bullying, and National Bullying Prevention Center to help stop bullying.

Step 3. Contact the Offender’s Parents

Working as a team is a smart way to deal with peer bullying as soon as possible. As a parent of the victim party, you should call or email the offender’s parents to resolve the issue together. But, in no case should you accuse them of the improper upbringing of their child.

Step 4. Cooperate with Your Child’s School

Teachers may not know that your child is getting bullied at school because no one tells them about it. Let them know about any bullying that has happened, and feel free to suggest anti-bullying programs to add to school policy. Although many schools already have similar policies, they still lack resources and support from the community and parents.

Step 5. Teach Coping Skills

If your child is being bullied, remind them that it is not their fault, and you will always be on their side and ready to help. Children of all ages need to define their feelings to tell their parents about what happens.

Final Word

Unfortunately, bullying at school is a common issue. Therefore, as a single parent, you should prepare your child in advance to avoid harassment from peers. Become an example for your child of how to get along with others. It is also essential to help them develop positive body language because our body unconsciously indicates our inner state and attitude towards others.

by: Natalie Maximets

Natalie Maximets is a certified life transformation coach at OnlineDivorce.com. She has expertise in mindfulness and sustainability. She is a published author focused on the most progressive solutions in the field of psychology. Natalie helps people go through fundamental life challenges, such as divorce, and build an entirely new life by reframing their personal narrative.

If you’re looking for a peaceful, fun experience for you and your child, then Paint by Numbers is a very good idea. What makes it great is the fact that you can easily have fun together or even allow your child to pursue his creativity and create some amazing art pieces.

Paint by Numbers for children is one of the best ideas if you want your child to explore his/her creativity and come up with some amazing wall hangers as well.

Here are some of the reasons why this is a great opportunity for kids!

Instructions are easy to follow

Even if kids don’t think they have an artistic side, they do, but they didn’t really uncover it yet. Paint by Numbers helps with your kid’s development because it encourages your child to venture into the unknown of their creative outlet. The instructions are easy to follow, and your child will develop great creative skills this way. Plus, it’s all guided, so you don’t even have to be there to assist in any way, which is incredibly important to keep in mind.

It provides a great creative outlet

A great advantage when it comes to Paint by Numbers for kids is the fact that it can be a great creative outlet. It’s a way for your child to try out something new and acquire a very important skill. On top of that, there’s a lot of room for creativity and pushing the boundaries in a fun way, which is exactly what you need to keep in mind. It might not be simple to do, but the benefits are second to none.

Your child learns more about being patient

Kids are known to be impatient, so activities that teach kids how to focus during a challenging task are important.  Paint by Numbers helps them to unwind, relax and learn patience while having fun. This is one of those things that kids find it really hard to learn, but it does help a lot, since your kid will find it easier to uncover and understand everything, with results being second to none every time.

It develops imagination

A Paint by Numbers canvas is filled with numbers, and it’s up to your kid to bring those numbers to life. It might not seem that much, but the truth is that your child gets to use his imagination to bring the scene to life. It’s a great exercise to test his/her imagination, while coming up with something that’s different and fun. It’s one of those things that it might take a bit to develop. But at the end of the day, the payoff is great, and that’s exactly the thing you want to pursue as much as possible here.

Learning more about colors

Maybe the best thing about Paint by Numbers when it comes to developmental skills is the fact that it encourages kids to learn more about colors. It can be difficult for a child to identify colors and remember their name. But thanks to something like Paint by Numbers, the entire thing is a lot more natural. It just leads to a better experience and a lot more fun. Which in turn makes things easier and more engaging in the long run. All you have to do is to avail the opportunity and introduce your child to this new activity. He/she will surely enjoy it and have a lot of fun.

Your child learns more about experimenting

No two Paint by Numbers kits will bring the same joy and excitement, or even difficulty level. But that’s the cool part about all of this, the fact that kids get to experiment and learn how to step out of their comfort zone. That’s great when it comes to developmental skills, because your kid needs to learn how to be uncomfortable and how to deal with those situations. There are always things like these appearing in life, so learning more about them via Paint by Numbers is very helpful in the long term.

It helps increase brain movements and concentration

Paint by Numbers brings in a very meticulous task. It takes a lot of time and attention. This is great because both the brain hemispheres are stimulated. The left one is dealing with the rational and logical aspect, while the right hemisphere is all about emotions and creativity. This is an activity stimulating both sides of the brain, and that’s obviously very beneficial from a developmental standpoint, which is something to keep in mind.

Increasing emotional intelligence

While trying Paint by Numbers, kids get to experience empathy, love and happiness. This is the type of activity that makes a lot of emotions flow, which is great. You want your child to understand emotions and know how to deal with them. That’s really handy and it brings a major potential all the time. It’s not going to be simple to achieve the results you want, but in the end the benefits can be second to none.

Boosting the attention span

Believe it or not, Paint by Numbers is also an activity that focuses a lot on attention. That’s why this is great for kids, since it helps them be a lot more attentive and careful. Having a great attention span does help quite a bit and it conveys the results and benefits that you may need. It’s very helpful to at least try out Paint by Numbers with your child, and you will see how much it helps him/her.

Conclusion

There’s no denying that Paint by Numbers is a great activity for the entire family. However, it’s particularly great for kids, since it can easily convey extraordinary developmental benefits in the long run. This is one of the most incredible actions to focus on, and the quality can actively shine. Since there are so many Paint by Numbers kits to choose from, you just have to find the right option to suit your needs. It delivers a great way for your kid to develop amazing skills, which can be really useful in the long run!

Read about the benefits of art therapy working with children.

Worried about your child catching a virus while in school? Most children are not as conscious about personal hygiene as they should be, which further increases their risk of illness. Teaching your kids the importance of proper hygiene will greatly help protect them from various illnesses like cough, cold, and fever.

Talk To Your Kids About Hygiene

One way to help our kids thrive in school is to keep them healthy. Teachers often discuss proper hygiene in the classroom, but it’s crucial for parents to constantly remind their children about it.

With some practice and a little guidance, you can help your child develop healthy habits wherever they go.

Tell them why hygiene is necessary and how they can get sick if they don’t practice them regularly. It can be difficult to get a child’s buy-in when it comes to health and wellness, so a little creativity can help.

For example, you can read them stories about hygiene to help them understand the cause and effect of practicing it.

Hygiene Starts With The Hands

Children can easily get exposed to germs and viruses when touching dirty surfaces and putting their hands on their faces.

One way to stop the spread of infections among schoolers is hand washing. It’s one of the most important hygiene habits that you should teach your child as early as possible.

Teach your child to wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least twenty seconds.

Remind them to wash their hands before and after eating, after using the toilet, coughing or sneezing, or when playing on the school ground.

Let them carry a hygiene kit to school which contains antibacterial soap, wipes, hand sanitizer, and alcohol. In case they are not able to wash their hands, instruct them to apply hand sanitizer or alcohol.

Keep Hands Away From Eyes, Nose, And Mouth

Educate your child how germs can enter their body so they can keep their hands away from their eyes, nose, and mouth. Now, this can be a tricky habit to learn so you have to constantly remind them.

Provide your kids with tissue or a handkerchief they can use to scratch an itch without touching their face directly. Alternately, tell them they can only touch their face after hand washing or sanitizing their hands.

Also, try to keep their hair out of their face. Stray hairs tickle the face, causing an urge to touch their face frequently.

Limit Use Of Shared Objects

While you want your children to develop the value of sharing and caring, you also want to make them understand how germs and bacteria can spread quickly when they are touching surfaces and sharing objects like art supplies, cell phones, food, utensils, pencils, and personal items like combs and face towels.

If sharing snacks, pack them in separate ziplock containers so your child can just hand them over to their friends.

Cover Nose While Coughing Or Sneezing

Always remind your child to cover their nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing with tissue. Encourage them to use a handkerchief or wear a face mask.

Don’t forget to teach them to properly dispose of tissue and face masks, and then wash or sanitize their hands after.

Stay Home When Sick

If your child has a cold, cough, or fever, let them stay home and rest. They should also stay home if they have a contagious disease. It’s very hard to stop the spread of illnesses, especially in a school classroom where children are seated close to each other and are continually touching surfaces.

Disinfect Frequently Touched Surfaces

Teach your kids the right way to disinfect cell phones, tablets, water bottles, and other personal belongings regularly, especially once they arrive home. Consider spraying their bags and shoes with disinfectant too.

Give your child a ziplock bag where they can put used clothes, food containers, and other dirty items that need to be washed and sanitized at home.

Conclusion

Prevention is better than cure. Remind your children that although germs are not visibly present, they are everywhere – from air particles to frequently touched surfaces. Thus, they have to be extra conscious about proper hygiene so they won’t get sick and have more time for play and school.