Financial woes are all around us.  Although it may seem like kids can’t understand, they are definitely impacted by the way the adults around them discuss, explain, and deal with crisis. Kids can experience even more stress than parents who are struggling financially because they see there’s trouble but have no power to change or fix the situation.

Think about the lessons you learned from your core family about how to manage crisis and trouble.  Was it all doom and gloom?  Did you learn to blame others?  Did your parents teach you how to problem solve?  Now’s the perfect time to reassure your children that you are doing everything you can to be responsible.  Children need to know you will take care of them even if your family needs to make some changes.  Truth plus reassurance delivered at an age-appropriate level will give them confidence that they too can survive difficult challenges.

Monitor conversations and media reports about the economy.  Kids hear people are losing their houses and assume you might too.  They worry needlessly about things they cannot control.  Finally, treasure those things money cannot buy.  Financial expert Suze Orman say’s it best when she states:  “People first, money second.”

TV’s new fall drama series may just be getting started, but for school age girls, it’s well under way!  Have you viewed any of the latest shows where the stories unfold in lunch rooms, buses, parties, IM chats, and sleepovers?  Here’s where moms of sons give thanks, and moms of daughters get ready to relive their childhood.

The clashes between girls can be difficult to watch and even more painful when it’s your own daughter who is ostracized.  If you need help navigating the ride, please attend my free adult workshop, “Mean Girls: Tools for Teaching Girls to Develop Healthy Friendships.”  It’s at the Parma-Ridge Library October 20, 7-8:30 PM.  Get more information and register here.

We don’t own or play any video games in our household.  That’s due to our personal lack of interest and having only a daughter, I suppose.  Like any novice, my impression of these games is that they are all about violence, but a new study says that’s not so.

In the most comprehensive report to date on the subject of teens and electronic video games, the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that half of American teens play these games daily. The study found surprising diversity in game playing (4 of 5 teens compete in 5 or more game genres), not restricting themselves to the war simulating, fighting, and combative games of aggression once believed to dominate game choices. More popular were games involving racing, puzzle solving and sports competition.

The most popular games played by teens today span a variety of genres and ratings. The five most popular are Guitar Hero, Halo 3, Madden NFL, Solitaire, and Dance Dance Revolution. These games include rhythm games (Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution), puzzle/card games (Solitaire), sports games (Madden), and first-person shooter games (Halo).

According to the study, many game players engage with others in the room, so games are not as socially isolating as once believed.  Gaming has a great potential, just like TV, to be a learning tool if used properly.  What do you think?  Do your kids play video games?  Which ones?  Join in the discussion - this non-gaming mom would love to hear your thoughts!

Here’s an actual conversation I had with my 9-year-old daughter yesterday:

“Mom, when you were young, did they have school pictures?”

“Yes.”

“But, you didn’t have to worry about what to wear.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, back then, all the pictures were in black and white, right?”

Uggg… how can I feel so ancient at 44?!  If you are OLD enough to have a kid in college, here’s a great article from Woman’s Day called,  Ten Things Every College Student Should Know.

I happened to have been interviewed for the article because every college student should know how to resolve roommate conflicts.  If your college student needs some skills, direct them to my college site, www.myroommateisdrivingmecrazy.com.

I’m back from my terrific bike tour of Vermont and I’ll be sharing the trip in detail soon.  But after being gone a week, the first things I had to get to were laundry and grocery shopping.  The first task got completed without too much trouble.  That’s more than I can say for the shopping.

My sincere apologies to all the people who had the bad fortune of standing behind me yesterday in the self checkout at Giant Eagle.  After that experience, I’m ready to check in somewhere!  I NEVER choose this option.  Until they put me on the payroll, someone else can scan my products.  But, yesterday was an exception.  For some reason, the lines for checkout rivaled those of the Thanksgiving holiday.  There was no where to stand that would not block aisle traffic, so I ended up in self checkout with my nine-year-old daughter.

“Do you think you can handle scanning?”  I asked her.  I figured I could bag faster and we’d get out of there sooner.  The plan worked for three items before the machine told us we had an error, our light was flashing and no customer service person was in sight.  People started leaving our line by the time we had to call for help a second time.  I kept my head down and avoided all eye contact.

Eventually, I took over scanning the items.  How hard could this be?  By the fourth error message, no one was left in our line and the customer service rep finished our cart.  She was all out of helpful smiles and I’d had it.  If I didn’t convince the company to go back to the old fashioned way of checking out, I don’t know who will.  After yesterday’s experience, that 18-year-old checker with acne who refuses to greet me, talks incessantly with the bagger about how bad her hours are, and isn’t old enough to scan my wine is looking mighty good!