Parents supporting adult children

How does that grab you?

If you noticed this, maybe it's because you are one of millions of older parents out there today, that are still supporting your adult child or children. Hey, they've been through college. They’ve gotten that position with a fairly good company. Maybe it's not their final goal in that career they wanted, but it's a start. And the expectations of the salary they thought would be guaranteed, well it's not that great.

Now, almost right away, the new car came into the picture. The cell phone and cable TV... well, they are real needs, maybe more than food. The rent at their apartment keeps going up. Many other expenses keep popping up. The student loan still needs to be paid also. Lucky adult children usually get help with that, of course. Life is still somewhat fun and games, and the temptation of all the easy credit lines are just waiting for that next victim. It is your son or daughter.

But how could this happen to them. Thousands of dollars of credit card debt. You really thought you taught them better than that.

Soon, the new job is not so great. There are lay offs, downsizing or many other reasons companies let people go. Now, the kid (who is an adult) is in a financial jam. They need to move back to your house, because they can't afford rent, electricity or even food anymore. This is a reality that is happening more with adult children between the ages of twenty-four to thirty.

What can you do to help? Set guidelines and some boundaries to really help. And NO... helping them with their payments with your savings or money you still earn will not help. If you put them on a plan to pay you back instead of the creditors they owe to, this can soon turn against you and them, because their credit score will look outstanding in the eyes of even more creditors. It would be perpetuating a big financial lie for them. Your credit score and their credit score are now two seperate entities as adults. The pain of added service fees, late fees, increased interest rates and possibly debt collection aggravations are all the consequences due to poor financial planning of their own doing.

The truth is young adults are extremely susceptible to falling into credit card debt, no matter how they were raised. It's not your fault as a parent and you should not take responsibility.... now should you?

But, you can help them through... the right way and they will never get back into credit card debt again. They can gain the wisdom you know they need. There are healthy ways to help and it starts with you as the parent. Of course you care and would do anything to help them through their debt situation, but be very cautious. Help them with a real plan of paying it all off themselves. If they’ve moved back into your home, give them some leeway, but put together a plan for their contribution towards food, utilities and luxury services in your home. To live in your home again for a temporary time, they must keep a job or two… whatever it takes to be responsible for their debt payments and other cost of living expenses. It will be tough, but some well needed and valuable lessons will be learned by both of you, or the lessons you tried to instill in their earlier youth will be revitalized in reality for them. Realize for your own health and well being that you are not being harsh or mean, but you are helping to make your son or daughter into a more responsible adult by letting them face their own debt mistake. A true happy and responsible adult is one who can earn their own way through life and gain more wisdom. A true adult takes responsibility for themselves no matter what. All healthy and successful parents want to see their adult children thrive, be self confident and self reliant.

New internet filter and kid safe web browser keeps internet safe for kids

Finally there is a solution for parents and grandparents who want to allow their children the freedom to surf the Internet without the fear that they may stumble across the “wrong things” online. Children’s Educational Network has designed a very unique, free Internet filter and parental control multiple themed “Kid Safe Browser” which is the gateway to what they call TUKI.

Most everyone with children has either experienced first hand or knows someone with children who have stumbled across negative content (either innocently or intentionally). The Kid Safe Browser is designed to give parents the ability to have a say as to what their kids are looking at. Parents are given the tools to either delete or add (pre-approve) websites that they deem appropriate or inappropriate.

TUKI is the acronym for “The Ultimate Kids’ Internet” ( TUKI. com) and this is the membership portion of the their service which offers many premium features. The one very important and meaningful benefit for you and your family is the educational aspect of the Kid Safe Browser. Management of the Company are committed to not only protecting children with technology but also offering educational messaging to teach children the ins and outs of being a responsible, safe web surfer.

This educational messaging is a real powerful feature that we found with TUKI and could not find any other Internet filter or parental control software that also offered an educational aspect.

The Kid Safe Browser gives access to thousands of pre-approved (by teachers and parents) websites that can be surfed (NASA, Nickelodeon, Disney etc.). If a child tries to go to a website that has not been pre-approved the browser displays a message that reads: “This website is not in the ‘Approved List’.

Parents can then decide whether or not that site is acceptable for their child to visit and choose to add it if meets their approval. There is also a “Internet Protection Lockdown” feature that prevents the user from exiting the Kid Safe Browser and entering another browser (AOL, Netscape, IE etc.) that allows access to potentially controversial websites.

Yet, another concern for Parents is that they might receive unsolicited (spam) email. As part of the TUKI membership kids are issued a spam free and safe email account. Again, parents are given the keys to their children’s email box so to speak. Parents pre-approve who the child can send and receive email from. Parents can also add key words (to an already existent ‘Ban List’ that a child cannot send out via email & chat. For instance, a child would be prevented from giving out private information such as a home address, home phone number, school name or sports team or any other bit of information that a parent might feel would compromise their privacy or safety.

Other features of the TUKI membership are “Chore Reminders” and “Encouraging Words”. Since each browser has it’s own (themed) animated talking Internet Guide, (The Noah’s Net Browser has Noah – The Mindstein Browser has Professor Mindstein) Parents can dictate some of the things that the Internet Guide will pop up and say; “Mandy – did you feed Fido today?” “Billy, Your Mommy loves you so much!”

For the most part, the Kid Safe Browser is pretty easy to use. Mostly, your kids will love the talking animated characters; the many games included with the software, and homework sites that make keeping with their schoolwork easier. Meanwhile, you will love the fact that you can sleep at night knowing you’ve taken action in preventing your child form being exposed to sites and sounds that he or she shouldn’t.

As a child advocate I recommend everyone to take action and get this new free Internet filter and parental controlled Kid Safe Browser. To get your own Kid Safe Browser visit tuki. com and download your very own Kid Safe Browser.

Survey about injury risks to children

A national survey of 1,000 parents found that many don't know key facts regarding potential safety hazards for children.

Among the survey's findings: One in three parents are unaware that children can drown in as little as 2 inches of water. Less than half of parents know falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries to toddlers. And more than half underestimate how long children should be in a booster seat.

"Particularly in the area of car safety seat usage, parental knowledge tends to decrease as children age," said Dr. Michael Gittelman, an emergency room pediatrician and medical adviser to "Get on Board with Child Safety," a national child injury prevention initiative. "Parents need targeted information about the different unintentional injury risks to children as they grow, from infant stage to toddlers to kids and all the way through adolescence."

Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for U. S. children ages 14 and under. "Get on Board with Child Safety" was spearheaded by the children's brand "Safety 1st" and the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. They offer the following tips for parents:

* Use a booster seat for children up to 8 years or 80 pounds. Adult seat belts usually do not fit such children properly unless they are in booster seats. When the belt sits too high in the abdominal and neck areas, it can cause serious injuries in an auto crash. Your child is approximately half as likely to be injured when using a booster seat instead of a seat belt alone.

* Always have your children wear a helmet. Bike injuries send hundreds of thousands of kids ages 5 to 14 to the emergency room each year.

* Supervise the trampoline. Approximately 90,000 kids visit the emergency room each year after a trampoline injury. Trampolines are even more dangerous when multiple kids are jumping at once or when a child does somersaults.

* Never leave children unattended in or near the water. Install gates around pools and use doorknob covers to prevent toddlers from getting out of the house and into water without supervision. Always drain small pools when not in supervised use.