Sunday, June 18, 2017

BYE BYE BABY

While the dads are out playing ball, golfing, or fishing, or whatever they do, let's talk about your baby.

You never thought you’d wish for the days of diapers, but as THE DAY draws closer, you do. In just a few weeks your baby will be off to college and thinking about it, you hold your hand over your love-filled heart and sigh.

A whole new world will open for your child, one which will cause them both joy and anxiety, and in a blink of an eye a whole new set of parental problems will sneak up on you, if you’re not prepared. Then you’ll really wish for those toddler days.

Have you taught them everything they need to know about taking care of themselves? Will they be observant and protect themselves from the devious part of the world? The answer is probably no.

Every child is going to make mistakes, but the fewer they make the better they will feel about themselves. They are adults now. Yes, still wet behind the ears, but respect them as such. If you follow any of my advice, first, let them know you’re teaching them the very basics of survival, so they can concentrate on their passion.

So, let’s start with the basics to help them and you and save your mind.

Put any school emergency contact numbers and service numbers into both your cell phones. You don’t want to be searching for the paper the college gave you during ordination.

Does your child know the fundamentals of finance? Do they understand that if there is $10.00 in their account they can’t spend $10.01 and the penny will magically appear? Teach them how to be responsible and keep track of every charge to their debit or credit card and school account. Teach them to balance their accounts at least once a month.

Also make them award of smart buying choices. If they decided to treat the whole dorm to a pizza party, then they need to realize for the rest of the month they have no funds. Despite what they’ve heard money doesn’t grow on trees.

Take them grocery shopping and show them how to bargain shop and still have nutritious snacks on hand.
Teach them how to cook a few things without burning down the college. (This will provide family meals for you while they’re still home) Most dorms allow microwaves. They can cook more than Ramen noodles in them. Save your Freezerware. Teach them how to hit the defrost settling first for frozen meals you’ve sent, instead of going for the high power. Also, the popcorn button is there for a reason.
Does your son or daughter know how to do their own laundry? You’d be surprised how many do not. If not, teach them. Take them to a laundromat at least once and have them insert the coins and run a load through the cycles. Remember all those times you picked up clean clothes off the floor. I bet it will stop when they need to do the laundry.

Transportation. If they have a car available to them, it’s important they know the safety of maintaining the vehicle. They should never go under a half-tank of gas. You never know when an emergency will happen which they would be responding to and run out of gas. They should be aware of tire pressure and all dashboard lights indicting there is a problem. Where would they go, if there was an issue? As a parent, you also should know where they need to go for repairs. Do they know what steps to do if there is a fender-bender?

If they don’t have a car, do they know about public transportation? Check out what transportation is available in the area and take a ride with them. Doing so will relieve some of their worry during the stressful first days in a new world.
Encourage your children to talk to people and get involved with activities that interest them. But also reinforce that they need to be conscious that there are some who walk among the crowd whose goal is to take advantage of them.

Enjoy your summer and happy reading!

An elite U.S. Marshal team goes uncover on a college campus to locate a drug operation and unearths a psychopath’s murderous plot. On sale today and tomorrow. First time ever!

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Feeling career pressure, a baseball star escapes from the world in a mountain village and falls for a woman bent on saving everything but herself.

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Autumn Jordon is an awarding-winning author who writes both romantic suspense and contemporary romance. She has been recognized by the Romance Writers of America as a Golden Heart Finalist, a Golden Leaf Winner and by Kindle Book Reviewers as a Best Indie Romance Author Finalist. She loves to hear from readers, so connect with her through www.autumnjordon.com.


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