Playdates

Kids at shore (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Everyday at my house seems to be a great big playdate.  Sure, we have a schedule, and some days the routine is the only thing that keeps me from opening a bottle of Valium during nap time, but we have a lot of free play hours in our day.  And we use them to our full advantage, taking walks, making my kitchen a concert hall.  So sometimes I am surprised when my granddaughter wants to invite her friend from gymnastics to play, or my grandson wants a friend to ride the bus home from school with him.

I do have some grandma guidelines for successful playdates, and hopefully they will fit into your playdate puzzle.

Don’t Force a Crowd

Kids at two and three don’t really have “friends”.  They have people they play next to.  If you have a mom or grandmother you like to have coffee with, this is a perfect play date 1 on 1.  By the time your child is four or five, playdates with preschool friends or t-ball buddies are pretty normal.  Let your child decide who to invite, and limit the number of children. 1 or 2 friends is plenty.  More than that and the crowd becomes mischievous, and unless you were spawned on some other planet and crashed into earth as “Supermom”  – you only have two hands and one set of eyes.

Set the Timer

There is too much of a good thing.  I use the egg timer rule of thumb for playdates: an hour for under five, two for under ten, eleven and older three or the duration of the activity they are doing together.  Sleepovers are the exception, but I never allow sleepovers for children under nine. 

Neutral Territory

All of my grandchildren have favorite toys, and none of them really likes to share.  Especially with children under the age of five, a playground is better, there is less to fight over.  If you are tied to your home for the playdate, remove the favorite toys, blankets, and controversial items that you know will start a disagreement.

Plan an Agenda

I like to have an activity or two, like an art project or a game to let the kids pick from.  It keeps things organized, running smoothly, and over in the correct time period.  If the kids are old enough (say four and up) let them pick what they would like to do for the playdate or take an active part in setting up for the playdate.

Be Present

You cannot leave two six-year olds up to their own devices or after fifteen minutes of silence you will find one of them shimmy-ing down the outside of your second story window on a bed sheet.  True story. So plan on being there the whole time and supervising, but intervene rarely.  Let them negotiate their differences, this is crucial problem solving skill building. 

Fair Warning

Blow the five-minute whistle when the playdate is coming to an end.  it is important that the kids know what to expect and part of that is when to finish up their games so they can help clean up before it is time to go home.

 

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Free Things to Do: Bank Of America’s Museums on Us

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Bank of America’s Museums on Us promotion similar to Target Arts + Culture is a program put on by Bank Of America in which you can get discounted or complimentary passes to a variety of arts and cultural sites in your area. In many cities you can get discounted or free tickets to local venues. The larger the city, the greater the number of options.

For example, Phoenix has three free venues (Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix Children’s Museum, Musical Instruments Museum) while New York City had seven free venues. If nothing else, it’s worth checking out to see if there’s something fun you can do on the cheap!

Bank Of America Museums on Us

Target Arts + Culture

Free Things to Do: Target Arts and Culture

Target Arts and Culture promotion similar to Bank Of America Keeping with Creative Activities that allow you and your family to live it up and play, play, play on a lean budget, Museums on Us is a program put on by Target in which you can get discounted or complimentary passes to a variety of arts and cultural sites in your area. In many cities you can get discounted or free tickets to local venues. The larger the city, the greater the number of options. Tuesdays and some Sundays are the days of the week most of these discounted or free admissions are valid.

For example, Phoenix has four free venues (including the Phoenix Children’s Museum) while New York City had seven free venues. If nothing else, it’s worth checking out to see if there’s something fun you can do without breaking your budget.

Target Arts + Culture

Bank Of America Museums on Us

Low-Cost Field Trips to Boost Your Grandchild’s Financial Know-How

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I live in a sunny area, it is pretty easy to get out most days thanks to the beautiful weather we have year-round.  I know that this is not the case in many areas, I grew up in Chicago, where for a good part of the year we stood in circles trying to keep warm as the wind cut through our jackets and gloves nipped at our calves and noses.

Even a little cold weather should not stop you from taking your grandchildren on low – cost field trips that teach them about Financial Know-How.  Many of these places are familiar to you if you have been around the block a couple times, but perhaps you never thought of making them field trips.

Your Local Bank or Credit Union

Our local credit union actually will give your grandchildren a free tour. You just have to call in advance, and be a little flexible on the time of day you go, as like most businesses they have busy times and not-so-busy times.  Friday afternoons are probably a non-starter for this trip.  But the advantages of visiting your local bank with your grandchildren are many: they can learn about the services they have available for them, they can open their own savings account, they can see what happens to their money when they make transactions, some even have special presents for visiting children, just like if you went to the dentist and got to pick from the prize box.  It really is a fascinating business, and maybe you will get a little something out of it too.

The Mint

If you are lucky enough to live in Pennsylvania or Colorado take advantage of the Mint.  These are amazing tours of not just the banking industry, but also of our American History and Heritage.  If you do not live in these areas, or if it is an especially cold day out and you are stuck at home, try this link Mint Tours (http://www.usmint.gov/mint_tours/?action=VTShell), and show the grandbabies from home.

Your Local Financial District on a Busy Day

That’s right – most of the days, or half days, my Grandchildren have off school are working days for most folks.  Take them down to your local financial district at lunch time and let them see the people hustling around.  Just the knowledge of the sheer number of people who work in financial careers can surprise kids.  There are places, like New York where you can take Wall Street Tours, and learn about the history of Wall Street, the Financial Crisis, or you can do a little research yourself at the following websites and provide your own information in your city and amaze the kids by how much you know:

History of The Stock Market

http://www.hermes-press.com/wshist1.htm

 

History of Wall Street (Library of Congress)

http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/wallstreet/wallstreet.html

Wall Street (Wikipedia)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street

 

Federal Reserve Banks

There are Federal Reserve Banks in 12 different US cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco. This means no matter where you live, a Federal Reserve you can tour isn’t far off. You’ll have to make reservations in advance to tour one, leave your cells and cameras at home and bring along proper ID…but getting a tour isn’t a big problem. You will get to see how cash is processed through the facility, the gold vault and have time to explore the Bank’s on-site museum.

American Numismatic Society

No matter the time period or the culture, this organization is dedicated to studying their currency. Visitors to this New York museum can see coins from ancient times to the modern, including relics from Roman, Greek, Byzantine and South Asian cultures, as well as some amazing collections from more recent mintings. Care to do a little research of your own? The ANS building is complete with library and archives that anyone can use. No items may be checked out, however.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange

Founded in 1898 at the Chicago Butter and Egg Board, today this thriving marketplace deals with a whole lot more than just butter and eggs. Trading at the CME now involves everything from alternative investments, like weather, to more traditional ones, such as commodities. Visitors to my home town will find two visitors’ centers at the CME, both containing viewing galleries to the trading floor below. Additional resources on hand will help you learn about the history of the CME and see how it’s expanded and evolved into the large marketplace it is today.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing

If you haven’t gotten enough of seeing how money is made, venture to this Washington, DC landmark to see where it all begins. A tour will take you through the process of printing new money, starting with blank paper and ending with loads of cash. In addition to money, the facility also prints security badges, passports, White House invitations and materials for Homeland Security. If you can’t make it to DC, don’t worry – there’s another facility you can tour, located in Fort Worth, Texas.

 

I hope this has given you some ideas to help increase the burgeoning knowledge base of the grandchildren in your home.  I think activities like this are important because they introduce new minds to the ever-changing economy around us, and if you can spark an interest at 5, think about the possibilities for your financial whiz at 13 –

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Teach Your Grandchildren the Value of Money

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Some of my most enduring childhood memories involve my mother taking me to the Bank of Lincolnwood in Illinois. Even now, I can picture her giving the teller my father’s paycheck and getting cash back — cash that she’d then use to purchase our family’s groceries and other necessities. I also recall watching my parents pay bills together every month. Even as a young girl, I understood that my father went off to work every day to earn money for our household.

Chances are good that you, too, brought your children along with you to deposit paychecks at the bank and make cash withdrawals. Maybe they also watched you balance the family checkbook and pay monthly bills. Perhaps they noticed as you put a coveted item on layaway at a store, or heard you talk about saving up to pay for a coveted item. They probably paid attention, too, as you counted out cash to buy gas and groceries.

But in this age of ATMs, credit cards, and direct deposit, your grandchild could be forgiven for not having a clue about cold, hard cash — where it comes from, and what it’s used for. In today’s online-banking society, there are simply fewer tangible, visual connections between kids and cash — and therefore fewer opportunities to teach them about money.

As a grandparent, you can play an active role in helping your grandchild make those connections. Here are a few ways to start:

Talk About Money

With your child’s blessing, of course, you can help your grandchild learn about money simply by discussing it. Talk about how Mommy and Daddy go to work each day to earn money for the family, or explain how you saved part of your paycheck when you worked in order to have money to live on in retirement. Keep the message age-appropriate, but help your grandchild understand that money is something you earn and use to live on.

Start a Habit of Saving

Even young kids can get into the habit of saving, and watching their nickels and dimes (or, when they’re older, dollars) add up. This can give any child a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Give young grandchildren a piggy bank as a gift and a little change to get them started, or help older kids start a money-market savings account at a bank. Search online with them to find the bank that offers the best interest rate — and explain to them what that means.

Take Financial Field Trips

The next time you need to deposit a check or get cash, skip the ATM and bring your grandchild with you to visit the teller. She might be amazed to discover that most banks are actual brick-and-mortar structures! This gives you an opportunity to teach your grandchild that you have to put money into your account in order to get money out. Of course, that lesson can apply at the ATM, too. Make sure your grandchildren understand that the nice little machine doesn’t simply spit out limitless numbers of $20 bills.

Or consider visiting these educational destinations as financial field trips. In New York City you can witness the bustle of Wall Street and visit the Museum of American Finance; in Philadelphia or Denver, you can take free tours of the United States Mint and watch coins being produced.

Give Money-Smart Gifts

You might already be giving your grandchildren gifts of money, but you can also give them the gift of a financial education. Consider getting young grandchildren a book about money. Search Amazon.com books under “children’s books, money” for a list of available titles, including Nancy Loewen’s Save, Spend, or Donate? A Book about Managing Money (Picture Window Books, 2005) or Diane Mayr’s The Everything Kids’ Money Book: From Saving to Spending to Investing – Learn All About Money! (Adams Media Corporation, 2002).

If your grandchildren are older, consider giving them a consultation with a financial planner. I have clients who bring their young kids in and we briefly discuss stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.

Use Cash

If you do get money from the bank or an ATM with your grandchildren in tow, make sure they see you use it — at the McDonald’s drive-thru, toy store, or gas station. Show your grandchild how much cash you had, how much what you’re buying costs, and the change with which you’re left after purchasing the item.

Kids need to know the value of money, how it’s earned, and what it’s used for. By exposing them to actual currency you can help impart these lessons. So go ahead, show your grandchildren the money: You can give them a lasting gift without actually spending a dime.

Bambi Holzer, contributor at grandparents.com

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