How To Help Your Teens To Become More Organized

Some would joke that the only way to motivate teens is to threaten or bribe them, well those may work but in the long run, they won’t teach your teen the valuable lesson of accountability {smile}.

As you know, teens never seem to lack motivation to do what they want to do — talk on the phone, meet up with friends, go to the movies, etc. But, when it comes down to getting them to do the things that we want them to do and the things that the need to do, that seems to be a different story.

Here are some tips that we as parents can use to help motivate our teens to become more organized.

Build your teens confidence by identifying the ways in which he or she is already organized. Everyone, including your teen, shows signs of being organized with some things. Teens love to be acknowledged for a job well done so if your child does a great job organizing his or her school work or his or her clothes, try to encourage them to apply those same organizational skills to the other areas in their life that can use some organizational help.

Teach them & Have fun. Perhaps your teen really doesn’t know where to begin! Socks here and there, books under the bed, clothes stuffed behind the hamper. All of this can seem like a battle for them that is useless to fight. Why not set up a date with your child to organize his/her space together. Turn on the radio (to their favorite station of course) and together work to de-clutter the space. Keep in mind that your organizational style my not work for them so ask them questions as you go along and try to help them figure out a way to organize things so that it is easy to keep up. Another fun way to get them motivated is to provide fun, funky and cool storage bins to use for those small items that seem to just collect in the corners of their rooms.

Set Clear Rules and Let them set the schedule: Be sure that you set clear rules as to what is allowable daily clutter and what isn’t. For instance, if you don’t allow food or dishes in your teen’s room, be sure that they are following those rules and respecting them. If shoes on the floor are OK, then let them know that as well. Teens need clear-cut rules to follow. Sit down with you teen and simply ask them “What day can you carve out at least 1 hr to do a full room cleaning?” and let your teen set a day (either weekly or biweekly). What this does is let them know you value their time and schedule and it makes them accountable.

Finally, be sure you reward and commend your teens organizing successes with either a small token of additional freedom or kind words. Keep in mind that being organized is all about being responsible. For a teenager, gaining trust and freedom from parents is one of the biggest motivations of all.

Want more tips on parenting your teenager? Visit Parenting My Teen. It provides free resources and a free podcast for parents.

I know 1st hand how frustrating it is return home after a busy day then slave over the stove or to rummage through the cabinets when you have hungry, impatient tummys waiting.  Visit http://reallifesolutions.net/personal/quick-dinner-ideas.html for your quick and easy dinner ideas.

A nice tie into this is learning how to do a little meal planning so that you actually spend less time cooking and more time really enjoying yourself and your familly. I am an avid meal planner and wrote this easy to follow article on how you too can plan your meals and free up your precious time: http://reallifesolutions.net/personal/meal-planning.html

As you know, I love hearing your feedback. Do you have any of your own personal tips that you’d like to share with me?  If so, just e-mail me and I am all ears

Here is a great resource - The Healthy Express Cookbook: 101 Fresh, Light & Quick Dinners.  Offers you healthy, home-cooked meals that are super fast to prepare — visit http://reallifesolutions.net/Cookbook.HTML to learn more

Throwing a Graduation Party without Going into Debt

Unlike years ago, when we graduated and simply had a small gathering at our home or invited close family members out for dinner, today, the sky’s the limit, when it comes to graduation parties.  But it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg to give your child the best graduation party ever!  Throwing a graduation party, without going into debt, is the subject of this discussion.

Instead of hiring a catering hall and having to invite the immediate world, think of having an open house graduation party at your home.  Work out a budget that is reasonable, and then send out invitations to friends and family.  You can easily arrange a buffet, which is not only affordable, but allows the guests to come; offer their congratulations, and have a bite to eat.  This way, there would be less work for you afterwards.  All you would need to buy is, paper plates, napkins, paper cups, sturdy plastic spoons, forks, and knives; a few decorations, and the party can go into full swing.  

If you have a large family, your invitation list may be quite long.  For large groups, you may want to consider renting a hall for the occasion.  When renting a hall, research local community centers to determine the cost factor.  You can also use the buffet style in these types of places.  Furthermore, if your son or daughter has a close friend who is graduating with them, you may want to approach their parents, and decide if a joint party is feasible.  In this way, the costs can be decreased.  Both families can work out the details, and split the cost down the middle.

With college tuition, boarding, and all of the peripherals needed for college life; your funds may be a bit low.  If this is your case, the last thing you need is to give an extravagant party that will put you in debt. Instead, consider having a dinner party at a local restaurant for immediate family members only.  In this way, you are saving quite a bit of money, yet still celebrating this important event.  Most kids would appreciate this gesture, especially if they understand you can’t afford a grand affair.  Have a conversation with your son or daughter; you may be surprised at their response.

You can listen to the new Parenting My Teen show by visiting http://www.parentingmyteen.com and clicking on the arrow or by downloading the audio mp3.

If you have a student who is in the midst of submitting college applications or even if your student is just starting high school, parents should NOT miss this very informative show about what attributes colleges are looking for in their applicants!

My guest this week is Suzanne Luse, a certified educational consultant from College Expert, and she helps us understand what role parents should play in the college application process, how to encourage your children to make decisions and take initiative when speaking to college representatives, and why your high school student should take four years of math and English classes.

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I’d Love To Hear From You
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Don’t forget that the website is now interactive. Feel free to post your comments about the show directly onto the website. Also let me know if you have any topic ideas or if you would like to be a guest on the show.

Don’t break the bank trying to keep your children active, engaged and  having fun this summer.
Entertaining your children when school is out  for the summer can become quite expensive but I have
some cheap summer fun ideas for you ==> http://www.reallifesolutions.net/family/summerfun.html

One of the ways I keep my 7yo busy and happy in the summer is to pull out our craft box.  Try some or all
of these fun summer crafts for kids to open up their imagination. ==>
http://www.reallifesolutions.net/family/summer-crafts-for-kid.html

Many parents find communicating with their teen hard. Here at Real life Solutions we like to offer tips, tricks and just some good old fashion support. With our teens today so many parents are always talking about how hard it is to communicate with their teenagers so we created this FREE 4 page report titled “Talk the Talk: Communicating With Your Teens.”

Here is your free download…. Talk The Talk: Communicating with your teens.

We all need a little support when it comes to talking to our teenagers and this is just that little bit of support that may help you and your teenager communicate on a whole new level.

Please Let us know what you think..

Keeping a neat, tidy, organized home isn’t always easy when you have children. You want to create a clutter free oasis of calm; they want to take over the house with their legos. So who wins?

Well, with a little thought and careful planning you both can win. Here are some easy tips you can use to have an organized home and create the peaceful yet child friendly home you’ve been dreaming of.  Before starting you should make a plan of what needs to be done. Go through each room and identify what room needs extra storage, what type of storage, etc. You should then invest in a few storage and space saving solutions.   Read the rest of this great article here!

Aurelia

Meal planning and bulk cooking are both wonderful techniques you can utilize and modify to fit your families needs. The idea behind this is simple. The principle is that you cook and or prepare your meals ahead of time and then preserve them by either freezing or fridgerating them. Also, meal planning you can cook one large meal and get 2-3 other meals out of it!

The key here is to make every meal you cook count! When you are going to prepare a family favorite, double, triple, even quadruple the recipe if it will keep in the freezer.

Sounds wonderful doesn’t it? Why not give yourself a much-needed break — cook ahead today so you can relax tomorrow!

Real the full, easy to follow article Here

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Related Resources
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Healthy Menu Mailer : Your very own personal pssistants that plan the meals and make out the grocery list for you while you’re spending time with your family! You will get delicious, healthy meal ideas by e-mail each week!

With each Healthy Menu Mailer you will get…

1. 7 healthy dinner recipes your family will love.
2. a grocery list to go along with it.
3. a personal note from us to encourage you.
4. access to our breakfast, lunch, side dish, dessert and snack recipes
5. access to our members only forum to meet other like minded moms, exchange ideas and recipes and of course we will be there to help you along the way as well.

Your 1st week is FREE

Here’s to a less stressed and healthier meal time!

Aurelia Williams
Click here for Real Life Solutions.

Natural Health Secrets - Classic natural health eBooks help people lose weight, gain energy, reduce pain, improve memory, detox, etc http://reallifesolutions.net/NaturalHealth.HTML

Get Fit While You Sit - 36 Exercises you can do almost anywhere, anytime.  A proven program for you to get a complete workout in as little as 12 minutes a day. And the most remarkable part of the whole system is that you can be sitting at your desk, in traffic, in your hotel room or at home watching TV! http://reallifesolutions.net/getfit.HTML

101 Nutritious, Delicious, Healthy Recipes At A Moment’s Notice, that are Guaranteed to Taste Great and Give You a Vitality you have only ever Dreamed about!  http://reallifesolutions.net/Recipes.HTML

Healthy Express Cookbook: 101 Fresh, Light & Quick Dinners.  If you want to serve healthy, home-cooked meals, but are too busy to spend very much time in the kitchen — this is the cookbook for you! http://reallifesolutions.net/Cookbook.HTML

Your Very Own Personal Assistants That Plan the Meals and Make out the Grocery List For You While You’re Spending Time with Your Family! You will get delicious, healthy meal ideas by e-mail each week!  With each Healthy Menu Mailer you will get… 

–>  7 healthy dinner recipes your family will love.
–>  a grocery list to go along with it. 
–>  a personal note from us to encourage you. 

–>access to our breakfast, lunch, side dish, dessert and snack recipes  access to our members only forum to meet other like minded moms, exchange ideas and recipes and of course we will be there to help you along the way as well.
Your 1st week is FREE http://www.reallifesolutions.net/menu-mailer.HTML

The SAT that our teens take today isn’t like the one we took years ago. 

Did you know that in March 2005, the SAT became a longer, more challenging, and a lot different? The SAT is now 3 hours and 45 minutes long. What was known as the Verbal Section has been renamed Critical Reading and the Analogies questions have been eliminated and replaced with Short Reading Passages.

An SAT Writing Section has been added, which contains multiple-choice grammar questions and a 25-minute written essay. Finally, the Math Section has been expanded to include three years of high school math — in other words, it now includes harder questions in the area of algebra II.

For your teen, taking the SAT is a huge, life molding event.  It marks the beginning of a countdown to your child’s high school graduation and has us, parents, thinking seriously sending our teens off to college.

Helping our teens prepare for the SAT is crucial!  It is important to not leave this preparation solely in the hands of your child’s school.  It is important to arm your child with other materials that help them gain the test taking skills that will propel them to higher SAT test scores.

Here is a very popular and proven guide to help your teen obtain a higher SAT Scores.  The book is filled with exercises, drills, and full-length sample exams that create a true-to-life testing experience: http://parentingmyteen.com/SAT-Preparation.HTML
Here’s to helping your teen do his/her very best!

Aurelia Williams
Parenting My Teen
http://www.parentingmyteen.com

Have you Hugged your Teen Today?