Time Management

Written by Alexis

As you journey through tweenism, I think one of the most important lesson and skills we develop is time management. Time management is all about finding a happy medium* with your priorities and pleasures. For instance, if you get home from school and you have a lot of homework to do, but you really want to go play soccer with your friends. What do you do? The first thing you have to do is define your priority from your pleasure. Well, in this situation your priority would be your homework and your pleasure would be playing soccer with your friends. The next thing you have to do is find your happy medium between the two- it is just like compromising. It is as simple as telling your friends that you will play when all your homework is done.

Time management will help you not only now, but also in the long run. With your work life, your social life, school life, and home life. This skill is something I, myself have not mastered!

I just resently got The Sims 3 for Christmas- it is awesome- and the first night I played on it from 7pm to 2am. Reguardless this was my first time playing on it, it was still a lot. I mean when I stopped, my eyes were bloodshot! My mom told me that if I wanted to keep this game, I was going to have to still keep my priorities in check. This meant if I want to play, all my homework and chores would have to be taken care of. I understood this... didn't like it, but I understood it!...mom doesn't bluff!

If we as tweens get this skill down at a young age, this could be a skill lead by example with our own children and them applying it to their children from a young age, and them applying it to their.... your great-grandchildren! I mean time management is a skill that most adults do not even have down! And to think we would be one step ahead of the game!

A few tips that helps me:

1. Start with daily list.
2. Set daily goals, and action lists to reach these goals
3. Prioritize-for me it's family first, school second, play time last

It all starts when we decide.

Or in my case it takes a little push from mom.

* happy medium- (n.) a satisfactory comprimise

Generation Me

Written by Leslie

"Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled-And More Miserable Than Ever Before".

This is a great read and perspective on our youth's feelings of entitlement to getting anything and everything they want at whatever costs, truly believing it is their given birthright to fame, success, wealth and fulfilling their dreams-no matter how out-of reach they may be. I actually don't see this is as a bad thing. I, myself, raise Alexis believing she can absolutely conquer anything she sets her mind to.

But the issue lies more in the attitude...

our youth are no longer willing to put in the sweat equity it typically takes, usually taking the easier route, feeling "above that", and becoming more and more accustomed to instant gratification.

Over the years I've noted a common theme when as parents we become resentful, disappointed and let down that our own children are not

• appreciating their personal belongings


• having little sense of money management skills


• disrespecting their families and authority


• simply acting as if the world revolves them

As parents, are we being proactive enough in teaching our children responsibility for their own lives?

Is it the parental habits of enabling these behaviors by providing them with the latest gadgets, video games, computers, cell phones only to be replaced with the latest model within a year's time after they're damaged or lost by the child? Or a parent doing the child's homework, cleaning up behind their every mess, just handing out money without teaching the true value of obtaining it themselves? All the while, the child is on information overload, never satisfied and left with wanting more and more

...and we wonder why there are more and more attention deficits, more and more depression. The solution starts with our parenting and the examples and boundaries we're setting for our youth.

Older Generations are complaining about the Newer Generations as if they had little to no part in this. I personally feel there is MUCH responsibility- starting with how we're raising our children from a young age---NOT enabling them being one of the key issues.

Naturally the parent is only wanting to give the child the best and make things "easier" than the way they had it...but who is this truly helping in the long term? It's the parent's responsibility in taking actions prior to the child reaching their teen or adult years. We wait until they're in their adolescence and then decide-"they're old enough now to get it", to start taking responsibility for their lives

...however, they're actually less willing to "get it" at this age and more importantly the patterns have already been created.

Start when they're young.

The best gift you can give your child is creating situations for them to conquer their environment-

Ultimately, a sense of accomplishment, pride and self-worth makes a much happier person than any amount of wealth, fame or materialism. Isn't that what we want the most for our children?

Happiness?

Set your child up for success. Would love to know your take on the book or this subject in general....Happy Reading!

Words to Live By

Written by Alexis

From todler to tween, my mom would always rave about, "Me not having a mean bone in my body", but what I have noticed about myself and my friends is that no matter how sweet and inocent you are as a kid, you develop some edge or fiestyness along your journey tweenism. I am not saying you turn into this devel child, but we as tweens typically feel more rebellious against authority. Why is this? I do not know, but I think it is because we get a little tired of our mom or dad feeling it nessesary to cut our spagetti, or hold our hand as we cross the street, or constantly telling us what they think is 'best for us'.

After so much, I think us tweens draw the line and say enough! Now is the time to start treating me like a big girl! Well, this might be our reaction, keeping it bottled up inside and when we finally say something, it all comes out at once. Let me tell you, you feel like a complete idiot after you are finished. You lose control of what you are saying and you turn into a monster!

This applies not only with talking to your parent, but also a friend or sibling. You do not get respect by coming from a place of anger or blame. When people see you yelling and getting overly defensive, all respect goes out the door. Especially in the future, when you are trying to get a job and you employer sees you blow up like that... well, you won't be getting that job! (Which stinks if it is a job you really want!)

When dealing with a situation where you have to get your point across, my mom would always tell me that you picture your head in your stomach and speak from the heart. This simply means that you say what you need to say, but you do not let your head get in the way of what your heart wants to say.

If it is something that is really important for the other person to hear, then they will really understand what you are trying to get across. If you yell and scream, the person will not really take what you said into much concideration. Chances are that if you tell them something that could possibly offend them, they will get offended, but they will respect you more for how you held yourself when you said it.

Words my mom tells me that may help:

"Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't say it mean"

Words to live by!