Is your child ready for Facebook?  Parents cringe at this crucial point in child development, but don’t worry; here is your stress free guide to navigating whether your child is ready for the social networking world.

Thirteen sounds like such a young age to start branching out into the online social realm, but according to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, it is the minimum age required to open a Facebook account.  This makes many parents uneasy at first (I was at the top of the list!), but I’ve listed some steps you can take to help your child blossom in the online community.

Honing social skills has always been a crucial part of a child’s development.  It begins at home and branches out into traditional peer settings and continues into the digital world.  Benefits of social networking for teens include:

• Wide range of supportive friends
• Deepened relationship with family
• Wider variety of social skills
• Advanced technological skills
• Creativity and self-exploration

There is a lot of panic about the risk associated with online social networks.  We feel more at ease in traditional settings when we can “see” what is going on.  However, whether our kids are online, at recess, or at the mall, the majority of their socializing happens out of our site.  In reality, it is much easier to monitor your child’s activity online.

Steps to Ensure Security:

• Know your child’s password
• Friend your child and be present on their site (a lot!)
• Converse with your children at home about social situations that arise
• Talk with your child on what it means to be private, responsible, and kind
• Set the settings on your child’s social sites with added security features
• Let your child know you have to approve all friends first (no exceptions!)
• Set the email to go to your email instead

Above all, know your child’s maturity level.  Some kids are not ready at thirteen to have this kind of account.  There is no harm in waiting a year or two until you feel they are more prepared to handle the responsibility of social networking.

If you recognize this is part of social progress for young people today, you’re one step ahead already.  The two environments work together to create today’s modern social experience.  Children will need practice in a digital territory as they fine tune their abilities to connect with their peers.

It  is not very often that I get a chance to write about how one of our clients is truly changing lives. Today I have the pleasure of doing just this. When I asked Shannon what she thought people should know first about her business. She said this ” Hey Al – Basically I want people to know why I got into the Body By Vi business. I got in the business to make a little extra money but what  happened  is I started making a difference, a difference in peoples lives. Body By Vi offers such great nutritional and weight loss products that are truly effective! Every time my  phone rings and it is a Body By Vi customer I know it is going to be great news! People call to let me know they lost 20 pounds, ran 5 miles or that their blood pressure is down! Body By Vi gives your body the vitamins that it needs to give you more energy and give you the edge so you can jump out of bed every morning and do all the things you want to do and feel great! There are people that talk about losing weight and being healthier and then there are those that do something about it…who do you want to be?”

WOW! That is great stuff. Want to learn more? click on this link http://omahacoupons.com/567/Omaha-NE/Health+%26+Beauty/Body+by+Vi

Have a great week my friends!  Alan

Plan your meals and shopping lists around featured sale items.

• Use your store’s weekly sales ad flier to plan your menus for the week. Then, write your shopping list around the items and brands that are on sale.
• Taking a few minutes to make a detailed plan will save you the time of making unplanned trips to the store during the week—which can ruin your budget.
• Planning ahead also helps you avoid impulse shopping during your trip. 

Have a great week! Alan

I truly enjoyed the video that I watched this am. These are great tips for us savers! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/video-top-5-secrets-to-saving-money-from-pros-in-the-know-24868124