New Stuff (2015 – A to Z Challenge)

19 Sunday Apr 2015

Posted by P Murphy in A-to-Z, Activities, Advice, Busy Dad, Challenge, Dad, Family, Kids, Parenting

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A to Z Challenge, Activities, brand new, Child, children, Dad, Family, father, Focus, frugal, Good Parenting advice, helpful, kid, Kids, new stuff, Parent, Parenting, saving, spending

As a parent you hear your kids asking about getting new stuff or trying to be the first to get it before anyone else did. I hear this almost daily from one of my four kids. They try to negotiate from making a deal for it to throwing a tantrum over it.

I have tried to teach them getting a brand new toy or video game is not always the best thing to do. My oldest is now into going to Game Stop and get a slightly used video game then paying full price for a brand new one. It saves him money and it is a way he can be frugal.

The three younger kids are having a hard time with this since they are really too young to fully understand this. Don’t get me wrong, I do buy brand new stuff for my kids just not on a daily or weekly basis. We are just frugal on what we spend our money on.

We save it for vacations and other major purchases that our family enjoy. Last year we saved enough money to go to Disney World in Florida for the first time as a family. It created memories that we will have for the rest of our lives.

If you don’t teach your kids about spending correctly then they grow up to just spend money and get into financial trouble. That is what I’m trying to avoid for them.

What was the last time your child wanted something brand new and what did you do? What kind of spending habits did you learn from your parents? Feel free to leave your answer in the comments and I will respond to the questions you have.

A to Z Challenge Letter N

Mentoring (2015 – A to Z Challenge)

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by P Murphy in A-to-Z, Activities, Advice, Busy Dad, Challenge, Dad, Family, Kids, Parenting

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A to Z Challenge, Activities, Child, children, Dad, Family, father, Focus, Good Parenting advice, helpful, kid, Kids, Mentor, mentoring, Parent, Parenting, Patience, Patient, time

One of the best feelings is to know you are mentoring someone else. Mentoring can range from training someone on the work or even to a parent teaching a child to do something.

I have lots of chances to mentor my kids from everyday stuff on how to act or tell them a story to helping them bake and cook or even ride a bike. I remember mentoring and teaching my oldest son how to play baseball. This included throwing, catching, and hitting a baseball. Sometimes it was challenging and others seems to be too easy.

I remember being mentored by my father when I was young. I learned how to shoot a bow and arrow and learned the concepts of archery. But I also wasn’t taught how to swim by him. Believe me, he tried several ways to mentor and teach me but they all failed and he gave up on it. I wasn’t until I was an adult before I learned how to swim and it was by an instructor at the YMCA.

That brings me to a very important piece in mentoring anyone including kids is that patience. Time is another piece that comes in a close second to patience. If you don’t have both then the chance of you mentoring someone has a higher chance to fail then to be successful.

If you are being patient and take your time mentoring, then you will teach your child the right way but you will also create everlasting memories that both of you will have.

What was the last time you mentor your child in anything and what was it? When was the last time your dad or mom mentor you and what was it? Feel free to leave your answer in the comments and I will respond to the questions you have.

A to Z Challenge Letter M

Living Life (2015 – A to Z Challenge)

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by P Murphy in A-to-Z, Advice, Busy Dad, Challenge, Dad, Family, Kids, Parenting

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"C" word, A to Z Challenge, Activities, cancer, Child, children, Dad, Family, father, Focus, Good Parenting advice, helpful, independent, kid, Kids, Life is short, Living Life, Parent, Parenting

Everyone needs to live life to the fullest because you will never know when it will end. I have learned this the hard way in the past month. As a dad of four kids it is hard to think of not seeing them grow up or get married or even have kids of their own.

But have you thought of what they remember you for? Do you play catch with your kids or dance with them or even listen to a story they want to tell you? You might be losing a chance to make an influence on your kids and have them remember you for being a dad or mom that lived their life to the fullest.

The more memories you have with your kids, the longer you live in their hearts. For example, I don’t remember much of my grandpa on my dad’s side of the family. He never played with us grandkids. He end up getting old and had to use a wheelchair. I know he was my grandpa by blood, but I really don’t know him.

This is what you want to avoid with your kids or even your grandkids. Live life to the fullest and include them in every part of it.

I kind of left the idea that I learned this in the last month is because I have a “lump” in me that they don’t know what it is. They have a guess for the best but they don’t know and it could be the big bad “C” word. I will have it removed on Friday and see what it really is.

Even if this is the best case scenario, it is still a huge wakeup call to me. Life is short to waste it away on stuff that doesn’t matter. Stuff that matters is your religion and your family.

When did you have your wakeup call about living life to the fullest or was this you’re your wakeup call? Life is too short, what are you going to do today with your kids or grandkids? Feel free to leave your answer in the comments and I will respond to the questions you have.

A to Z Challenge Letter L

Keeping Up (2015 – A to Z Challenge)

16 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by P Murphy in A-to-Z, Advice, Busy Dad, Challenge, Dad, Family, Kids, Parenting

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A to Z Challenge, Activities, Child, children, Dad, exhausted, Family, father, Focus, keeping up, kid, Kids, Parent, Parenting

Having four very active kids it is sometimes hard to keep up with everything and everyone in our family as well as in our extended families. Since my computer crashed last week and with daily activities with the kids, you can see sometimes keeping up is hard to do.

My girls and youngest boy is always on the full throttle go from the time they wake up until the time they fall asleep. This can make my wife and I so exhausted that we fall asleep shortly after the kids do.

It can be a chore sometimes keeping up but it is worth it though.

Do you experience the same thing with your kids? Do you remember being this active as a kid? Feel free to leave your answer in the comments and I will respond to the questions you have.

A to Z Challenge Letter K

Life of a Busy Dad

~ Life adventures of a dad of four kids with three of them under the age of Nine.

New Stuff (2015 – A to Z Challenge)

Mentoring (2015 – A to Z Challenge)

Living Life (2015 – A to Z Challenge)

Keeping Up (2015 – A to Z Challenge)

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