Saving is at the core of a solid financial eduction.  Learning to save is not something that is easy to do in our consumer-oriented culture, however.  Leading by example — and talking about how saving is helping you reach your family’s financial goals — is important.  Creating an environment where ...

Froggy and Buey have their say: Bubba and Peter’s stuffed animals have become brothers by default Buey – “Hello, I’m Buey.” Froggy – “And, I’m Froggy.” Buey – “I’m a six-inch, teddy bear. I’m also 5-year-old Bubba Ludwig’s favorite stuffed animal.” Froggy – “And, I’m 4-year-old Peter Ludwig’s favorite stuffed ...

As parents, one of the most important lessons for us to teach our children is how to spend and save wisely. By sharing financial lessons with our kids starting at an early age, we can help them understand the importance of being financially responsible and self-sufficient for life. This is ...

Trips to the zoo, collecting autumn leaves, reading Ranger Rick – sound like memories from your childhood?  More than likely, yes, they do. But here’s a question: do they sound like a part of your kids’ lives today? It’s an interesting question we parents should all ask ourselves. On that ...

  Being able to read well is more important than ever for young adults seeking to achieve economic success. But more than 60 percent of middle and high school students score below “proficient” in reading achievement, according to a December 2011 report by the Alliance for Excellent Education. “Kids need ...

When they say, “What goes around, comes around,” they must have had me in mind. That’s because I gave my parents a certain degree of difficulty during my teen years. Now, I have double that trouble, since I have two teens at home. The good news is that one of ...

I see a lot of “expert” parenting advice in my inbox.  It seems everybody knows how to raise my kids and wants me to share their ideas with you!  Once in a while, though, I do see something worth sharing.  The following comes from Claire Haas of Kiddie Academy, and ...

Some kids have imaginary friends, others don’t. Either way is OK. Peeno Ceeno (pronounced pee-no, see-no) was my imaginary friend. She lived in the wooded wetland behind my house. I was expecting my boys to have imaginary friends too. But so far, neither five-year old Bubba nor three-year old Peter ...

Last month, I attended Strong Men Speak, a roundtable discussion at UC Berkeley that considered the definition masculinity in contemporary American culture — how it is changing, and how it needs to change.  Of considerable interest to all of us in attendance was the connection between fatherhood and concepts of ...

My 5-year-old son earns his first “yellow light” for… giving the finger I was shocked. Bubba’s kindergarten class operates on a stoplight system for monitoring behavior. A green light is good. A yellow light is a warning. A red light is major infraction that includes a note home from the ...