Telling your kids no -- harder for some than others!

We all want whats best for our kids. This statement means lots of different things to people. Whats really best for our kids? Is it giving them all we never had? Is it giving them every opportunity to experience all they can in order for them to figure out what they really want in life? Is it never telling them no? Or, in doing what we feel is best for them, are we creating little people who will never learn to survive on their own in life because they have been sheltered from reality?

The reality here is.....you are broke. You can no longer afford to give them everything under the sun. As difficult as this may seem for you, your children will be much better off in the long run if you allow them to face reality and come to terms with it in their own way. By continuing to let them drain your pocket, you are giving them false hope - a false sense of security. You are allowing them to believe that everything is ok and it is not. How can they be expected to trust you, if they wake up one day and suddenly everything they thought was true, is not?

If you allow them to make sacrifices along with you, you are giving them the strength they will need later in life to handle circumstance such as these. It will be good for them to know that they have contributed in some way to the well being of the household. Sure, they are not going to be happy about having to give up some of their extra curricular activities. No one likes having to give things up. You were not happy about having to give up -- your job, your car, your home, your sense of being able to provide for your family. The hard fact is -- you did it anyway and here you still are. The important thing is for them to see that everything is going to be okay. Things always manage to work themselves out and by picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and pushing on, you are showing them how to cope in tough times.

Do yourself and your kids a favor and tell them no. No is good for kids - sometimes just because.

As always, keep you head up high until next time.

Trina