Teaching kids on Money Management

With today's economy downturn and rising prices on daily necessities, one of the important things ever is to teach our kids frugality from an early age.

I’ve been training my kids, aged 8 and 11, the value of money, saving, budgeting and spending wisely. I feel that as a parent I need to instil habits like these in the hopes that they’d grow up to be financially independent.

It's my usual practice to give them allowances on a daily basis. This way, they’ll learn how to budget and spend within their means. I believe the earlier you start exposing your children to basic money management, the better they’ll be able to absorb the concepts and value of money as they grow older.

I've provided each of the kids a piggy bank to fill up. Infact, these piggy banks have been around since they were babies. They are actually free gifts when hubby and I opened a savings account.

I have also opened a savings account for both my kids and show them their interest earned each half year with the few hundred ringgits they now have in their bank accounts. When the piggy banks are fully loaded, I transferred their money in their bank accounts, so they can watch the interest multiply.

I've to admit that it’s not easy for me to teach my kids to save, as I am not a good role model in this regard, which is something that I'm not proud of. Ultimately, when I encouraged my kids to save, it gives me the motivation to save as well.

Sunday musings

The festive season is approaching and for the past few weekends, Muslims are seen flocking to the shopping malls to buy some Hari Raya goodies. Many cars were jamming every nook and corner of the malls to get parking space. As I couldn't find a parking space close to the shopping mall today, I parked near a large bus stop which was a few blocks away.

My kids were literally bored to death at home, so they bugged me to go to the shopping mall. So after lunch, we headed to the mall to pick up a few things, so the kids would quit bugging me. It's quite the norm for me to prepare my shopping list before hitting the road. A shopping list prevents me from buying on impulse. I expected a massive traffic in town and finding a parking space can be an exasperating issue.

We stayed home yesterday to relax and recharge from the tedious weekdays. Honestly, I don't do much house chores on weekends. I think it's pretty easier to do my house chores bits by bits throughout the week, rather than squeezing all in on the weekends. I like my surroundings to be always clean and pleasing to the eye.

I make it a habit to delegate some household duties to my 'little devils' as well. Hopefully when they are grown up, these things will come handy to them. After all, practice makes perfect.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Evening Primrose Oil

Since my daughter hit puberty, her body has began to experience some hormonal changes. One of the problem that greatly irritates her is the acne outbreak. It's only mild, little amount of pimples on her face but she kicks up a storm when she sees herself at the mirror. I've been through this experience and dealing with pimples fuss can be one awful thing to go through especially when you have to go out and appear in public.

When I was in my teens, I had problems combating acne too. As I had sensitive skin, many acne skin care products didn't work well for me. I was tired of trying new resources and non-prescription remedies for battling acne until a friend of mine recommended that I should take evening primrose oil (EPO) supplements.

After 3 months of consuming the product, I noticed visible improvements on my skin and .........SEEING IS BELIEVING. EPO has many beneficial properties which promote general well-being with little or no known side effects. It certainly improves my skin condition as well as effective for pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) related difficulties.

Though the supplement could be a little pricey, it worths every penny. It seems to be a win-win situation for me and my daughter.

The Benefits of Evening Primrose Oil

China Milk Scandal

The current milk scandal in China has triggered a public outcry. People are now more wary about dairy products on the shelves in the wake of the melamine scare in China.

The first thing that struck my mind was to examine all the labels of the food at home. Fortunately, nothing seems to be of a brand with tainted products but one thing's for sure, most people will definitely not be buying any dairy products imported from China anymore.

As a parent, it is heart-wrenching to hear that the contaminated milk powder has sickened 53,000 kids in China. I believe the number of sick would continue to rise. I'm sure those kids who are affected are bound to be terribly painful and undergoing an unpleasant experience. This is a sad thing indeed.

Regardless, I hope this issue will be resolved soon. I wonder what other phenomenon might occur that has yet to be uncovered.

My son is allergic to EverythinG

My son, who is 8 years of age, has been suffering from nose sensitivities since toddler. When he has a runny nose, he will develop a chest cough with thick phlegm that lasts for as long as a month. Thank goodness, he doesn't wheeze during bed time.

According to the doctor, my son was diagnosed as having a sensitive nasal airway and the doc has identified a few possible allergies. My son is highly allergy to dust mites and certain food that could cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, he has to observe hygiene practises particularly in bedroom. Not to mention, he needs to be cautious of his food intake as well.

I have tried to avoid offending foods in his diets but he kicks up a fuss whenever I forbid him to eat his favourite food.

At times I'm not sure why, despite the precautions to keep my son warm at night, he would still wake up sneezing in the morning. He was prescribed a nasal spray to fix his sensitive nose and some medication. For now, my son's flu symptoms seem to have improved and I hope they will gradually subside.

My son's medication