Money Savvy Mama

Hi ladies

The world is changing much faster than I had ever imagined.  In our lifetimes, we have gone from making calls in telephone booths to house phones, pagers, and cell phones to smartphones that are literally mini computers!  AI is the latest shift in technology that we will need to adopt.  There are many questions about the impact of AI on work, so the importance of financial independence and literacy has never been more critical.

Financial literacy is not just about understanding money; it's about making informed decisions to manage household budgets, invest in children’s education, and save for unforeseen circumstances.

There are many things we can do to pursue financial literacy and, ultimately, financial freedom.  Here are a few ideas:-

Educate Yourself: It is important to learn about the basics of financial literacy, which involves budgeting, saving, and investing. There are many resources available, from local workshops to online courses.

Create a Budget: Track your income and expenses. This simple step can help you understand if you are living within your means and highlight areas of adjusting expenses that can help provide a balanced financial picture.

Save Regularly: Akiba haiozi! Save, save, save! Set aside a portion of your income each month, no matter how small. Consistent saving habits can build a financial cushion over time. Start with building a rainy day fund then consider investing any savings above the rainy day fund. Our children can learn to save as they watch us do the same.

Invest Wisely: Look into safe investment opportunities that can grow your money. Consult with financial advisors/professionals to ensure you understand the investment opportunities available. Be sure to understand how the professional is paid so you don't end up with a financial advisor who makes recommendations that are good for their bonus but necessarily good for you.

What are your thoughts on financial literacy?

Been a while...

It's taken a while to play catch up on my blog post regarding the book I reviewed a few months ago... "Boys Adrift by Dr Leonard Sax"... I have taken time to think about the author's recommendations and how to apply them in my family and can finally share my thoughts.

The first application related to our son's education.  Early in the school year we had to make a decision regarding the class he would attend as he was born shortly after the cutoff date.  Before reading the book, we were contemplating having him tested to go to first grade instead of having him in kindergarten.  After reading the book, and talking to many educators we realized that kindergarten would be best... We now realize that intellectual maturity and emotional maturity cannot be evaluated separately.  For a child to thrive in school, he /she needs both intellectual and emotional preparedness.  As the author and many others have highlighted, this observation is especially true for boys...

The second thing we learned was the relationship between brain function, video games and ADHD medication.  Dr Sax highlights findings of the effect of violent video games on the brain.  He particular highlights the impact  on the area of the brain that is responsible for motivation.  Want to check out the validity of this observation? I encourage you to perform searches on images of the brain playing violent video games.  It's a real eye-opener!!!  The author has numerous recommendations including limiting the type of games children  play and the length of time the play.  I love his approach in encouraging children to prioritize their tasks effectively, such as allowing video games to be played upon completion of more important tasks eg homework, chores etc.  We adopted his approach on monitoring content and encouraging moderation vs total elimination as sits well with us. We also took up a recommendation on playing team sports as an effective alternative to video games. 

There are additional discussions on the use of ADHD medications. I have no experience in this topic but wanted to mention it all the same. The author does caution parents to be really sure of the diagnosis prior to medicating your children due to the increased number of ADHD diagnosis and the long term effects of using ADHD medication.

We also incorporated unstructured outdoor play and the healing power of spending time in nature. Dr Sax recommends a book "the last child in the woods" by Richard Louv.  This book is a powerful testament of the value of spending time in nature.  This one is a bit tough to commit to if you live in the city... However, prioritizing a way to get in touch with nature on a regular basis, will enrich your family's life... We know it because we did it!  We started going for hikes on Saturday mornings and now look forward to out hikes all week long!

This is an amazing book full of insights that can be applied, and i have only mentioned a few... The ones we were able to act on. I highly encourage anyone parenting boys to read the book!

For more information on this book and comments from other readers, visit the books website: http://www.boysadrift.com

Book review: Boys adrift, five factors affecting the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men

As a mother of two young boys (age 5 and 2). I have been intrigued by recent conversations I have had with parents of teenagers and young men complaining about their unmotivated boys.  Some are even perplexed in observing their daughters experiencing academic achievements while their boys are not.  Some of it may be explained by natural differences that can occur in a family, and some of it is not.... as I have come to learn...I thought this was a fist world problem, until I talked to my dad in Kenya, who commented on observing a similar trend in Kenya.

I stumbled upon this book while doing some research, and I must say I am super thankful that I did.... now let me start by saying that I am not sure that all the factors discussed in this book would apply to all boys in evey part of the world, but I do think that as with anything, we can all pick up a thing or two that can inform us on things we can do to improve the odds that we raise children who are productive, motivated, independent adults...

Dr Sax mentions that the factors he has observed that contribute to the issue of unmotivated boys are:-
1.  Changes at school
2.  Video games
3.  Medication for ADHD medication
4.  Endocrine disruptors from environmental toxins (mainly chemicals found in plastic eg BPA, PVC)
5.  Failure to launch - this is end result that we are now observing...  boys who have grown up to be young adults who are unmotivated and content to remain at home without contributing significantly to the home or society ... would rather play video games all day vs get a job..

As I read the book, I will share my thoughts and application of the factors discussed ...
I really welcome input from readers in Kenya as I am curious as to whether these factors may be at play in Kenya.

Looking forward to getting on this journey.

Babies... and learning

Yesterday, I posted a blog on new science findings that suggest that babies learn in utero...

I have been fascinated by these ideas... and have taken a deeper dive on understanding how babies learn...really trying to understand the role of parents and caregivers in aiding this learn... if in fact - parents and caregivers need to do so..

I came across this CNN article discussing research that suggests that babies are smarter than we think.  In this article Alyson Gopnik talks about how children learn through play - " Very young children learn best from their everyday experiences of people and things, and from being able to playfully explore the world in a safe setting with people who love and care for them" - Seems to me that the very best way to nature our children and facilitate their learning is to offer an environment that fosters play and allows kids to explore the world around them...

More food for thought... the next time I see my kids taking their time getting ready as they playfully go through our busy morning - I hope I remember Alyson's conclusions.. "Children thrive when they are loved, and they learn when they explore." 

Learning

I just listened to a TED talk by Annie Murhy Paul - that was pretty interesting....

In her talk she mentions that babies learn before they are born.- they learn about taste, smell and sounds - research shows that babies cry is shaped by their mother's native language ..so as to attract her and foster bonding... interesting...

As I was listening tot his TED talk, I drifted away to thoughts about my own experience with my 2 children - trying to remember if their cry was the same, if they have the same taste and do the same things.. when my second son was born - we were shocked at how much he looked like his big brother - and in fact, to this day - we call them "twinkies" - what has been surprising to me is that they display very similar behaviors - their growth charts are almost identical, except for the fact that my odlest son was always about 1-2 inches taller at different points in time.  We find it very intersting watching them play in the same way - without having taught each other to do so .... when my oldest son was 2, he used to like lining up cars and forming this long lines with all his toy cars... my second loves to do the same - except he prefers trains over cars...

This talk kinda makes sense - and actually explains alot of what I have been experiencing... if learning starts really early on influenced in utero - then it totally makes sense that my boys learnt the same things / responses in utero - hence their similar behaviors and responses...

Food for thought....

Mommy, I drew a picture of you and me enjoying the golden sun, do you like it?

We keep a stock of cute little cards that are blank inside that we use as "emergency cards" - in case we go to a birthday party and forget to buy a birthday card - or if we want to say hello to a friend.. etc

Yesterday morning, my almost 5 year son was adamant about drawing a card.  He was adamant about getting me to give him a card to write on.

See - he is very proud of his penmanship - now that he is starting to draw and write a little better!

Unfortunately - we were running real late!  I had a choice to make - let him get this card and the trade off was that I would have to get him ready "speedy style" as we call it as the option to get himself ready would have been out of the window.  He doesn't like "speedy style" as it means that mommy gets to brush his teeth, hair and wipe his face - and yes dress him up - so we can be ready in 5 minutes instead of 15 minutes! And he does not like that either as he would rather do it "by self", as he says.

So -- I used the good ol' parenting tool - choices - i asked him to choose between working on the card + get speedy style dress up or - no card and you get to get ready "by self" - and the boy was torn and he asked if he can add a choice!!! What?  - yeah there's another option - how about if I work on the card and we do some "speedy style" and some "by self"? I said ok - as long as we are not late.  I set the timer for 10 minutes and told him that when the timer goes off I get to finish getting him ready "speedy style"... and offcourse baby brother couldn't be left out of the action - his big brother had gotten him to sit down and draw out a card for me as well -

The timer goes off - and my son was still "working on the card"...

I get over to the room where he is working on the card - trying hard not to get agitated as now we are really getting late.. and as I am getting ready to give him a little lecture - he turns around and says to me "Mommy - here's a card for you..." I looked at the card - and he said " I drew a picture of you and me enjoying the golden sun - do you like it???? "

Offcourse I love it! I feel guilty for a minute as my anger melts away - then I give him a huge hug and kiss - when he says - mommy we have to do speedy style or we'll be late....

At that moment - I realize something - maybe parenting is not soo much about us teaching kids what to do - its about following our intuition - and guiding our children to help them make the right choices - coz after all - we all end up happier when we work together to get things done - that includes getting ready for school in the morning!

The Internet of Things... for babies?

The fiscal times posted an article a few months ago titled "The internet of things is coming for your baby"


From baby monitors to nanny cams, to wearable devices to track your toddlers and older kids ... the internet has changed the way we do things, how we watch our kids.  
I think there is a lot of good (and not soo good stuff) that can come out of all of this... Time will tell..
For now - I am thankful for these options!  


Here is a list of some of the products in the market today (or in the very near future):
Mimo Smart Baby Monitor  
Owlet baby monitor and alarm 
MonBaby baby monitor 
Withings Smart Kid Scale - and grown ups - there is something for you here as well - ranging from wrist watches with time and activity trackers, to blood pressure monitors - you name it!

I never tried the fancy baby monitors - as they weren't available when my tots were babies , but I did uses webcams and I must say, I love them and still do!  I love watching my tiny tots when I am away.. or if they are in day care or even when a baby sitter is watching them... the result??? I have more peace, but I don't pay attention to my work or school or date night (woops!)


What about wearable devices for tracking kids?  I haven't gone that far yet - but I must say - I am tempted to get the devices especially when I go out to crowded areas with my two kids - kids get easily distracted and wonder off... would be nice to be aware of this behavior - esp when you a parent / caregiver is outnumbered by the kids..