The Gerber Life Parenting Blog

The term “innovation” has become an often-heard buzzword. News reports and articles refer to “innovative” companies and encourage more “innovation” from young Americans. “Innovation,” it seems, is everywhere.

The impact of creativity and innovation has been around since the dawn of time and is a legacy of great thinkers. Now that the ability to innovate is an increasingly desired quality among employers, what does this mean for parents?

Can parents help their children to develop this trait, or is it inborn? Does it require a well-rounded education? Is it the result of a combination of factors? How can parents encourage their children to come up with ideas and solutions and to embrace traits like curiosity, questioning, exploring, dreaming, reading, learning, as well as thinking creatively, critically and spatially?

For those wondering how to teach innovation to their children, here are three ways to start:

We all need to reign in our budget at times, perhaps because we lose an income source or want to make a big purchase, such as a home or a car. Whatever the reason, realizing the need to spend less is the easy part. Finding where you can afford to cut back is much more of a challenge, especially if you’re already on a tight budget.

Consider these tips for how to cut your budget:

Most likely, your child has big dreams – that’s part of growing up. Maybe your daughter or son wants to run a company, play a sport in college, or become a politician or astronaut. No matter what the dream or how it might keep changing down the road, you’d like to see your child realize his or her ambitious dreams.

What are some ways for you to assist, particularly for launching the process? It’s often important to create a road map for success that your child can follow. Consider these tips for how to help your son or daughter set and achieve goals:

As a parent, you have your own standards and rules that you expect your children to follow. What happens when your mother or one of your mother’s friends, or the parents of your child’s friends, or a relative, or a school teacher disagree with your parenting style? What happens if your spouse disagrees with your parenting style?

Here are some ways for handling such scenarios with grace and for maintaining your standards while being respectful of different parenting styles:

Parents tend to want their children to be well-rounded both scholastically and with extracurricular activities, from sports to the arts to community service, in order for each child to grow as a person and best contribute to society.

When a child begins participating in extracurricular activities, however, parents quickly realize something else: Activities can become expensive. Sports equipment, music lessons, art supplies, dance attire, and club or team costumes and trips don’t come cheap.

If you’re concerned about your child’s extracurricular activities putting a dent in your budget, consider these tips: