Best advice

[C.J.]

Money tips:

Give her a modest allowance. Tell her she can save it or spend it - but when in the store with me, every time she asked for something she wanted, I said, "Yes you can have that, as long as you spend your money."

When she got older, I gave her the money for clothes for the new school year. When the money was gone, the spending stopped. She got to be quite the bargain hunter. Lunch account, the same way. I put money in her lunch account every pay day - if she bought lunch for her friends, and they didn't pay her back, SHE could pack something from home or go hungry. It didn't take long for her to learn that lesson.

 

[BestICan]

"Know this child: he will be sent to the principal's office again. He will screw up many more times. Don't focus on 'what did you do,' but focus on 'what are you going to do to fix it?'"

I think back to this moment a lot. It allowed me to let go of my too-high expectations for a kid who simply couldn't handle many aspects of daily life. It allowed me to change my focus from making him a perfect kid, and instead help him start on a realistic path toward improvement.